NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Centre and Delhi Lieutenant Governor over the delay in taking a decision on government formation in Delhi. The Centre, meanwhile informed the a five-judge apex court Bench, headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, that the President had accepted Lieutenant General’s proposal to invite the BJP to form the government in Delhi.
The court said that in a democracy President’s Rule cannot go on forever and questioned why the authorities had failed to act expeditiously.
The Bench also asked why the Centre always comes out with one statement or another just a day before the matter is taken up for hearing by it. “Just before a matter is taken up for hearing, you make a statement. Why was it not decided earlier? How long can you go on like this?” the Bench asked and added that the L-G should have taken the decision at the earliest.
“We can’t shrug our responsibility and we will hear the case on merit,” the Bench said, adding, “in a democratic polity people have right to have government and not to be ruled by a governor.”
Referring to the President’s letter, which was placed before the Bench, the apex court said “this exercise should have been done much earlier”. The court will now hear the petition filed by AAP seeking dissolution of the Assembly. During the hearing, the AAP had urged the court to order immediate poll in Delhi as there was no justification to continue with President’s rule anymore.
During the last hearing, the Centre had told the apex court that its stand on government formation in Delhi will only be known after Diwali as the LG’s proposal to the President seeking his response on inviting the BJP was still under consideration.