Office of profit: EC rejects AAP plea for witnesses' examination

New Delhi : The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday rejected the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs plea to call witnesses for examination in the office of profit case.

"No cogent reason has been given by the respondents (AAP legislators) for calling any of the witnesses as prayed in the application dated September 11, 2018," the EC said in its order.

"The documents mentioned in the application are all self-explanatory when read in conjunction with other related documents available on record...therefore there is no reason to call witnesses to give evidence of the same," it said.

"As far as proving the non-receipt of benefits is concerned, it is reiterated that it is not the actual receipt but the potential that is to be seen in an enquiry like the present matter and therefore there is again no need to call any witness to prove that no benefit was taken by the respondents by virtue of occupying the post of Parliamentary Secretaries," the order read.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had appointed 20 AAP legislators as Parliamentary Secretaries. Advocate Prashant Patel had approached the EC seeking the MLAs' disqualification on grounds of holding office of profit.