The power tussle between the Delhi Government and the Centre over the Capital’s administration came to the fore in the Supreme Court on Friday. A battery of senior lawyers appearing for the Arvind Kejriwal Government clashed with Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to convince the court that the administrative functioning of Delhi as the National Capital Territory required elaborate consideration, preferably by a Constitution Bench.
led by senior advocates KK Venugopal, PP Rao, Gopal Subramanium and Indira Jaising, the Aam Aadmi Party Government contended that the lieutenant-Governor, acting as representative of the Centre, could not render an elected Government redundant or powerless.
Issuing notice on a batch of six appeals filed by the Delhi Government challenging an August 4 order of Delhi High Court, the apex bench of Justices AK Sikri and NV Ramana ordered the Centre to respond to the appeals and fixed the matter for hearing on November 15. The SC, however, refused to stay the High Court order.
The Centre, however, was not in favour of entertaining the appeals. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi pointed out three deficiencies that should lead to the dismissal of the appeals at the threshold.
Firstly, the appeal by the Delhi Government was filed and sworn by Deputy Chief Minister, who is not authorised under Rules of Business to do so. It has to be done by a Secretary or the official heading the department, the A-G submitted.
Secondly, the deponent (Deputy Chief Minister) had stated that the contents of the petition were true to his knowledge and information, when only either can exist.
Thirdly, the appeal was not maintainable as it did contain the l-G’s consent.
The Delhi Government rebutted the Centre’s objections by referring to a series of recent orders issued by the l-G starting from launching an investigation into all decisions taken by the Delhi Government. Even the list of law officers appointed by the Delhi Government was struck down by the l-G on ground that it was done so without his prior approval.
The Kejriwal Government also sought a stay on HC verdict claiming no officer was willing to sign any paper or heed to any instruction from the Ministers in the Delhi Government. This situation had forced the Deputy Chief Minister to file the petition in his name, the counsels submitted.
The bench declined to stay the High court decision but kept the question open on referring the appeals to a Constitution Bench. The A-G argued that the moot question whether Delhi is a Union Territory or special category State has already been decided by a nine-judge bench in the NDMC case of 1996. But the Bench remarked, “Had that been the only issue, it would have been settled but there is more to it.”