Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (Express photo by Renuka Puri.)The Delhi government Monday moved the Supreme Court asking the judges to set up a larger bench to expeditiously decide who controls services in the national capital. The matter came before Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who said he would look into it.
In February, the apex court delivered a split judgment on the tussle between the Lieutenant Governor and the Delhi government on the regulation of services in the national capital. While it ruled that the Centre will have dominance over the Anti Corruption Branch(ACB), it could not agree on jurisdiction over ‘Services,’ following which the matter was referred to a larger bench.
Justice A K Sikri concluded that the L-G will have the power to appoint and transfer officer of or above the rank of Joint Secretary in central government while in the case of others, the file can be routed through Delhi government. Justice Ashok Bhushan, however, had a differing view.
The two judges agreed on five other issues that were considered by the bench. The executive power of the Centre over the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi is “confined to three matters”: public order, police and land.
Explained: What to make of Supreme Court verdict on Delhi vs Centre case
The Delhi government, however, has the power to appoint Directors under the Electricity Act and to revise the minimum rate of agricultural land. The power to appoint Special Public Prosecutors too will lie with the Delhi government.
Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party, which has been claiming that the absence of complete power in Delhi is hampering the government from fulfilling their promises because of interference by the L-G and the central government, had called the verdict a “disappointment.”
