The court, based on averments in a writ petition, said it cannot declare Mr. Jain as a тАЬperson with unsound mindтАЭ and disqualify him from the Cabinet and the Assembly
The court, based on averments in a writ petition, said it cannot declare Mr. Jain as a тАЬperson with unsound mindтАЭ and disqualify him from the Cabinet and the Assembly
The Delhi High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to declare AAP leader Satyendar Jain, arrested in a money laundering case, as a тАЬperson with unsound mindтАЭ and disqualify him from being a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) here and a Minister.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said the court, based on averments in a writ petition, cannot declare Mr. Jain as a тАЬperson with unsound mindтАЭ and disqualify him from the Cabinet and the Assembly.
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The bench noted that the MLA is facing prosecution for various offences and the Code of Criminal Procedure тАФ which deals with investigation, inquiry and trial тАФ caters to all contingencies and it is for the prosecution/court to take appropriate steps in accordance with law.
тАЬIt is true that cases have been registered against respondent No.5 (Jain) and respondent No.5 is facing prosecution for various offences under the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act as well as Prevention of Money Laundering Act. However, the fact remains that the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is a complete code in itself which provides a mechanism in respect of investigation, inquiry and trial. The Code of Criminal Procedure caters to all contingencies and it is for the prosecution/court to take appropriate steps in accordance with law,тАЭ the court said in its order dated August 16. ┬а ┬а
тАЬThis Court, based upon the averments made in the writ petition, in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India cannot declare the respondent No.5 (Jain) as a person with unsound mind and cannot disqualify him from being a member of the Legislative Assembly or the Minister in the Government of NCT of Delhi in the facts and circumstances of the case. Resultantly, the writ petition is dismissed,тАЭ said the court.
The petitioner, Ashish Kumar Srivastava, claimed in his plea that┬аMr. Jain┬аhas тАЬhimself declared that he lost his memoryтАЭ before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and informed the same to the trial court as well and therefore cannot be permitted to continue as a lawmaker.
He asserted that in light of Article 191 (1)(b) of the Constitution, which mandates that an MLA has to be disqualified if he is of тАЬunsound mind and stands so declared by a competent courtтАЭ,┬аMr. Jain┬аcannot continue holding the important portfolio of a Delhi Cabinet Minister and enjoying the post of an MLA.
The plea, filed through lawyer Rudra Vikram Singh, the petitioner claimed that тАЬthe news of losing the memory is covered by all media sources and it is very much in the public domainтАЭ.
тАЬContinuing an unsound person with so many important portfolios of the Government is cheating the voters of Delhi, who have elected a person with clean image and good mental healthтАж Respondent No 5 (Jain) is holding an important portfolio in Government and because of his mental illness/unsound mind/memory loss the public of the NCT of Delhi will suffer a lot,тАЭ the petition said.
Mr. Jain was arrested on May 30 by ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is presently in judicial custody.
Last month, the High Court had dismissed a plea to suspend┬аMr. Jain┬аfrom the Cabinet following his arrest in the money laundering case, saying it is for the chief minister to consider whether a person with a criminal background should be allowed to continue as a Minister or not.
