E-Paper
High court stays Punjab order to remove Mohali mayor in conflict of interest case
Punjab local bodies department had disqualified him as a Mohali municipal corporation councillor for presiding 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 Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday stayed the Punjab local bodies’ department order to remove Mohali mayor Amarjeet Singh Sidhu from municipal corporation.
The order was passed by the high court bench of justice Vinod S Bhardwaj. Sidhu filed the plea against the Punjab government’s decision on January 6. The detailed order is awaited.
Amarjeet, who is the younger brother of former Punjab health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, was removed as councillor on December 28 by the local bodies department that indicted him in a conflict of interest case.
Why Amarjeet was disqualified
The order passed by secretary, local bodies, said the government was left with no option but to disqualify him as a councillor as he had violated Section 63 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976. By virtue of this, he stands disqualified as mayor as well.
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 ₹1.5 crore to Amritpreet Cooperative Society Limited, Phase 6. Under Section 63 of the Act, a councillor cannot vote in a matter in which he has personal advantage.
Joined BJP but continued as mayor
Amarjeet had joined the BJP, along with Balbir, in June 2022, but continued as mayor with the support of Congress councillors.
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 according to the 1976 Act. The fact that the e-tendering process was done by the technical staff of the MC, bids were opened by the MC commissioner and contracts were given to the lowest bidder, who qualified as per the procedure, had been ignored, the plea said, adding that there was no discretion left to the F&CC and contracts were to be given to the lowest bidder.
He argued that the order was passed even as he was abroad. Demanding that the government order be stayed, the plea alleged that the order was passed at the behest of the local MLA, who was a political opponent. An argument was also raised that there were different procedures for removal of a councillor and removal of a mayor. It was argued that no monetary gains were made by him, by virtue of being the member of the society. The Act does not bar a member to be part of a society and it does not invite disqualification, the plea said.
Sidhus enjoy clout in House
In June 2022, the Sidhu brothers joined BJP. Since then, the clamour for his removal had been growing in the 50-member MC House, where the Congress is in a majority. The Congress is in the majority in the House but has most councillors with close association with the Sidhu family. At present, the Congress has 34 councillors, the mayor is of the BJP and senior deputy mayor Amrik Singh Somal and deputy mayor Kuljeet Singh Bedi have been expelled by the Congress for anti-party activities.
There are 11 councillors of the Azad group, led by Mohali AAP MLA Kulwant Singh, and two are independents.
The SAD and the BJP had no councillor when the election was held in 2021.
The clout Sidhus enjoy in Mohali MC is evident as neither the AAP nor the Congress could initiate a no-confidence motion when the duo joined the BJP in June. The anti-defection law does not apply in the MC and even as Sidhu joined the BJP, he was being supported by Congress councillors.
Punjab has a five-year term for the mayor.
MOHALI MC HOUSE: HOW IT ADDS UP
Total members: 50
Congress: 34
BJP: 1
Independents: 2
Azad group or AAP: 11
Shiromani Akali Dal: 0
Expelled: 2 (Senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, both were earlier with the Congress)
