New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday asked Rajya Sabha MP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha to tender unconditional apology to the Upper Class Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar. The AAP leader was suspended indefinitely from Parliament on August 11.
As per the information, the top court has recorded the statements of Chadha’s lawyer that the MP has no intention to affect the dignity of the House of which he is a member and he will seek an appointment with Rajya Sabha Chairperson so that he may place an apology.
The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said that the House chairperson Dhankar should consider Chadha’s apology sympathetically. He added that Dhankar, also the Vice-President of India, should try to “find a way forward”.
The case pertains to allegedly not obtaining not permission from some MPs before before including their names in a proposed select committee to examine the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
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“Pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court today where I undertook to meet the Chairman of Rajya Sabha personally, I have sought an appointment from the Chairman for an early meeting in respect of my suspension as a Member of Parliament,” the Punjab MP from Aam Aadmi Party wrote on his X account.
Meanwhile, Raghav Chadha’s lawyer Shadan Farasat said there is no “harm” in apologising to the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
The Attorney General, R Venkataramani, informed the Supreme Court that the Parliament’s Privileges Committee is scheduled to convene today, indicating potential progress in the case. The Supreme Court had postponed the case until after Diwali and requested the Attorney General to keep it informed about any new developments.
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In the previous month, the Supreme Court had expressed concerns regarding the indefinite suspension of a Member of Parliament (MP) and its potential impact on people’s right to choose their representatives. The court also inquired whether the ethics committee could decide to suspend the AAP MP without specifying a duration, as reported by the news agency PTI.
