In a landmark verdict next year, the top court said the elected government of Delhi is the boss. (File)
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict today on who controls the administrative services in Delhi – a question that led to years of tussle between the Arvind Kejriwal government and the Lieutenant Governor.
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A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has been considering whether the Central government or the Delhi government has administrative control over transfers and postings of civil servants in the national capital.
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The case has its roots in 2018, when the Arvind Kejriwal government had gone to court, arguing that its decisions were constantly being over-ridden by the Lieutenant Governor, who acts as the Centre’s representative in Delhi.
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Bureaucrats’ appointments were cancelled, files were not cleared, and basic decision-making was obstructed, the Delhi government had told the court.
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In a landmark verdict next year, the top court said the elected government of Delhi is the boss. The court made it clear that except for issues linked to land, police and public order, the Lieutenant Governor has “no independent decision-making powers” under the Constitution.
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The Lieutenant Governor, the court said, has to act on the aid and advice of the elected government and cannot function as “an obstructionist”. “There is no room for absolutism and there is no room for anarchism also,” the judges added.
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Later, a regular bench took a call on the appeals relating to individual aspects including services. The Delhi government, however, appealed, citing the bench had delivered a split verdict. A three-judge bench then referred the matter to the Constitution Bench on the Centre’s request.
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During the hearing by the Constitution Bench in January, when the Centre had argued that the “very purpose” having a UT was that the “Union wants to administer the territory,” the court questioned in that case, what was the purpose of having an elected government in Delhi.
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Just before the Constitution Bench reserved its judgment, the Centre had sought a hearing before a larger bench. The Chief Justice said such a request should have been made at the beginning and had it been done, it would have looked at the matter differently.
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The administration of Delhi has been marred by power struggle between the Centre and the Delhi government since Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party came to power in 2014.
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Transfers and appointments of officials was one of the first flashpoints between Mr Kejriwal’s government and the Lieutenant Governor. Mr Kejriwal frequently complained that he could not appoint even a “peon” or transfer an officer. Bureaucrats didn’t obey his government’s orders as their cadre controlling authority was the Home Ministry, he also said.
