In a major setback to the AAP Government, the Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted the Centre to extend the tenure of Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, a day before he was set to demit office on November 30, for six months, holding that the Union Government’s decision did not violate law or the Constitution.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra held, prima facie, the Centre has the power to appoint and extend the tenure of the Chief Secretary of the national capital territory of Delhi as the officer deals with the entire administration including police, public order and land, which fall beyond the legislative and executive powers of the Delhi Government.
“We come to the conclusion that at this stage, bearing in mind the provisions of the judgment of this court in Constitution Bench 2 (2023 judgment on Centre-Delhi government services row) and the subsequent developments which have taken place resulting in the enactment of the amendment to the GNCTD Act 1991, the decision of the Union Government to extend the services of the incumbent chief secretary for a period of six months cannot be construed to be violative of law or the constitutional distribution of powers between the Union and the government of the GNCTD,” the bench said.
The bid to extend the tenure of the present chief secretary is the latest bone of contention between the Arvind Kejriwal Government and Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena, who have been involved in a series of run-ins over various issues.
Significantly, the current chief secretary, whose tenure will now be extended, is reportedly not on good terms with the Delhi Government owing to allegations against his son in a case related to acquisition of 19 acres by the National Highways Authority of India in 2018 for construction of the Dwarka Expressway.
“It will be farfetched to postulate that the central government is divested of the power to appoint the chief secretary. We clarify that this is on the basis of a prima facie evaluation,” the bench said.
