Delhi Government withdraws all cases filed by AAP against Centre

The Rekha Gupta government has withdrawn all cases filed by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) administration against the Union government, the Lieutenant Governor, and several senior bureaucrats.

This follows the Supreme Court’s permission for the Delhi government to withdraw multiple cases on key administrative and policy issues, which had been a major point of contention between the former AAP regime, the Centre, the L-G’s office, and Delhi government bureaucrats.

These cases filed by the former AAP government over a period of time included the appointment of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman, control over service-related matters, implementation of Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, funding for the Delhi Jal Board, appointment of lawyers in the Delhi riot cases, and the constitution of a high-level committee on Yamuna River pollution. When the AAP was in power, the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governors - Najeeb Jung, Anil Baijal, and Vinai Kumar Saxena - frequently clashed over one issue or the other and several of these disagreements made their way to the courts. The AAP government, led by Arvind Kejriwal and then Aatishi, complained that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) was deliberately hampering the implementation of its policies. The LG, on the other hand, accused the AAP of not cooperating with him. The tussle with the LG is seen as one of the factors that led to the AAP’s rout in last month’s Delhi elections.

According to the officials, the law department of the Delhi government began the withdrawal process for these cases shortly after the BJP assumed power following the Assembly elections in February 2025.

Continuing with these cases posed legal challenges, as it would have been difficult for the BJP, which governs Delhi, to pursue cases against its own government at the Centre and its appointed L-G. Additionally, persisting with the cases would have wasted government resources without producing any benefits, an officer stated.

In May 2025, the Supreme Court allowed the Delhi government to withdraw seven cases filed against the L-G. During the same month, the Delhi High Court also permitted the government to withdraw its petition challenging the L-G’s decision to appoint lawyers to argue cases related to the farmers’ protest and the 2020 Delhi riots.

An internal proposal moved by the law department stated that such litigation caused “hardship” to the bureaucracy and resulted in “administrative paralysis,” delaying policy decisions and execution of projects.

The withdrawn cases also included one concerning the 2023 ordinance promulgated by the president, which amended the GNCTD Act of 1991, the interpretation of Section 45D of the Act, appointments to the DERC, cessation of funding, and issues related to the alderman case pending before the Supreme Court. Officials noted that the L-G Secretariat had approved the proposal to withdraw these cases. The AAP and the LG were at loggerheads over the appointment of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission chairman because the party believed that letting the Centre control the body could lead to the power subsidy scheme — which was very popular among voters — being ended. In 2020, then LG Anil Baijal was accused by the AAP of interfering in the appointment of public prosecutors to argue cases linked to the Northeast-Delhi riot cases. Furthermore, the Health Department submitted applications to withdraw cases filed by former minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.

There were approximately eight to nine such cases filed by former AAP ministers, officials said.