Supreme Court to pronounce verdict on AAP-Centre tussle over Delhi’s administrative control
The Delhi government has challenged a High Court judgement declaring the lieutenant governor the sole administrator.
A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is set to pronounce its verdict on the Delhi government’s legal battle with the Centre over administrative control and governance of the national Capital at 10.30 am on Wednesday, the Hindustan Times reported.
On December 6, the court reserved its verdict on appeals that the Aam Aadmi Party-led government filed in 2016 against a Delhi High Court judgement declaring the lieutenant governor the sole administrator of the region. The Centre had issued a notification in May 2015, giving the lieutenant governor new powers such as control over the bureaucracy.
The AAP told the court that the lieutenant governor has paralysed its executive functions because no bureaucrat is obeying the orders of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. During the hearing, the top court asked the counsels arguing for the two sides if the division of executive powers between the Centre and states apply to Delhi.
In February, the AAP government told the top court it was not seeking full statehood but instead wanted more administrative powers. The Delhi Assembly, however, adopted a resolution calling for full statehood during a special session on June 10. On Sunday, the ruling party launched a campaign for full statehood, saying the state government should be consulted before a lieutenant governor is appointed.
The Supreme Court said during the course of the hearings that though the lieutenant governor has the power to block the state government’s decisions, such disagreements must not be trivial or contrived. It asked the lieutenant governor to refer decisions to the president of India in case of disagreements with the government.