The Delhi High Court on Friday admonished the Delhi government and said that Arvind Kejriwal’s continuation in the post of Chief Minister after his arrest has put the party’s political interest above the national interest.
The High Court was dealing with a plea by NGO Social Jurist, represented by advocate Ashok Agarwal, highlighting the non-supply of educational material and other statutory benefits to students in the MCD schools even after the commencement of the new academic session.
The court’s observation came after the Delhi government counsel said that the supply of textbooks requires certain approvals from Mr. Kejriwal, who is in judicial custody in an alleged money laundering case related to the now-scrapped excise policy.
“You have placed your interest above the interest of the students. We are going to give that finding that you have placed your political interest at a higher pedestal,” a Bench of acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P.S. Arora observed.
It is the personal call of the Chief Minister if he wants the administration to be “paralysed”, the Bench remarked.
The Delhi government counsel said he was not appearing for the Chief Minister and assured the court that the issue of non-supply of educational material would be resolved if the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner makes a formal request for financial approvals even in the absence of the civic body’s standing committee.
The MCD Commissioner had earlier stated that the non-distribution of the facilities was due to the non-formation of a standing committee which has the power to award contracts worth more than ₹5 crore.
On Friday, the Delhi government counsel said the MCD commissioner was free to seek the necessary financial approvals even in such situations and an appropriate resolution would be passed.
