In a setback to the AAP government, the Supreme Court on Monday held the lieutenant governor does not need aid or advice of the Delhi government and has the power to nominate aldermen to the MCD.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud rejected the Delhi government’s plea that the L-G is bound to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers in nominating 10 aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
The SC pronounced its verdict on the government’s plea after reserving it for nearly 15 months.
What did the SC say in the previous hearing?
The MCD has 250 elected and 10 nominated members. In December 2022, the AAP defeated the BJP in the MCD elections, ending the saffron party’s 15-year rule. The AAP won 134 seats, the BJP 104 and the Congress nine.
On May 17 last year, the top court had said giving the L-G the power to nominate aldermen to the MCD would mean that he could destabilise an elected civic body. “Is the nomination of specialised people in MCD of that much concern to the Centre? Actually, giving this power to the L-G would effectively mean that he can destabilise the democratically elected municipal committees because they (aldermen) will have voting powers also,” it had said.
What were the arguments made in the case?
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, had contended that no separate powers have been accorded to the state government to nominate people to the MCD and, for the past 30 years, the practice of the L-G nominating aldermen on the aid and advice of the city government has been followed.
Then additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain, appearing for the L-G’s office, had submitted that just because a practice has been followed for 30 years does not mean it is correct.
Earlier, the SC had asked about the “source of power” of the L-G under the Constitution and the law to nominate aldermen to the MCD without the aid and advice of the elected government. The ASG had referred to the reply filed by the office of the L-G and the constitutional scheme to assert the concept of ‘aid and advice’, in the context of the administrator’s power to nominate members to the MCD, is different from the one projected by the government.
Jain had argued that the file pertaining to nominations to the MCD come directly to the office of L-G as he is the administrator, and the concept of aid and advice is not applicable in this case.
Singhvi had referred to the 2018 constitution bench judgement of the apex court and its recent verdict on control over services to claim the L-G has to act as per the aid and advice of the government. The senior lawyer contended the L-G should have taken back the nominations by now.
“There are 12 zones, 12 ward committees and aldermen can be appointed to any committee…for the first time in the last 30 years, the L-G has directly appointed members in the MCD and earlier it was always based on aid and advice (of the government),” Singhvi had argued.
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