Supreme Court to hear AAP government plea on Monday

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on Monday a special leave petition filed by the Kejriwal government, which is at loggerheads with the Centre, on the jurisdiction of the Union government and the state government on various issues, including land and police.

Senior counsel Indira Jaising, appearing for the Delhi government, made a mention before a bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud and pleaded for an order to restrain the Delhi high court from pronouncing its verdict on a batch of petitions. She said only the apex court will have the powers to decide on the jurisdictional issues. The Delhi administration had come to a standstill and the issue needed to be resolved at the earliest, she added.

The CJI told the counsel that the Delhi government was free to raise the jurisdiction issue even after the high court had delivered the judgment. “Wait for the judgment. What is your problem The pendency of your SLP will not prevent the high court from delivering its judgment.” The bench, however, agreed to hear the matter on Monday. The AAP government said disputes had arisen between the state government and the Centre on various issues of the constitutional relationship and several notifications and orders passed by the government could not be given effect to. The stand of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is that the Delhi government is not a subordinate department of the ministry of home affairs and that it is answerable to the people of Delhi, and not to the MHA.

It said the extensive litigation between NCT Delhi and Union of India makes it clear that the lieutenant-governor as the delegate of the President has assumed the right to act in relation to all matters virtually taking away executive and legislative powers of the democratically-elected Government of NCT of Delhi and undermining the concept of responsible government and self-rule.

In a suit already filed, the Delhi government has challenged the delegation of powers if any to the lieutenant-governor, by the President of India, acting through the ministry of home affairs, which are vested in the NCT of Delhi by virtue of Article 239AA of the Constitution, as being ultra vires the provisions of the said Article and as being opposed to the fundamental concept of responsible government and democracy. The very object and purpose of distribution of powers between the Union of India and NCT of Delhi in Article 239AA(3) is defeated by this interpretation of the said Article and the unlawful assumption of the power by the Union of India, in purported exercise of the power to delegate powers to the lieutenant-governor. It prayed for correct interpretation of the powers of the Centre vis-à-vis the state government.