[Delhi govt v. Lt. Governor] Supreme Court reserves verdict on control over services/ IAS officers; mulls reference to larger Bench

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict in the the legal dispute between the Delhi Government and the Central Government regarding control over administrative services in the national capital..A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said that it would consider the Central government's request to refer the matter to a 5-judge Constitution Bench.The Bench emphasised that if it does refer the matter to a 5-judge Bench, the arguments on the matter should be concluded by May 15, so that the judges can utilise the court's vacation period to deliver the judgement. .At the hearing today, Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, opposed the request of referral and pointed out that the Central Government had already sought adjournment in the matter several times."Existence of a substantial question of law does not weigh on stakes of the case. Here there is a constitution bench judgment already. There has been 6 requests for adjournment and now they want ref to larger bench", Singhvi said. However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Government, pressed the court to consider the referral request, drawing attention to the fact that it had done so previously, such as in the Sabarimala case. .The Delhi government's case is that the elected government of Delhi has been excluded by the Central government from exercising any administrative control over the important bureaucrats and officers and that the officers are continuing to act on the orders of the Centre through the Lieutenant Governor (LG).The Supreme Court had on April 14, 2019, pronounced its verdict on various individual aspects relating to the tussle between the Delhi government and the LG.However, the two judges on the Bench - Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan - had differed on the issue of 'services' under Schedule VII, List II, Entry 41 of the Constitution of IndiaThe issue considered by the Court was whether the exclusion of “services” relatable to Entry 41 of List II of the Seventh Schedule from the legislative and executive domain of the NCT of Delhi, vide a notification of the Government of India dated May 21, 2015, is unconstitutional and illegal.Since the judges on the Bench differed, that aspect was referred to a larger Bench..Before that, in 2018, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had interpreted Article 239AA of the Constitution, which contains special provisions with respect to the National Capital Territory. The peculiar status of the NCT and the powers of the Delhi Legislative Assembly and the LG and their interplay were debated in the case.The Court in that judgment had ruled that the LG cannot act independently without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, and has to work harmoniously with the NCT government.The appeals relating to individual aspects including services were then placed before a regular Bench for adjudication based on the Constitution Bench judgment.The 2019 judgment was delivered by the regular Bench pursuant to that, but the issue of 'services' remained unaddressed due to the difference in opinion between the two judges.

[Delhi govt v. Lt. Governor] Supreme Court reserves verdict on control over services/ IAS officers; mulls reference to larger Bench

Debayan Roy

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