SC stands by Kejriwal, says an elected govt should have power

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has time to time alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi of interfering into his authority, won some support from Supreme Court, as the Apex Court on Wednesday said: “An elected govt should have some power to run, otherwise the government cannot function.” Next hearing of the case is scheduled for January 18, 2017.

The Supreme Court judges made this observation during a hearing of the Delhi government’s civil suit. Earlier, Kejriwal had filed a case against the Central government seeking declaration that the national Capital is a state and the state government should have all the statehood powers. The “elected government in Delhi should have some powers otherwise it cannot function. The matter needs to be decided fast,” a Bench of Justices A K Sikri and A M Sapre said. The Bench listed the matter for final disposal on January 18 and said since it will hear the matter in detail, no interim orders will be passed on various interim applications as of now.

Senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, said that they are challenging the order of the high court which has ruled that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) was the administrative head and whose prior consent is needed in all administrative decisions. He said that the high court has held that the aid and advice of council of ministers are not binding upon the LG. He said that the Constitution mandates that when there is difference of opinion on any issue, then the matter could be referred to the President.

As an interim relief, the senior lawyer sought stay order from the court on the decision of the LG to appoint the threemember Shunglu committee to inspect 400 files of the AAP government after the Delhi High Court verdict came.