New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) The Delhi High Court dismissed a PIL filed by Hindu Sena President, Vishnu Gupta, seeking the removal of CM Arvind Kejriwal following his recent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. CM Kejriwal is currently in judicial custody till April 15, after being sent to jail on Monday.
The high court declared that the removal of a chief minister falls outside its jurisdiction, emphasizing national interest over personal preferences. It advised the petitioner to seek redress from constitutional authorities rather than anticipate judicial intervention in what it described as a “practical issue, not a legal issue.”
Gupta’s petition argued that under Article 164 of the Constitution, a Chief Minister’s dismissal is warranted if they act in a manner that undermines the rule of law or breaches constitutional trust. It alleged that since CM Kejriwal’s arrest, the government of Delhi has failed to convene cabinet meetings, disrupting the constitutional framework and hindering governance.
Despite the absence of explicit provisions in the Constitution for such circumstances, the PIL contended that the constitutional courts have the authority to intervene to ensure the integrity of administration and governance. It raised the question of whether the Governor possesses the discretion to dismiss a Chief Minister in an extraordinary situation like arrest, given the Constitution’s silence on the matter.
“The Constitution of India did not visualise a situation where in the event of arrest, the Chief Minister can run his government either from judicial custody or police custody,” the petition stated. The high court had earlier dismissed a similar PIL seeking CM Kejriwal’s removal, citing no scope for judicial interference and the need for other government branches to examine the issue in accordance with the law.
