Hindustan Times (Gurugram)

Round 1 to Jung, notificati­on stands

- HT Correspond­ents letters@hindustant­imes.com

Lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung seemed to have won the first round of a legal battle for the reins of the Capital after the Delhi high court on Friday refused to stay a home ministry notificati­on that pruned the powers of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher asked the Aam Aadmi Party government to send all orders concerning bureaucrat­ic transfers and allocation of work to Jung, who may consult the council of ministers but will have the final word. In case of a dispute between the L-G and the elected government, the issue has to be referred to the President.

The hostile tussle for Delhi’s administra­tive control reached the courts after a pitched battle between Jung and Kejriwal over bureaucrat­ic appointmen­ts. The Centre has backed the L-G, issuing a notificati­on on May 21 that bolstered Jung, who reports to the home ministry.

“What was happening in the past? Was the earlier (Delhi) gov- ernment allowed to move officers?” the HC sought to know and gave the Centre time till August 11 to respond.

Bad news for AAP also came from the Supreme Court, which termed as “tentative” a high court observatio­n on May 25 that called the Centre’s notificati­on suspect. The remarks came while delivering a verdict upholding the powers of Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Branch to act against central government employees.

Kejriwal had called the observatio­ns a vindicatio­n of his stand and unilateral­ly transferre­d nine officials hours later without informing the L-G first.

Two days later, four civil serv- ants were allocated work and only a copy of the order was marked to L-G.

The May 21 notificati­on gave the L-G a free hand in matters concerning public order and police, leaving it to Jung’s “discretion” to obtain the CM’s views. It also said the ACB, a key AAP poll promise, couldn’t act against central government employees, prompting Kejriwal to allege the Narendra Modi government was trying to run Delhi through the “backdoor”.

The unpreceden­ted turf war has brought city governance to a grinding halt with the AAP government admitting before the HC that work in crucial department­s such as power, water, health had virtually come to a standstill.

The power struggle is rooted in Delhi’s unique position as a union territory functionin­g as the Capital, with the state government having no say over important department­s and agencies, a key complaint of AAP that says Jung acts as an emissary of the Centre.

The Supreme Court gave the AAP six weeks to reply to the Centre’s challenge to the HC’s May 25 order. It also said the high court bench hearing the Delhi government petition would deal with it independen­tly without being influenced by the May 25 observatio­ns

“We...clarify that the observatio­ns made therein (May 25 HC verdict) were only tentative in nature without expressing any opinion on the validity of the notificati­on,” a bench headed by justice AK Sikri said. The top court, however, refused to stay the HC remarks.

 ??  ?? Jung: To decide on transfers
Jung: To decide on transfers

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