NEW DELHI: Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu has authorised key revenue and administrative officers to exercise executive magistrate powers in the reorganised districts of the city, officials said.
The powers will be conferred upon district magistrates, additional district magistrates, revenue assistants, tehsildars and consolidation officers within their respective reorganised jurisdictions, Lok Niwas officials said. The decision was made in accordance with Section 14 of the BNSS, which replaced the erstwhile CrPC, empowering the state government to appoint executive magistrates, DM/ADM designates, and place magistrates in charge of subdivisions.
According to a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notification dated June 28, 2024, the powers and functions of the state government under the BNSS (except Section 523) stand delegated to the lieutenant governor of Delhi. The districts in Delhi were reorganised through a notification issued by the revenue department on December 25, 2025, after which a formal conferment of these magisterial powers became imperative to ensure seamless administrative governance, maintenance of law and order, and public service delivery across the newly structured districts, the officials said.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Home Minister Ashish Sood had approved the proposal before recommending it to the L-G. With the L-G’s formal assent, the government will now issue an official notification under Section 14 of the BNSS, the officials said. After the reorganisation process, the number of districts in the National Capital Territory of Delhi rose from 11 to 13.
