The Supreme Court on May 17 said that holding the power to nominate aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) may arm the Lieutenant Governor with muscle to destabilise a democratically-elected local body.
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A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud reserved a petition filed by the Aam Aadmi Party challenging notifications which give the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) authority to use his own discretion to appoint 10 aldermen to the MCD without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.
Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for the petitioner, said that such notifications went against the practice of the past 30 years. “So what has changed now? The practice followed was that the L-G never appointed aldermen without the aid and advice of the Ministers,” Mr. Singhvi said.
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Appearing for the L-G, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain said that there was a clear difference in the powers of the L-G under Article 239AA of the Constitution and his role as an Administrator of the national capital, and argued that he had an active role in the nomination of aldermen as per the law.
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“There is yet another way of viewing this… By giving this power to the L-G, he can effectively destabilise the democratically-elected MCD. They will have voting power,” the court noted.
The Supreme Court had recently clarified that the L-G did not have sweeping executive powers in the national capital, where a unique “asymmetric federal model” of governance was in existence.
The court had made it clear that the L-G could only use his discretion to exercise executive power in three specific areas — public order, police and land in Delhi — as mentioned in Article 239AA(3)(a). The court had held that if the L-G had differences with the Council of Ministers of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, he should act in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Transaction of Business Rules.