The Election Commission has rejected a plea of 21 AAP MLAs, facing prospects of disqualification for allegedly holding office of profit, to get hard copies of response filed by the Delhi government on the issue, saying it is “not under any obligation” to do so.

The poll panel also made it clear that the legislators will have to respond by October 17 on a plea seeking their disqualification failing which the Commission will “presume” that they have “nothing to say in the matter” and decide accordingly.

The Delhi government had earlier submitted documents before the commission in this case. On September 8, the Delhi high court had set aside the appointment of 21 party MLAs as parliamentary secretaries. The court had said the order to appoint them as parliamentary secretaries was given without the concurrence of lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung.

In the last hearing on September 23, the MLAs had sought time to study the high court judgment that set aside their appointment. On October 7, the AAP MLAs were to file a response, but again had asked for an extension. In a notice, the poll panel said to the MLAs: “It may be noted that if no reply is received by aforesaid date (October 17), it will be presumed that you have nothing to say and the commission will take appropriate action without any further reference to you. It may also be noted that your (AAP legislators) reply should be supported by duly sworn affidavit and should be filed with five spare copies.”

The petition to disqualify AAP MLAs was filed by advocate Prashant Patel, who has termed the legislators’ move a “ploy” to delay the proceedings. The commission has also asked Mr Patel to submit his rejoinder to the AAP MLAs response by October 21. Earlier, the government had told the poll panel that legislator Adarsh Shastri, who was appointed as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of information-technology, was paid '15,479 for attending a conference session on Empowering Digital India with effect from November 5 to November 6, 2015.

The government told the EC that five legislators who had been nominated in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation were to get '300 per meeting as per the DMC Act, 1957, with the ceiling of '3,000. The government, however, made it clear that no payment was made to any of these MLAs. Same was the case with five MLAs nominated to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation. Quoting the finance department, the government said that the Sindhi Academy under the Department of Art, Culture and Language had provided two small rooms in the Old CPO building to MLA Alka Lamba to operate her office. The renovation of the two rooms was reportedly done by the PWD. Both electricity and water bills of the room are to be paid by the Department of Art and Culture. After coming to power in February 2015, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s government had appointed 21 party legislators as parliamentary secretaries, saying this would facilitate smooth functioning of the government.