AAP MLA Vinod Kumar Binny withdraws plea from Delhi High Court in view of assembly dissolution

Expelled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Vinod Kumar Binny on Monday withdrew from the Delhi High Court his plea to be declared as an Independent legislator in view of the legislative assembly being dissolved on November 4.

In his petition, Binny had sought that he be declared as an Independent legislator and also objected to the whips issued by AAP on February 12 and 13 to vote in favour of the party in the House.

His decision to withdraw the plea comes in the wake of dissolution of the Delhi Legislative Assembly as ordered by the Union Cabinet on the recommendation of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung. The assembly has been in suspended animation for the past eight months after then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal put in his papers.

Jung had given his recommendation to dissolve the assembly, after BJP, Congress and AAP expressed their inability to form a government. In the proceedings before the high court, a single-judge bench of Justice Manmohan on February 19 had stayed the operation of Speaker M S Dhir's letter that had said that Binny continued to be a member of AAP despite his expulsion.

Earlier, the Delhi Assembly Speaker in his reply had said he had no power under the law to change the affiliation of expelled the AAP MLA in the house.

The Speaker's office had said the Supreme Court's order to protect Amar Singh and Jaya Prada from disqualification as MPs after their expulsion from Samajwadi Party will not be applicable in Binny's case.

Dhir Speaker's office had also said that Binny, in any case, does not face the danger of disqualification, as he had obeyed the whip on February 12 and moreover, the Assembly was under suspended animation.