The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea filed by rebel Aam Aadmi Party MLA Devinder Sehrawat challenging the disqualification notice sent to him by the Delhi Assembly Secretariat for joining the Bharatiya Janata Party, PTI reported. The notice was issued under the anti-defection law.
The vacation bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and BR Gavai told senior advocate Soli Sorabjee, who represented Sehrawat, that the matter would be listed for hearing on Friday. The judges also asked the counsel to serve a copy of the petition to the parties involved, including the Delhi Assembly speaker and the Aam Aadmi Party.
Sehrawat, who is an MLA from Bijwasan in Delhi, joined the BJP in May. He accused the Aam Aadmi Party of “ignoring and cornering him” and claimed he was not invited to party functions. Sehrawat said he decided to make the switch after being “inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the nation and national security”.
Sehrawat was suspended from the Aam Aadmi Party’s primary membership in 2016 for anti-party activities. He was the second Aam Aadmi Party MLA to join the saffron party after Gandhi Nagar legislator Anil Bajpai.
The Delhi Secretariat has also issued a notice to Bajpai for joining the BJP. On Tuesday, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel gave Sehrawat and Bajpai a week’s time to respond to the notices.
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