A welcome verdict

SC order should lead to clarity on Delhi’s statehood

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declared its judgment in the case brought by the Delhi government against the Centre and the lieutenant governor (LG) of Delhi. In what can largely be read as a vindication of the Delhi government’s stance, it has argued that the law as it stands means that the democratically elected government, and not the lieutenant governor, must make decisions on behalf of Delhi’s citizens. While pointing out that Delhi’s unique constitutional position means that the President of India — in other words, the Union government — has specific powers that it does not have in regular states, the Court has underlined the fact that the LG can neither take any independent decisions nor can he refer “every” decision of the state government to the Centre. The power to make such referrals, the court argues, “represents the exception and not the general rule which has to be exercised in exceptional circumstances by the LG keeping in mind the standards of constitutional trust and morality, the principle of collaborative federalism and constitutional balance, the concept of constitutional governance and objectivity, and the nurtured and cultivated idea of respect for a representative government”. In essence, the Court has made clear that the basic responsibility for the governance of the National Capital Territory rests with the democratically elected and accountable government of Delhi.

The Court’s judgement is welcome. It is good news for Delhi because, for far too long, the capital’s governance has suffered because of lack of accountability. This has worsened especially since the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in the NCT and entered into a feud with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government. It is clear that the AAP has lacked political sagacity in how it has approached governance. Any government in Delhi needs to be able to deal with the Union government that has considerable power over the NCT — and no previous Delhi administration has seen relations break down to this extent. The AAP government’s dealings with the central bureaucracy have been particularly poor in intent and outcome. But the fact of the matter is that the AAP has won a legal and political victory in the Supreme Court, giving its government greater legitimacy and power.

But Delhi’s governance problems have not been solved. The Court has gone as far as it can, and it is now up to Parliament to find a permanent solution. The time has come for the political leadership across the spectrum to come together and fulfil the long pending demand of full statehood for Delhi. Fortunately, both the Congress and the BJP in the part have supported this notion. Full statehood will give a clear-cut accountability and responsibilities metrics for all concerned, Delhi’s citizens would access better governance, and India’s democratic framework would be strengthened. Other world capitals have found ways of ensuring accountability of local government while maintaining the rights of the federal government. For example, parts of New Delhi can be kept under central rule. But the principle of full statehood should be accepted as the basis for future action.