NEW DELHI: The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) approached the Supreme Court to challenge the recently- brought ordinance by the Central Government to take away from GNCTD the powers to control civil servants that serve it.
The Delhi govt’s writ petition seeks to challenge the Government of National Capital Territory (Amendment) Ordinance 2023, which was promulgated by Presidential assent on May 19. The Ordinance has the result of depriving the Delhi Government’s power over "services".
The petition sought to point out that the Ordinance was brought out a week after a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court pronounced that the Delhi Government has powers over administrative services in the national capital. Through the Ordinance, it has become apparent that the Central Government has overturned the Supreme Court's verdict.
The GNCTD ordinance extended powers to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor the power to transfer and appoint bureaucrats posted to Delhi.
The Ordinance is challenged as violating the scheme of federal, democratic governance, in fact, negating the principle of federalism and the primacy of the elected government.
Although the Ordinance seeks to pronounce that a committee comprising the Chief Minister and two senior bureaucrats is to make recommendations to the Lieutenant Governor regarding transfer and postings of civil servants, 'sole discretion' will be used by the LG in taking a decision.
"The Impugned Ordinance, thus, completely sidelines the elected Government, i.e. the GNCTD, from control over its civil service", the Delhi Government states, while asserting that a similar end was contemplated by the Central Government through its 2015 notification, which was pronounced to be invalid by the Supreme Court. The same position, ruled to be unconstitutional by the apex court, is sought to be restored through the Ordinance.
It is also underlined that Article 239AA gave the Delhi Government powers over all matters in the state list except three specified subjects - law and order, police and land. The Ordinance, however, wants to add the subject of "services" to the exempted categories, without the help of a Constitutional amendment.
The Ordinance is also being challenged on the ground of promoting arbitrariness, as it seeks to make governance impossible by taking away the control over services.
The Delhi Government further argues that the Ordinance is an example of abuse of powers under Article 123 of the Constitution.
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