HC dismisses plea seeking removal of BCI chief Manan Mishra from Rajya Sabha imposes costs

New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea, which sought the disqualification of senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra from Rajya Sabha for allegedly holding an "office of profit" as the chairman of Bar Council of India (BCI).
     Justice Sanjeev Narula observed the petition filed by lawyer Amit Kumar Diwakar was without merits and an abuse of the legal process. The petitioner was, therefore, saddled with Rs 25,000 costs.
     The court, in an order dated October 7, directed the amount to be deposited with the Delhi State Legal Services Authority with four weeks.
     The petitioner alleged that Mishra could not simultaneously serve as the sitting member of the Rajya Sabha and the chairman of BCI on account of a bar under Article 102(1)(a) of the Constitution which deals with disqualification of members of Parliament who hold an office of profit under the government of India or any state government.
     The plea claimed that the post of chairman of the BCI qualified as an office of profit as its role entails statutory functions, significant administrative responsibilities, quasi-judicial functions and financial powers.
     Justice Narula, however, observed that the Constitution provides a "well-defined mechanism" to deal with disqualification of any member of Parliament and the petitioner's plea to direct the Ministry of Law and Justice to initiate steps to disqualify the senior counsel was "misplaced".
     "The disqualification under Article 102(1) cannot occur automatically, solely based on certain allegations or presumptions. It necessitates a formal inquiry and a reasoned determination, as prescribed by the Constitution... This vague allegation cannot form the basis for this court to issue directions to the Ministry, in disregard to the constitutional process," observed the court.
     Therefore, the verdict found the request for a direction to the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Election Commission of India to be "untenable".
     The court further pointed out that the petitioner had essentially challenged Mishra's election to the Rajya Sabha, and the remedy was in filing an "election petition" -- according to the Representation of the People Act -- and not a writ petition (seeking a direction to the ministry).
     "The claim, disguised as a writ petition, is fundamentally an attempt to challenge the election of the respondent (Mishra), which cannot be examined in the present proceedings. Consequently, this court finds that the present petition not only lacks merit, but is also an abuse of the legal process, aimed at circumventing the proper remedy," it it held.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)