NEW DELHI: In a major setback for the Delhi government, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) is not required to act according to the aid and advice of the elected Delhi government.
"The Delhi Lieutenant Governor has the statutory power to nominate members to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) and can exercise this power at his discretion, not based on the aid and advice of the Delhi government," the three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, stated.
The ruling effectively means that the LG has the authority to appoint the 10 aldermen to the MCD independently.
The bench, which also included Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala, noted that Parliament has conferred statutory power on the LG to nominate 10 aldermen to the MCD.
Justice Narasimha, who authored the verdict, emphasized that once such power is granted to the LG, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government does not have jurisdiction over this matter.
The Supreme Court’s decision also reaffirmed its previous stance in the Delhi versus Union case, asserting that Parliament has the authority to legislate on matters related to the state and concurrent lists in Delhi, thereby limiting the jurisdiction of the elected government.
The verdict, which had been pending since May of the previous year, addressed a plea filed by the AAP government challenging the LG's decision to appoint 10 aldermen to the MCD without consulting the state cabinet.
The AAP-led Delhi government had argued that allowing the LG to nominate aldermen without the aid and advice of the elected government could destabilize the civic body. It is worth noting that the MCD comprises 250 elected and 10 nominated members.
In its plea, the Delhi government contended that this is the first instance since Article 239AA of the Constitution came into effect in 1991 that the LG has made such nominations while bypassing the elected government. Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the AAP government, argued that the LG should either accept the names recommended by the elected government or refer the matter to the President for further consideration.
Singhvi highlighted that for the past 30 years, the practice has been for the LG to nominate aldermen based on the aid and advice of the city government. He noted that the file pertaining to MCD nominations typically comes directly to the LG's office as the administrator, but the LG did not adhere to the principle of aid and advice from the state cabinet in this instance.