- The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled unanimously in favour of the Delhi government on the issue of who controls the bureaucracy in the National Capital.
- The five-judge constitution bench, held that the legislature has control over bureaucrats in administration of services except in areas outside the legislative powers of NCT.
- The apex court said it does not agree with Justice Bhushan’s split judgment that the Delhi government has no power at all over services.
- The bench said democracy and federal structure are part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled unanimously in favour of the Delhi government on the issue of who controls the bureaucracy in the National Capital. The five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, held that the legislature has control over bureaucrats in the administration of services except in areas outside the legislative powers of NCT. Three areas, that are outside the control of the Delhi government, are public order, police, and land.
In a unanimous verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over services. Hearing the Centre versus the Delhi government over the issue of demarcation of power, the constitution bench said an elected government needs to have control over the administration.
In its opening remarks, the apex court said it does not agree with Justice Bhushan’s split judgment that the Delhi government has no power at all over services. It refused to agree with the 2019 judgment of Justice Ashok Bhushan that the city government has no power over the issue of services.
The bench, which also comprised Justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and P S Narasimha, said democracy and federal structure are part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
The constitution bench was set up to hear the legal issue concerning the scope of legislative and executive powers of the Centre and the National Capital Territory government over control of services in Delhi.
During the hearing, the five-judge Constitution Bench questioned the need for having an elected government in Delhi. It said this after the Centre asserted the Union Territories are an extension of the Union, which wants to administer them. A two-judge bench of the court had in February 2019 delivered a split verdict on the powers of the Delhi government and center vis a-vis administrative services in the national capital. It then went to a three-judge bench, which in May 2022, referred the question to a constitution bench.
(With inputs from agencies )
