The tussel between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung on ‘division of powers’ may soon reach the Delhi High Court.
According to sources, the CM’s Office has deployed its best brains to seek opinion of eminent legal and constitutional experts on this issue before declaring a legal battle with the Central government and L-G office.
The team has reportedly identified three sections in the government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act 1991 which, according to senior government officers, binds the L-G and the Central government to consult Delhi government on several matters including appointment of Police Commissioner of Delhi, Chief Secretary, Secretary (Home) and Secretary (Lands).
“By allowing the custody of a Delhi Police constable in a recent bribery case to Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government, the court has already endorsed our view that ACB has rights to prosecute all the corrupt officers in Delhi including Delhi Police, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and MCDs,” said a senior officer of the Delhi government.
“These provisions already exist in the rule book but were never used in the interest of the Delhi government. There are enough powers in the GNCTD Act 1991,” said a senior officer of Delhi government. We want to end ambiguity of rules and clear ‘division of powers’ between the Centre and state government,” he added.
According to sources, the three sections of GNCTD Act 1991 which go in favour of Delhi Chief Minister are — Section 23 of Chapter III, Section 45 of Chapter IV and Section 55 of Chapter V.
In Section 23, there is a list of VIII matters which shall essentially be submitted to the L-G through the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister before issuing any orders thereon.
The list includes peace and tranquility of the Capital, matter related to minority community, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe, and even matters related to personnel establishment of the L-G’s office. The officers doing home-work on the issue consider this section as ‘power house’ for the CM.
“As per Section 45, the L-G shall in respect of matters connected with public order, police and land exercise his executive functions to the extent delegated to him by the President in consultation with the Chief Minister. It means even on matters which do not come directly under the Delhi government, L-G is bound to consult the CM,” said the officer interpreting the rules. The Section 55 lists the matters which the L-G needs to refer to the Central government.