Delhi HC notice on plea to stay appointment of new Delhi Minorities Commission chairperson

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor on a petition seeking to stay the appointment of a new Chairperson of the Delhi Minorities Commission.

A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan asked Delhi government, LG and Delhi Minorities Commission to file their response on a fresh application, filed by Vikram Gahlot through advocate Dhananjai Jain, seeking to stay the appointment of any new incumbent on the post of Delhi Minorities Commission Chairperson.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on August 31.

Jain, in the application, submitted before the High Court that his plea challenging the removal of Zafarul Islam Khan from his position of Delhi Minorities Commission chairman for objectionable activities and serious misconduct is pending before the High Court.

Khan, who was holding the post of chairman of the Commission, has retired as his term expired, the application said.

The advocate said that the petitioner has come to know that the Delhi government have started the process of appointing a new Chairman for the Delhi Minorities Commission.

"That the very existence of the Delhi Minorities Commission is under challenge. The Act itself is ultra-vires and no appointment of the chairman can be made. Huge sums of expenditure is involved in the matter of Commission which also is prohibited under the provisions of Article 27 of the Constitution of India," the application said.

"It is as such necessary that respondents are restrained from appointing any person as Chairman of the Delhi Minorites Commission," it added.

Earlier, Jain has filed a petition against the inaction of Delhi government against the Chairman of Delhi Minorities Commission Zafarul Islam Khan for indulging in questionable acts alleging that Khan, in his tweet, dated April 28, had made aggressive communal and anti-national utterances.

The plea also challenged the constitutional validity of establishing the Delhi Minorities Commission.

Jain has also challenged the legislative competence of Delhi Legislative Assembly to pass Delhi Minorities Commission Act, under which the said Commission has been established, and has prayed for same being declared invalid.

( With inputs from ANI )