The Supreme Court on Thursday stated its verdict in the dispute between Delhi and the Central government on who should control administrative services in the national capital.
The top court said that the Delhi government is selected by the electorate of Delhi and must be interpreted to further cause of representative democracy. “The principle of democracy and federalism form a part of basic structure federalism, ensures the survival of diverse interests and accommodate diverse needs,” the court noted.
The top court said, “In a democratic form of government, the real power of administration must rest with the elected government. If a democratically elected government is not given the power to control the officers, the principle of the triple chain of accountability will be redundant.”
Stating that the judgement was unanimous, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) said that they were unable to agree with Justice Ashok Bhushan in the split judgement of 2019.
A five-judge Constitution bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha had on January 18 reserved its judgement.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the Centre, and senior advocate A M Singhvi argued for the Delhi government.
On January 18, Mehta contended before the apex court that he had filed an application for reference of the matter to a larger bench. Mehta sought a reference of appeal to a larger bench of this court for a “holistic interpretation” of Article 239AA of the Constitution. Singhvi had vehemently opposed it.
In July 2018, a Constitution bench held that the executive power of the Union government in respect of NCT of Delhi is confined to land, police and public order under subsection 3 of Article 239AA.
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