The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would consider setting up a Constitution Bench soon for hearing appeals filed by the Delhi government against the High Court judgment holding Lieutenant Governor as the administrative head of Delhi. “We will see whether it will come up before or after the summer vacation,” Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar told senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, representing the Delhi government.
Recently, a two-judge Bench had referred to a Constitution Bench a series of appeals filed by the Delhi government for laying down the law on whether the Lieutenant Governor can unilaterally administer the National Capital without being bound by the “aid and advice” of the elected government.
Several questions
A Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and R.K. Agrawal had said there were several questions of law that need to be interpreted and settled by a Constitution Bench.
Justice Sikri’s Bench had heard the appeals, which were filed in August 2016, on a preliminary basis to decide whether the matter deserves to be referred to a larger Bench.
The two-judge Bench had however refrained from framing questions for the Constitution Bench to hear on.
Seven SLPs
The batch of seven special leave petitions filed by the Delhi government has challenged the Delhi High Court’s August 4 judgment which upheld the Lieutenant Governor’s power not only over the police, land and public order but also in “services.”
The judgment had effectively shrunk the Kejriwal Cabinet’s girth.
The Supreme Court had however refused to stay the High Court judgment.
