LG’s power to nominate aldermen in MCD: Supreme Court to pronounce verdict on Delhi Government’s plea on Monday
New Delhi, August 4
Almost 15 months after reserving its verdict on the Delhi Government’s petition challenging the Lt. Governor’s power to nominate aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the Supreme Court will pronounce it on Monday.
Amid a raging controversy over nomination of 10 aldermen to the MCD, a Bench of CJI Channdrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala had on May 17, 2023, reserved the verdict on Lt Governor VK Saxena’s controversial decision to nominate 10 members (aldermen) without the aid and advice of the council of ministers.
While reserving the verdict, the Bench had said that giving such power to the Lt Governor will mean he can destabilise the elected civic body as they would get appointed to the standing committees and have voting power.
On Monday, Justice Narasimha will pronounce the verdict on behalf of a Bench.
The MCD has 250 elected and 10 members nominated by LG VK Saxena. The AAP won 134 of the 250 wards in the MCD polls held in December 2022, while the BJP won 104 wards. The Congress came third with just nine wards in its kitty.
The then Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, representing the LG Office, had submitted that the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1991 accorded a special status to the Union Territory of Delhi by making it the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
Jain had said there were some powers under the Act which were entrusted to the administrator and some others were given to the government. The nominated aldermen didn’t have much power, he had said.
On behalf of the Delhi Government, Singhvi had contended no separate powers had been accorded to the state government to nominate people to the MCD, and for the past 30 years, the practice of the LG nominating aldermen on the aid and advice of the city government has been followed.
“The LG never appoints aldermen in his own right,” he said, adding the nominations are always made by the President but on the aid and advice of the Union government.
The Delhi Government has sought the quashing of the orders dated January 3 and 4 whereby the Lieutenant Governor nominated 10 persons to the MCD.
The Lieutenant Governor has “illegally” appointed 10 nominated members to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on his own initiative, not on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, the AAP Government’s petition alleged.
This is the first time since Article 239AA came into effect in 1991 that such a nomination has been made by the Lieutenant Governor completely by-passing the elected government, thereby arrogating to an unelected office a power that belongs to the duly elected government, it had said.
It had sought a direction “to nominate members to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi under Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, in accordance with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.”
