New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday virtually disapproved of the sit-in led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the lieutenant governor’s office and asked the AAP government who had authorised such a protest. The court did not issue any interim directions but observed that strikes or dharnas are held outside and not inside someone’s workplace or residence.
The observation by a bench of Justices A.K. Chawla and Navin Chawla came while hearing two petitions, one against Mr Kejriwal’s protest and another against the alleged strike by IAS officers of the Delhi administration. After hearing arguments, the court listed the matter for hearing on June 22. Mr Kejriwal and his ministers have been staging a sit-in at the L-G’s office since June 11 evening.
“Who authorised the strike/dharna (sit-in by Kejriwal)? You are sitting inside the LG’s office. If it's a strike, it has to be outside the office. You cannot hold a strike inside someone’s office or residence,” the court said. Responding to the query by the bench, senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, who appeared for the Delhi government, said Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues took the decision to protest in their individual capacity and they were empowered to do so under Constitution.
