Delhi HC stays order disqualifying violence accused Tahir Hussain as Municipal Councillor
Nov 06, 2020
New Delhi [India], November 6 : The Delhi High Court on Friday stayed an order of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) which had cancelled the membership of Delhi violence accused Tahir Hussain from the House as a Municipal Councillor.
A bench of Justice Najmi Waziri, while issue notice to the EDMC, stayed the decision dated August 26, 2020, which had disqualified Tahir Hussain as a Municipal Councillor and slated the matter for further hearing on March 17 next year.
Hussain had recently moved the High Court seeking setting aside the order taken by the respondent corporation terming it arbitrary, illegal and against the principles of natural justice.
The plea said that Tahir Hussain was arrested by the Delhi Police on March 5, 2020, and has been in custody since then. In view of the absence of any notice as mandated by Section 74 of the DMC Act, the petitioner could not take appropriate permission from the courts to attend the said meetings, the plea said.
Hussain, in his plea, also submitted that during the monthly meeting for the month of August held on August 20, 2020, the respondent corporation vacated the seat of the petitioner councillor under Section 33(2) of the DMC Act by neither providing any notice as mandated by Section 74 of the DMC Act nor providing any show-cause notice or opportunity of being heard.
"The seat of the petitioner was decided to be vacated on the finding that the petitioner had not attended the past four meetings held by the respondent," the plea said.
It was submitted that the decision was proposed on dated August 20, 2020, and was confirmed vide a proposal dated August 26, 2020, by the EDMC.
The Delhi Police had registered hundreds of FIRs in connection with several cases related to the violence that spread across the northeast area of the national capital between February 24 and 26 this year after the conflict between groups supporting and opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) turned violent.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had consequently suspended Hussain from the party. He was booked in around 11 cases including murder, rioting and conspiracy. Hussain was consequently arrested and has been so far been charge-sheeted in several cases.
