On October 26, 2015, Supreme Court of India will hear a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction from the Court to the Government of the NCT of Delhi to pass the Janlokpal and Swaraj Bills which are in limbo after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had resigned on February 14, 2014 after failing to introduce the Janlopal bill in the Delhi legislature.

The PIL petition filed by Ashwini K. Upadhyay on October 8, 2015 will be heard by a bench comprising of Justices TS Thakur and V Gopala Gowda.

The petition inter alia, makes the following prayer:

Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus to the Government of NCT of Delhi to pass Janlokpal Bill and Swaraj Bill, etc.

Last year, Delhi government headed by Kejriwal had refused to send the bills to the Centre, prompting both Congress and BJP to declare the procedure of tabling it in the assembly illegal. However before resigning as Delhi CM, Kejrwal had said:

The Constitution does not require us to take permission for the Jan Lokpal Bill. We will fight on the streets. We are not here to save our government, but save the nation from corruption.

However after being re-voted to power this year, Delhi Government changed its stand and Kejriwal said that the Swaraj and Jan Lokpal bills first need to be cleared by the Centre before being tabled in Delhi assembly.

Contrary to the reports of the Janlokpal being introduced in the Delhi assembly in the session starting in August this year, the bills were not introduced in the house.

Mohit Singh

Mohit Singh is an advocate at the Supreme Court of India.

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