The Supreme Court has accepted a petition filed by AAP MP Raghav Chadha, challenging his suspension from the Rajya Sabha over allegations of forging signatures of fellow MPs and nominating them to a panel without their authorization. The court has requested responses from the Rajya Sabha secretariat and has sought the assistance of the Attorney General of India in this case. The next hearing for the matter is scheduled for October 30.
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During the hearing, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud emphasized the need to determine whether a member can be suspended from the Rajya Sabha while an investigation against the MP is ongoing.
Supreme Court
Mr. Chadha was suspended in August after four MPs accused him of proposing their names for a house panel without their consent. His proposal involved the formation of a select committee to review the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which granted more authority to the central government in the administration of Delhi. This bill has subsequently been enacted as law.
According to a Rajya Sabha bulletin, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar received complaints from Sasmit Patra of the Biju Janata Dal, S Phangnon Konyak of the BJP, M Thambidurai of the AIADMK, and Narhari Amin of the BJP regarding this issue.
Upon the MPs’ assertion that their names were recommended for the panel without their consent, the matter was referred to the privileges committee of the House. Subsequently, the Rajya Sabha passed a resolution, initiated by Piyush Goyal, the Leader of The House, to suspend Mr. Chadha until the panel submits its findings on the matter.
At that time, Mr. Goyal had referred to the AAP leader’s behavior in the House as “unethical” and displaying an “outrageous disregard of the rules.”
In response, the AAP MP dismissed the allegations against him, asserting that the BJP targeted him simply because they could not tolerate a 34-year-old MP challenging their prominent leaders. He further challenged the BJP leaders to provide any evidence of him forging anyone’s signature.
“The BJP’s approach is to ‘repeat a lie a thousand times, and it becomes the truth’. Following this strategy, they launched a misinformation campaign against me. That’s why I had to present myself today to clear up any misconceptions,” he stated.
“When a contentious bill is brought before the House, and a member proposes its thorough discussion before a vote, they suggest sending it to a select committee. MPs’ names are put forward for this panel. Those who do not wish to participate can withdraw their names. If there is no signature involved, how can it be considered forged?” Mr. Chadha questioned.
