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Journalism of Courage
A ‘phansi ghar’ (or gallows house) is not essential for the functioning of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, who also held several portfolios in the previous AAP government, told the Delhi High Court on Wednesday. The remarks came in response to the Privilege Committee Summons over the matter. The AAP leaders are expected to appear before the Committee on Thursday.
“What has this phansi ghar got to do with legislative functioning of the House? Nothing…If you (Assembly) had not reserved a plan in the earlier Assembly to continue with this, you can’t now…The (preceding) House (led by AAP) is gone, it can’t be done, there was no pending motion,” senior advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for the AAP leaders, submitted before Justice Sachin Datta of the High Court on Wednesday. The Committee has sought the AAP leaders’ appearance before it for verifying the “authenticity” of the structure.
In 2022, Kejriwal, the then CM of Delhi, had inaugurated a structure on the Assembly premises, which was claimed to be a British Raj-era execution chamber or phansi ghar. However, a political row broke out this year in August related to the structure when BJP MLA and Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta told the House that the structure was actually a “tiffin room” as per records. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had accused the AAP government of misleading people as the row escalated. Historians have termed it to be “unlikely” that the two rooms in the Assembly building, which were renovated in 2022, were a phansi ghar.
During the hearing on Wednesday, senior advocate Jayant Mehta, appearing for the Assembly and the Privilege Committee countered the AAP leaders, saying that the petition is “preconceived” and is a “classic case of jumping the gun.” Arguing that the notices issued is not one for breach of privilege and is rather for “assisting the Committee to ascertain the authenticity of the phansi ghar and giving those facts to the Committee,” Mehta emphasised that it is “only a factual inquiry”.
The parties were arguing on the maintainability of the petition, and the court is due to consider the matter next on November 24.
Kejriwal and Sisodia, in their petition, have contended that such procedure is without jurisdiction and that the Committee has not complied with procedural safeguards.
The two have underlined in the petition that the proceedings, initiated more than three years after the inauguration “and only after a regime change strongly indicate that the privilege mechanism is being misused for political vendetta rather than for its constitutional purpose of protecting the functioning of the Legislature.”
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