SC declines urgent hearing on Delhi govt’s plea against GNCTD Act

The new law makes it mandatory for the Delhi government to seek the opinion of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) before taking any executive action. The Arvind Kejriwal government has challenged the amended law in the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a plea by the Delhi government to urgently hear its challenge to the new law for the National Capital Territory (NCT) that gives primacy to the Lieutenant Governor in several executive and legislative matters.

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. (HT Photo )

“Yesterday also Delhi government was mentioning a matter for urgent listing. Today also it is happening. Do we have to hear the Delhi government every day? We will see,” Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana told senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented the Delhi government.

Singhvi tried to persuade the bench that the CJI on September 13 entertained his plea to list the case, but the matter has still not come up for hearing. The senior counsel also sought to distinguish between the different cases filed by the Delhi government.

“This is the petition on the Government of National Capital Territory (Amendment) Act, 2021, (or GNCT Act) which is contrary to the constitution bench judgement of the Supreme Court. We are saying it is against Article 239A (which deals with the status of Delhi) under the Constitution,” submitted Singhvi.

Justice Ramana, however, did not accept the request to specify a hearing date.

A day ago, the Delhi government sought a hearing of its plea to settle the contentious issue of who should control administrative services and bureaucrats in Delhi after the split verdict of two judges in February 2019. The CJI agreed to list this matter after the Diwali break.

Earlier, on September 13, Singhvi mentioned the petition regarding the 2021 GNCT Act, arguing that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s plea should be listed urgently, as it was cleared by the apex court’s registry on August 19.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passed the GNCT Amendment Act in March. After the Parliament approved the bill, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal termed it a “sad day for Indian democracy”.

The amended Act has changed four provisions of the National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991. The new law makes it mandatory for the Delhi government to seek the opinion of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) before taking any executive action in pursuance of decisions by the council of ministers, or any other decision under any law in force in the Capital.

Another contentious amendment seeks to invalidate retrospectively rules made by the legislative assembly of Delhi or committees/house panels to consider the matters of “day-to-day administration of the Capital” or conduct inquiries in relation to the administrative decisions.

The Delhi government, in its petition before the top court, has maintained that the 2021 law is contrary to two judgments by the Supreme Court: a Constitution bench verdict on July 4, 2018 and a two-judge bench decision on February 14, 2019.

The Kejriwal-government, in its petition, has told the Supreme Court that the new law is unconstitutional because it has in effect “disenfranchised” the people of Delhi by taking away power from their elected representatives, striking at the root of representative democracy and violating the law-making power of Delhi assembly, recognised under Constitution and decisions of the Supreme Court.

“The Amendment Act, by giving LG overriding powers over the Delhi legislature and the executive, strikes at the root of representative democracy giving LG the power to veto the will of the people of Delhi…from expressing their sovereign will through their elected representatives,” said the petition, filed through advocate Shadan Farasat.