Delhi HC dismisses plea seeking probe in allegations of AAP-separatists links

A bench of acting chief justice Vipin Sanghi and Navin Chawla dismissed the petition and asked the counsel for the petitioner, Congress leader Jagdish Sharma, to not file such petitions. The allegations were levelled in the run-up to Punjab assembly elections.

New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea seeking high-level inquiry against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to probe the allegations of their links with Khalistani separatist organizations, saying that it was “completely frivoulous”.

Punjab CM-elect Bhagwant Mann and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal during a victory roadshow, in Amritsar on Sunday. In the run-up to the assembly polls, the opposition had alleged that AAP has links with separatists. (ANI)

A bench of acting chief justice Vipin Sanghi and Navin Chawla dismissed the petition and asked the counsel for the petitioner, Congress leader Jagdish Sharma, to not file such petitions.

Kejriwal on Tuesday tweeted that after the people of Punjab, the high court has also rejected the allegations of his party’s links with separatists. “First the people responded to those who called me a terrorist (verdict in Punjab polls), and now the court has also given them its reply”, Kejriwal tweeted.

The plea had sought an investigation into the allegations that AAP and its national convener Kejriwal have links with a banned Khalistani organisation named Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), and have received funds from it as well.

The petition has also sought suspension of AAP’s recognition, and a ban on it from contesting any elections till the inquiry is complete. It has referred to a letter written by former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjeet Singh Channi levelling the same allegations and Kumar Vishwas’ statement on the same lines.

Advocate Rudra V Singh, who appeared for the petitioner, said that despite this assurance and despite the Prime Minister expressing his concerns on the issue, no action has been taken on the letter as yet.

“That before the few days of election the speculation of funding by these separatist groups to Aam Aadmi Party and connection of these groups to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal turned into reality when his close ally, friend and founding member of AAP Kumar Vishwas announced the connection of Kejriwal with these separatist groups,” the petition said.

It said that considering the seriousness of the letter, Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrote to Channi assuring him of thorough investigation, however, no enquiry has been initiated by the union government.