Services row: Supreme Court to consider listing govt plea against Central law

PTI

New Delhi, April 26

The Supreme Court on Friday told the Delhi Government that it would consider listing its plea challenging the Central Government’s law establishing pre-eminence of the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) over the elected dispensation in controlling services in the national capital.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was urged by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the AAP government, that the whole administration has come to a standstill and the matter needed to be heard.

The CJI said presently a nine-judge Bench matter is going on and he will consider the submission.

Presently, the nine-judge bench headed by the CJI is hearing petitions raising a vexed legal question whether private properties can be considered “material resources of the community” under Article 39(b) of the Constitution, which is a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy.

Earlier on February 9, the Delhi Government had mentioned the plea for urgent listing before the five-judge Constitution bench.

On September 27 last year, the top court had ordered that a common compilation of submissions be filed by both the parties in the petition by the Delhi Government.

Prior to this, the CJI-led bench had permitted the Delhi Government to amend its petition challenging the Central Government’s ordinance establishing pre-eminence of the L-G over the elected dispensation in controlling services. Amending the petition became necessary after the ordinance was replaced by a law.

It had taken note of the submissions of Singhvi that earlier the challenge was directed against the ordinance which later became a law after it was cleared by the two Houses of Parliament and got presidential assent. Parliament cleared the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2023, also known as the Delhi Services Bill, that gave the L-G sweeping control over service matters. After the president gave her assent, the bill became a law.

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