The Delhi High Court rejected a Public Interest Litigation seeking the de-registration of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and disqualification of its leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak from contesting elections. The court termed the plea as “highly misconceived” and declined to entertain it. The Division Bench emphasized that the observations made against AAP leaders in a separate proceeding did not warrant de-registration of the party.
During the hearing, the Bench questioned the maintainability of the plea and asked for any statutory provision empowering the Election Commission of India (ECI) to de-register a political party in such circumstances. The petitioner cited a Supreme Court judgment, arguing that a party can be de-registered in specific situations, but the court highlighted that the AAP did not fall under those criteria.
The petitioner eventually acknowledged the absence of a specific legal basis to support the relief sought. The plea had alleged that the actions of Kejriwal, Sisodia, and other leaders in not appearing before Justice Sharma demonstrated a lack of “true faith and allegiance to the Constitution” as required by law.
