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HC reserves order on plea from former Mohali mayor Amarjeet Sidhu
The former Mohali mayor Amarjeet Singh Sidhu’s plea was taken up by the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) bench of justice Vinod S Bhardwaj, which after hearing all the parties reserved the plea for orders
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday reserved its order on the plea from former Mohali mayor Amarjeet Singh Sidhu against the December 28 order of the Punjab local bodies department that cancelled his House membership.
His plea was taken up by the bench of justice Vinod S Bhardwaj, which after hearing all the parties reserved the plea for orders.
Amarjeet, who is the younger brother of former Congress health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, was removed as councillor on December 28 by the local bodies department after indicting him in a conflict-of-interest case. The allegations were that he presided over meetings as the finance and contract committee (F&CC) chairman, in which tenders were awarded to a society, of which he was a member. The opposition had accused Amarjeet of allotting 12 tenders worth around ₹1.5 crore to the society, Amritpreet Cooperative Society Limited, Phase 6.
In his plea, he said he was removed as councillor merely for being a member of the society in an arbitrary manner and not on valid grounds as per the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976. The plea argued that there were different procedures for removal of a councillor and removal of a mayor. Also, the Act does not bar a member to be part of a society and it does not invite disqualification, the plea said.
On the other hand, the government has defended its move and submitted that action was taken as per provisions in 1976 Act.
