Yogendra Yadav has continued to air his objections over the show cause notice issued to him and other AAP rebels on social media, calling it a joke. AAP on Friday had issued show-cause notices to rebel leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav for for alleged anti-party activities, taking final steps towards their expulsion, even as Yadav questioned the move saying it was against the principle of natural justice.

AAP spokesperson Deepak Bajpai said separate notices have been issued to Yadav, Bhushan, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha, detailing out a list of charges against them, backed with "evidence". "They have been asked to respond to it in two days. We have mailed them as well as given a copy by hand," Bajpai said.

The party had earlier referred their cases to the National Disciplinary Committee, after the leaders organised a 'Swaraj Samvad' programme. Questioning the move, Yadav said the move was against the principle of natural justice as those who had levelled allegations against them were part of disciplinary committee.

Yadav had raised eyebrows over the timing of the news of the show cause notice as he claimed the national disciplinary committee chairman Dinesh Waghela had said that the matter was had not been taken up then, and also Yadav himself had not received the notice then. He questioned why the news of the notice itself was leaked to media when the notice accuses him of leaking sensitive information to them.

He also objected to it saying some of the members of the Committee who will be hearing the matter had earlier complained against him and Prashant Bhushan.

A joke----------It is afternoon. TV channels quote a party leader (who is not a member of the Disciplinary Committee)... Yogendra Yadav on Friday, April 17, 2015

Got the Show Cause Notice from Disciplinary committee at midnight. The complainants and witnesses are themselves judges! #WhatAJoke — Yogendra Yadav (@AapYogendra) April 18, 2015

Its funny. 'Sources' leaked content of my Show Cause Notice even before I received it. The Notice charges me with leaking news! #WhatAJoke — Yogendra Yadav (@AapYogendra) April 18, 2015

Judgment before trial? 2/3 members of Disciplinary Comt have already publicly supported charges against me in the Show Cause! #WhatAJoke — Yogendra Yadav (@AapYogendra) April 18, 2015

Justice on conference call? Waghela confirms to media that his commt did'nt have face-to-face meeting before issuing Show Cause. #WhatAJoke — Yogendra Yadav (@AapYogendra) April 18, 2015

Yadav had claimed that in a telephonic conversation on Friday that national disciplinary committee chairman Dinesh Waghela had told him that the panel is yet to take up the matter. "I am surprised that a person (Ashutosh) who is not a member of the committee is issuing the statement. Yesterday, I called Dinesh Waghela, who is the chairman of the national disciplinary committee. I made him a formal call and asked him about the status of the inquiry against us. He said he is in Goa and there is still no reference of the committee yet. So till yesterday there was no meeting on this.

"I also conveyed to him that this was against the principle of natural justice as two members of the disciplinary committee had levelled allegations against him and Bhushan," Yadav said. He was referring to party's national secretary Pankaj Gupta and Delhi unit leader Ashish Khetan.

Yadav said, "If a judge is directly or even indirectly related to a case, then he rescues himself from that particular case. How can a complainant itself be a judge?" Bhushan, Yadav, Kumar and Jha were dropped from top panels of the party at the National Council meeting last month. On Wednesday, the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) referred their case to the national disciplinary committee.

With agency inputs