New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to grant an immediate interim stay on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, (Impugned Ordinance), which concerns the control of services in the national capital.
Instead, the court issued notices to the Lieutenant Governor and the Centre to make them parties in the hearing. The prayer for a stay on the Ordinance will be heard on July 17.
The Aam Aadmi Party government of Delhi challenged the Ordinance in the court, stating that it goes against the constitution and enables LG “to act as a super CM” overriding an elected government.
The court refused the AAP government’s counsel A.M. Singhvi’s plea for a “qualified stay”. He also referred to instances “where the SC had stayed an Act of Parliament, leave aside an Ordinance”, Indian Express reported.
If an Ordinance tries to nullify the pillar of a judgement of the court, the court stays it, he added. He was referring to the Union government’s Ordinance which was brought out overriding the Supreme Court verdict of May 11, which stated that Delhi’s elected government alone has authority over its civil servants. The apex court had also ruled that except for issues linked to land, police, and public order, the Lieutenant Governor has “no independent decision-making powers” under the constitution.
Singhvi added that “the pillar of your (SC) judgment is civil service accountability to the executive… federalism, decentralisation, democratic government. You might not even have Article 239AA. It’s a serious issue. Therefore, either Your Lordships may consider stay or as a first step, stay the para of 437 independent consultants… fired by the LG… Give a qualified stay and call it on Friday… Their salary is stopped, they are stopped from working…”
Article 239AA of the constitution conferred special status on Delhi following the recommendations of the S. Balakrishnan Committee. It was inserted into the constitution in 1991 by the 69th Amendment.
Despite Singhvi’s request, the court said it will hear the matter only on July 17, after issuing notices to the Union government and LG.
Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal’s party has been trying to mobilise the support of Opposition parties to block the Ordinance when it is brought to the Rajya Sabha in the form of a Bill. While it can sail through easily in the Lok Sabha due to the support the BJP commands, the situation in the Upper House is different.
Despite the support promised by other opposition parties, the Congress party has still been non-committal on the issue. It would be impossible to defeat the Bill in the Rajya Sabha without the Congress’ support, for it is the largest Opposition party with 31 members in the House.