The Delhi Government on Friday rejected the Delhi Police's proposal to set up a panel of public prosecutors to argue cases related to violence during a tractor rally by farmers on January 26, saying that only a panel of lawyers selected by the AAP Government will act as the public prosecutor in court.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on twitter, “It is the duty of every Indian to support the farmers of the country. We have not done any favour, have fulfilled our duty towards the farmers of the country. Farmers are not criminals or terrorists. They are our annadata.”
However, sources said that Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal is likely to invoke special powers granted to him under the Constitution and approve the panel of lawyers chosen by the Delhi Police.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the Centre has tried to reject the panel of lawyers decided by the Delhi Government through the L-G in the past but the Delhi Cabinet has decided that only the lawyers’ panel selected by the Delhi Government will appear in the court.
Sisodia said, “It is absolutely unfortunate that the Centre is acting as a constant roadblock in every good step that the Delhi Government takes.
“I want to point out that the appointment of lawyers is a transfer subject which means that the elected Government has the right to choose which lawyer to appoint as per the Constitution,” he said.
Citing the judgment of the Supreme Court bench with regard to powers of the Delhi Government, Sisodia said, “The Constitutional bench of five senior most lawyers set up by the apex court passed a decision on July 4, 2018 saying that it is not the L-G but the Delhi Government which has the right and responsibility of making decisions with regard to transfer subjects.
Sisodia also alleged that the L-G has been using the veto power even in routine matters, terming it as a "murder of democracy" and violation of the Supreme Court’s orders.
After his Cabinet’s decision to reject the Delhi Police''s panel of lawyers, Kerjiwal said it is the duty of every citizen of India to support farmers and that the Delhi Government has not done any favour to them. "We have only done our duty towards the farmers of the nation. A farmer is not a criminal or a terrorist, but our ''annadata''," he tweeted.
Sisodia also claimed that it is very unfortunate that the BJP-led Central Government has been interfering in the functioning of the AAP dispensation through the L-G.
“The L-G has a veto power as per the constitution to give opinions and advice but it does not have the right to declare what the government can do. The Supreme Court Bench has explained at length that this ‘veto power’ given to L-G is only for the rarest of the rare cases which means that L-G can only intervene in a situation of emergency not in the daily functions of the government,” he said.