The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor has the authority to appoint members to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without the approval of the government.
Power stemmed from Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, says SC
The Court found that the power stemmed from the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, hence the Lieutenant Governor was not required to adopt the Delhi government’s suggestion. Because it is a statutory power, not an executive one, the Lieutenant Governor was required to obey the statutory mandate rather than the Delhi Government’s advise.
“It is incorrect to suggest that power in Delhi Lt Governor was semantic lottery. It is the law made by the parliament, it satisfies the discretion exercised by Lt Governor since law requires him to do so and falls under exception of article 239. It was 1993 MCD Act which first vested the power to nominate on Lt Governor and is not a relic of the past,” the court stated.
Also read: Supreme Court upholds sub-classification in SC/ST for quota
Supreme Court reserves verdict to nominate 10 alderman to MCD
A bench consisting of CJI Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice JB Pardiwala reserved its verdict on Lt Governor VK Saxena’s decision to nominate 10 aldermen to the MCD without the advice of the council of ministers on May 17, 2023.
Also read: Supreme Court upholds states’ right to impose royalty tax on mineral rights
The Supreme Court rendered a decision in response to a petition filed by the Delhi Government to have the notifications that allowed the Lieutenant Governor to appoint ten members to the MCD on his own initiative rather than with the assistance and advice of the Council of Ministers quashed.
The Delhi administration argued in its petition that the Lieutenant Governor could not bypass the elected government and appoint MCD members on his own.
