Delhi govt v. Centre: Battle shifts to Tilak Marg

If the arguments that transpired in Court room 11 of the Supreme Court of India are anything to go by, then it seems the apex court is gearing up for a grand final showdown between the Delhi government and the Central government..The Supreme Court today issued notice in the appeal filed by the State of NCT of Delhi against the judgment of the Delhi High Court which had held that Delhi is a Union territory..A Bench of Justices AK Sikri and NV Ramana issued notice in the petition including stay applications after hearing the parties. Senior Advocates KK Venugopal, Gopal Subramanium and Indira Jaising appeared for NCT of Delhi while Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar appeared for the Central government..When the hearing began today, AG Rohatgi told the Court that the SLP has been sworn on affidavit by Deputy Chief Minister and not Secretary and it should be dismissed in limine for that reason alone..“It can be sworn by the Secretary alone as per the Rules. How can a Minister, who has no relation to the facts of the case, swear an affidavit. Whether an SLP should be filed or not is the decision of the Lt. Governor and not of a party”, he said..Rohatgi was his usual self shouting down his opponents in full gusto. He also submitted that even if the Minister is assumed to be competent to swear the affidavit, the case is squarely covered by a 9-judge Bench decision of the Supreme Court in favour of the Central government..KK Venugopal countered Rohatgi’s submissions by arguing that the affidavit was signed by Deputy Chief Minister because the Secretaries to the government now have to get Lt. Governor’s permission to do so..“Secretaries to the government have to get LG’s permission to file an SLP against him, none were willing to put their sign”, he said..Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium, also appearing for Delhi government sought stay of the High Court judgment..The court issued notice in the case but refused to stay the judgment of the High Court. Notice was also issued on the stay application..The matter will now be heard on November 15. The court said that it will decide whether to refer the case to a larger Bench or not after hearing both the parties..The hearing also witnessed interesting exchanges between lawyers..While Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi was in full flow, Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium responded to Rohatgi’s vociferous voice by saying.“My friend has a vociferous voice. That is not the point. The point should be vociferous.”.The battle, it does seem, has indeed shifted to Tilak Marg.