Delhi Govt vs Centre

Table of Contents

Context: The Central government has promulgated an ordinance to nullify the Supreme Court’s recent verdict to give the Delhi government powers over administrative services in the national capital.

About the Central Government’s Ordinance

The ordinance, promulgated by the President of India, seeks to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991.
The ordinance extends powers to the Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) over services in the administration of the national capital – basically, the power to transfer and appoint bureaucrats posted to Delhi.
The ordinance seeks to establish for the first time the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA).
- NCCSA will be headed by the Chief Minister of Delhi, with the Chief Secretary and Principal Home Secretary of Delhi as its other two members.
- The authority will decide the transfer, posting and vigilance matters of all Group A officers and DANICS officers posted in Delhi through majority votes.
- The ordinance stated that the LG will pass orders to give effect to the recommendations passed by the NCCSA.
- In case the LG differs with the recommendation made, the LG may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, return the recommendation to the Authority for reconsideration by the Authority.
- However, the final decision will lie with the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, the ordinance said.

The recent Supreme Court (SC)’s Verdict on the issue

Recently, a five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court held that the Delhi Govt will have legislative and executive control over administrative services in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) except with regard to public order, police and land.
Key highlights of the verdict:
- Powers of LG: Ruling in Delhi govt’s favour, the SC held that the LG shall be bound by the decision of Delhi government over services, apart from public order, police and land.
- Federalism in UTs: The Centre had argued that the Constitution is a federal Constitution with a strong unitary bias as far as UTs are concerned. Contradicting it, SC said that Indian federalism is not unitary and any further expansion of the Union’s power will be contrary to the Constitutional scheme.
- Principle of triple chain of accountability: The SC stated that Article 239AA establishes a legislative assembly for NCT of Delhi. Members of the legislative assembly are elected by the Delhi electorate. If a democratically elected government is not given the power to control the officers, the principle of triple chain of accountability (Political, Administrative and Public accountability) will be redundant.
- Principle of collective responsibility: It extends to the responsibility of officers, who in turn report to the ministers. If the officers stop reporting to the ministers or do not abide by their directions, the entire principle of collective responsibility is affected.

The Current Governance Model of New Delhi

Delhi enjoys special status in India. The National Capital Territory of Delhi Act (NCTDA), 1991 created Delhi as a special union territory with the features of a state.
The 69th Amendment of the Constitution in 1991 gave Delhi the special status.
- The amendment inserted new Articles 239AA and 239AB after Article 239A of the Constitution.

Article 239: It deals with the Administration of Union territories. It has two provisions:

A Union territory shall be administered by the President acting through an administrator to be appointed by him with such designation as he may specify, except as otherwise provided by Parliament.
The President may appoint the Governor of a State as the administrator of an adjoining Union territory, and he shall exercise his functions independently of his Council of Ministers.
As per Article 239AA:
- The ‘Union Territory of Delhi’ came to be known as the ‘National Capital Territory of Delhi’ (NCT).
- The ‘Lieutenant Governor’ (LG) became the administrator of the NCT.
- A Legislative Assembly with the power to make laws for the NCT with respect to the matters in the State List and Concurrent List of the Constitution was set up.
- However, the Legislative Assembly was not empowered to make laws on public order, the police, and land.
- A Council of Ministers and a Chief Minister for Delhi was set up to ‘aid and advice’ the LG on those matters that the Legislative Assembly was empowered to make laws on.
- In case of a difference of opinion, LG shall refer it to the President for decision and act according to the decision given thereon by the President.
Article 239AB: It provides for president’s rule in Delhi when the administration of the territory cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of Article 239AA. The President’s rule is imposed on a report from the LG.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021

It amended the Sections 21, 24, 33 and 44 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991.
Key provisions of the amendment include:
- Meaning of government: The Amendment Act mentions that the term “government” in any law made by the Legislative Assembly shall mean the L-G.
- Lt. Governor’s upper hand: The act makes it necessary for the Delhi government to obtain the opinion of the lieutenant governor before taking any executive action.
- Making rules: The Amendment Act bars the Assembly or its committees from making rules to take up matters concerning day-to-day administration, or to conduct inquiries in relation to administrative decisions.
- Statement of objects & reasons of the Act: The Union government claims that the amendment Act seeks to give effect to the Supreme Court’s interpretation and that it “further defines” the responsibilities of the elected government and the Lt Governor in line with the Constitutional scheme.

What are the key issues with the current model of Governance of Delhi?

Undermining the elected government: The LG, who will be the government, is under no obligation to implement any law passed by the assembly or carry out the directions of the house as he is not responsible to the assembly.
Lack of Executive Accountability: The Lieutenant Governor, who is the head of government, is not accountable to the assembly, which undermines the principle of executive accountability.
Against the privilege of legislature: Framing the rules to conduct its proceedings is thus a part of the privilege each house of a legislature enjoys.
Delay in decision-making: The requirement for LG’s approval for many decisions has led to delays in decision-making, which has impacted the development and governance of the city.
Accountability issues: The division of responsibilities between the elected government and the Lieutenant Governor has led to difficulties in fixing responsibility for actions and decisions.
Against Co-operative Federalism: The Act not only negates cooperative federalism but also upturns the fundamental principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Government of NCT Delhi vs Union of India case (2018).
Control over Services Department: Governance has always been a contentious issue since Delhi is not a full state and the Services department comes under the L-G.

What are the Arguments and Counterarguments in the Issue?

Argument by the Centre: The Centre has consistently maintained that because Delhi is the national capital and the face of the country, it must have control over administrative services, which include appointments and transfers.
Arguments by the Delhi govt:
- The Delhi government has argued that in the interest of federalism, the elected representatives must have power over transfers and postings.
- It had also contended that the recent amendments to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021, violate the doctrine of basic structure of the Constitution.

Previous Supreme Court’s Judgements on the issue

What is an Ordinance?

Ordinances are like a law but not enacted by the legislature but rather promulgated by the President of India or governor of a state when the legislature is not in session.

Ordinance Making Power of President

Article 123 deals with the ordinance making power of the President. The President has many legislative powers and this power is one of them.
He can only promulgate the ordinance under these circumstances:
- When both the houses or either of the house is not in session,
- Circumstances occur where the President thinks it necessary to act without waiting for houses to assemble.
Properties of ordinance:
- For an ordinance to exist, it should be approved by the Parliament within six weeks of it being introduced.
- The maximum duration of an ordinance issued by the president of India can be 6 months and 6 weeks (In case of non-approval by the Parliament).
- An ordinance can be retrospective in nature.
- The power of ordinance making is not to be taken as a substitute for the legislative power. Only under special circumstances, ordinances can be rolled out.
- Ordinances cannot be used to revoke the fundamental rights of the citizens guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
- The ordinance would also be declared null and void if both houses passed a resolution opposing it.

Limitations of an ordinance making power of President

The President can promulgate an ordinance only when both the houses are not in session or only one house is in session.
For an ordinance to be promulgated, such circumstances should be there which deem it necessary for the President to legislate through the ordinance.
In RC Cooper vs. Union of India (1970) the Supreme Court, held that the President’s decision could be challenged on the grounds that ‘immediate action’ was not required; and the Ordinance had been passed primarily to by-pass debate and discussion in the legislature.