The Supreme Court has said that the Delhi government has control over all other services except public order, police and land.
New Delhi:
In a major victory for the AAP government, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in a unanimous verdict that the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over public order, police and services except land.
Stating that an elected government needed to exercise control over the administration, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said that the Union Territory of Delhi has a “sui generis (unique) character” and 2019 refused to agree with the judgement. Justice Ashok Bhushan’s bench said that the Delhi government has no power on the issue of services.
The apex court, in its judgment on the contentious issue of administrative control over services, said, “Further expansion of the power of the Union would be contrary to the constitutional scheme…Delhi is like other states and has a representative form of government.” Central and Delhi Govt.
“The Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi…has legislative and executive powers over public order, police and services without land,” said the bench, also comprising Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha were involved.
The primacy of the Center in administrative issues would abrogate the federal system and the principle of representative democracy, saying that if the ‘services’ were kept out of the legislative and executive domain, ministers would be kept out of controlling civil servants.
Reading out the judgment to a packed courtroom, the CJI said that democracy and federalism are part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
The order also states that the principle of collective responsibility is affected if officials stop reporting to ministers, and that in a democratic form of governance, the real power of administration should rest with the elected branch of government.
The bench said that the power of the Central Government in matters where both the Center and the States can legislate is limited to ensure that governance is not taken over by the Central Government.
The Constitution Bench was set up to hear a legal issue relating to the scope of legislative and executive powers of the Center and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi on regulation of services in Delhi after the Union Home Ministry issued a notification in 2015, which stated It had control over the services in Delhi. This notification was challenged by the Arvind Kejriwal government in the Delhi High Court.
The Supreme Court bench had on January 18 reserved its order after hearing arguments by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for the Center and the Delhi government respectively, for nearly four-and-a-half days.
The apex court had on May 6 last year referred the issue of regulation of services in Delhi to a five-judge constitution bench.
The petition filed by the Delhi government stems from a split judgment dated February 14, 2019, in which a two-judge bench of justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, both now retired, had recommended to the CJI that a three-judge bench The bench constituted to finally decide the issue of control of services in the national capital.
Justice Bhushan had ruled that the Delhi government had no power over administrative services, while Justice Sikri had made a distinction.
He had said that transfer or posting of officers in top bureaucratic posts (Joint Director and above) can only be done by the Center and the Lt Governor’s view will prevail in case of difference of opinion on matters relating to other bureaucrats.
In a 2018 judgement, a five-judge constitution bench had unanimously held that the Delhi LG is bound to aid and advise the elected government, and the two need to work in tandem with each other.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)