The Delhi High Court has refused to vacate the stay granted on an appeal made by the Government of Delhi, challenging the Single-Bench order of July 22, 2021, which directed the state government to implement the promises made to pay rents of poor tenants by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
A Division Bench of Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad on Tuesday rejected the application, which claimed that the landlord was forcing tenants to pay all previous dues or vacate the premises.
The Counsel appearing for the tenants urged the court to issue directions regarding formulation of a policy.
However, the Court said that it cannot “force” the Chief Minister to fulfill his poll promise, as the Election manifesto contains many things, all of which are not always fulfilled.
The Court also noted that the petitioner-tenants had previously moved and challenged the stay order before the Supreme Court, which was denied.
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) had challenged an order issued by the Single-Judge Bench of Justice Pratibha M. Singh in July last year, stating that good governance necessitates keeping promises made to citizens.
Justice Singh had observed that a promise or assurance given by the State’s Chief Minister amounts to an enforceable promise, the implementation of which should be considered by the Government, and good governance requires that promises made to citizens by those who govern are not broken without valid and justifiable reasons.
She had directed the fulfillment of promise made by CM Kejriwal during the Covid-19 pandemic. The order was passed in response to the petitions filed by four daily wagers, who claimed that they were tenants and unable to pay their monthly rent.
The fifth petitioner in the case said he was a landlord, who has not been able to collect monthly rent from the tenant.
The petitioners sought recovery/payment/ refund of the monthly rental amount, as promised by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, during a press conference on March 20, 2020.
The Chief Minister had requested all landlords to postpone the demand/ collection of rent from poor and poverty-stricken tenants in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic.
He had also promised that if any tenant was unable to pay the rent due to poverty, the government will pay the rent on their behalf. As per the petitioners, the government gave a solemn assurance that it would look after the tenants.
The Single-Bench had stated in its order that promises made by the Government, its officials, and other authorities were not made to be broken and were also judicially enforceable, subject to certain conditions.
The Single-Judge had ordered the Delhi government to implement the promise made by Kejriwal on March 20, 2020, within six weeks.