The Supreme Court is slated to decide on Wednesday on who is the real head of Delhi – the elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government or the Lieutenant Governor. Notably, the Delhi High Court had earlier ruled that the decision of the Lieutenant Governor would preside over that of the government on issues of governance.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in 2016 filed a plea in the Delhi High Court, asking the court that it is should do away with the norm of every government decision being approved by the Lieutenant Governor.
On August 4, 2016, the Delhi High Court had ruled that Delhi L-G was the final authority and no law could be formulated or implemented without his approval. It also said that the Delhi government cannot take any major decision without the consent of the Delhi L-G.
The court had cited Article 239 AA while giving the judgement. According to the same, the Delhi L-G gets more constitutional rights than those of other union territories. The AAP government had moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order.
In its plea, the government had alleged that the Delhi L-G was working on whims and fancies, and not as per the provisions of the Constitution. According to the plea, the Delhi L-G has no power and the authority lies with either Delhi government or the President of India.
