The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the Centre’s response on a plea challenging the constitutional validity of a notification issued by the Lieutenant-Governor declaring 89 rural villages as urban areas.
A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar issued notices to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the L-G and sought their replies by October 25 on the plea filed by an NGO.
The petition, filed through advocate Anil K. Aggarwal, has sought quashing of the L-G’s May 16 notification, which deemed some rural areas as urban, saying that the L-G had no jurisdiction to issue it and the move was “ultra vires” (beyond the legal power or authority) of the Constitution.
The NGO, Campaign for People Participation in Development Planning, in its plea claimed that by issuing such a notification, the L-G was stepping into the domain of the civic bodies.
“The impugned notification (of May 16) has been issued by the L-G without having power, authority and jurisdiction to do so under the Section 507 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act,” the plea said.
