Plea to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal, Somnath Bharti not maintainable: Delhi Government

The counsel further submitted that “sanction to prosecute respondent 3 and 4 (Arvind Kejriwal and Somnath Bharti) cannot be granted on a request of any private person”. (source: PTI)

Delhi government on Monday claimed in High Court that a plea seeking sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and ex-law minister Somnath Bharti for alleged anarchy created by the ruling AAP during a 2014 protest against some police officials was not “maintainable”.

“This is a frivolous petition moved by a private person. This type of petition should not be entertained as it is not maintainable,” Delhi government’s counsel told Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva. The counsel further submitted that “sanction to prosecute respondent 3 and 4 (Kejriwal and Bharti) cannot be granted on a request of any private person”. Delhi government’s additional standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi further said this was a civil writ petition and such a direction can only be sought by way of a criminal writ petition.

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“On the above ground itself the writ petition should be dismissed,” the counsel said, adding that the petitioner will also have to establish whether any offence was committed by the respondents by doing so on January 21, 2014. The government was responding to the plea filed by Delhi resident Ajay Gautam, who has alleged that Kejriwal and Bharti had violated law of the land by staging a dharna and defying Section 144 of CrPC near Rail Bhawan on January 21, 2014.

The plea has asked whether this type of “hooliganism” of blocking of public roads, metro stations by the then executive and members of the ruling political party – Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – should be allowed in a civilised society in the name of agitation.