NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with the Centre’s decision to grant a six-month extension to Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, who was scheduled to retire on Thursday. The Central government has the power to appoint the chief secretary of the Delhi government, the SC in its order held.The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, replaced the contentious Delhi ordinance on the control of services in the national capital.
The three-judge bench, headed by CJI DY Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, while rejecting the plea of the Delhi government to restrain the Centre from extending Kumar’s term as the chief secretary, said, “We conclude that at this stage, bearing in mind the judgment of this court and subsequent developments, the decision of the Union government to extend the services of the chief secretary for 6 months cannot be construed to be violative of the law.”
The bench passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by the Delhi government against the Centre for appointing a chief secretary or extending the term of the incumbent without consultation with it.The top court also stated that, in relation to the chief secretary appointed to states, rule 16 allows for an extension with the prior approval of the state government. This provision is made concerning the role of the state government where the chief secretary performs functions related to the states.“The position for Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is different as the chief secretary performs executive functions,” the top court said in its order.