Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi (File/Express Photo)The Supreme Court will hear on Thursday a plea by Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi against the Madras High Court verdict that curtailed her authority to act independently of the Union Territory’s elected government.
Bedi has sought to maintain the status quo that existed before the high court order that ruled that the Lt Governor is bound by the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers in matters which rests with the legislature of Puducherry. She has been at loggerheads with Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and his government on various administrative issues ever since she assumed office on May 29, 2016.
On April 30, the Madras High Court ruled that Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi “cannot interfere” in the day-to-day affairs of Puducherry’s elected government. Referring to the Supreme Court judgment on the tussle between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Anil Baijal, the high court also said restrictions imposed on the Government of Delhi are not applicable to the Government of Puducherry.
The court’s ruling came on a plea by K Laksminarayanan, a Congress MLA, who had alleged that Kiran Bedi was running a “parallel government” in Puducherry.
Earlier this year in February, the Supreme Court ruled on five crucial issues pertaining to a long-standing feud between the elected government of Delhi and LG Anil Baijal. The matter of appointment and transfer of bureaucrats was referred to a larger bench.
In June last year, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the AAP government, saying that decisions of the Delhi government will not require the concurrence of the Lieutenant-Governor, except in matters relating to Land, Home and Public Order.
