Expressing satisfaction over the judgement given by the Madras High Court on the powers of Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi vis-a-vis the elected government, Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Thursday said the court in its order has upheld the spirit of the Constitution and addressed most of the concerns raised by him about the style of functioning of Ms Bedi.
“We are satisfied with the judgement as it upholds the spirit of the Constitution, Union Territories Act and Business rules which govern Puducherry. We have been telling that everyone has to function within the framework of rules. The government’s view has been upheld,” he said addressing a press conference along with his Parliamentary secretary K. Lakshminarayanan.
Mr. Narayanasamy said he had time and again stated that the Lt Governor has no independent powers and she cannot give directions on her own without the knowledge of the concerned Ministers. “These concerns have been addressed by the court,” he said.
The court in its judgement has clearly stated that “the popularly elected Government of Puducherry no doubt represents the will of the people and the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers is binding on the administrator(L-G),” he said quoting the relevant observations made by the judges in the order.
The court has observed that “the will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government and to protect its free expression should be our first object,” Mr Narayanasamy said.
The court had also referred to the Supreme Court judgement in Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Vs Lt Governor of the national capital to underscore the need to respect “well-deliberated” decisions of the Council of Ministers by the Lt Governor.
The government had always maintained its stand that the Lt Governor could not outrightly reject cabinet decisions or direct the officials to act according to her directions on a policy matter. The issue has now been settled with the Court mandating the Lt Governor to refer the matter to Central government.
The two-bench judge had observed that “the administrator cannot on his own outright reject a proposal or direct the authorities to act otherwise.” As per the order, the Lt Governor can “differ and refer,” the matter to the Central government in case of any dispute on policy matters, the Chief Minister said.
Again quoting the judgement, the Chief Minister said the Secretaries are bound to submit papers to the administrator after getting the approval of the Chief Minister. “This again was another bone of contention. We have been opposing attempts by the Lt Governor to bypass the Ministers. Now, with the court’s intervention it is not possible,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the court on Wednesday had set aside a single bench order restricting the powers of Lt Governor only subject to the observations made by the judges.
“We have no intention to work independently or in collision with the Lt Governor. We have been insisting on everyone working within the boundaries of rules. Now any violation will be treated as contempt of court,” he said.
Mr Narayanasamy said he would compile all the relevant portions of the judgement and issue a standing order so that the officials work as per the laid down procedures.