Supreme Court rules that Lt Governor can nominate MCD aldermen without Delhi government’s advice

New Delhi:

In a massive setback for the Aam Aadmi Party government, the Supreme Court today decreed that the Lieutenant Governor can appoint aldermen in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without Delhi government’s assistance and advice.

The Lieutenant Governor’s authority to nominate members to the civic body is a legal power and not an administrative power, the panel said. The panel consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala had kept its verdict pending in the matter last year. The Supreme Court’s website previously stated that Justice Narasimha would be delivering the verdict.

Justice Narasimha stated that Section 3(3)(b) of Delhi Municipal Corporation Act states that the Lieutenant Governor can designate 10 individuals not younger than 25 years of age and with specific knowledge or experience in municipal administration.

“It is inaccurate to propose that authority in Delhi LG was a terminological lottery. It is legislation made by the Parliament, it meets the discretion exercised by LG since legislation requires him to do so and falls under the exception of Article 239. It was 1993 DMC Act which initially vested the authority to nominate on LG and it is not an artifact of the past,” he expressed.

The judge also mentioned that a five-judge panel of the Supreme Court had previously decided that Parliament can legislate on state and concurrent lists of Delhi. “As Parliament has granted authority to LG to nominate 10 aldermen, AAP government cannot dispute that,” he stated.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has 250 elected and 10 designated members. Currently, the ruling AAP manages it after securing 134 seats in the 2022 elections. The BJP possesses 104 seats.

The Supreme Court had mentioned last year that granting the Lieutenant Governor the authority to nominate aldermen to MCD would imply he can destabilize an elected civic body.

Senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi, the counsel for the Delhi government, had argued that the state government has not been granted separate powers to nominate individuals to MCD. He mentioned that a practice of the Lieutenant Governor nominating aldermen on the assistance and advice of the city government has been followed for three decades now.

Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, representing the Lieutenant Governor’s office, had contended that simply because a practice has been followed for 30 years does not mean it is correct.

The AAP has labeled the Supreme Court decision as a “shock to democracy”. “You are going to bypass an elected government and give all powers to the Lieutenant Governor so that he runs Delhi using a stick. This is not right for democracy. We respectfully disagree with the Supreme Court ruling. The verdict is at odds with the bench’s observations during the hearing,” party MP Sanjay Singh has stated, adding that the party will decide on the next step after going through the judgment. 

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi has long argued that the Centre maintains a stranglehold on the national capital through the Lieutenant Governor and the elected city government does not have powers to execute its duties properly. 

BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal has stated that the Supreme Court decision clarifies that the Lieutenant Governor appointed aldermen in accordance with the law. “Aam Aadmi Party has a habit of making allegations on every issue. Their politics has been rejected by the court,” he mentioned.