How is Lieutenant Governor different from Governor? Supreme Court answers in MCD judgment

The Supreme Court on Monday distinguished the exercise of power by Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi from that of Governors of States under the Constitution [Government of NCT of Delhi vs Office of Lieutenant Governor of Delhi].A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and PS Narasimha said that unlike Governors, an LG is not bound by the aid and advice of the elected council of ministers in matters where parliament has law-making powers."While Article 163 requires Governor of a State to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, ‘except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion’, the exception in so far as the Lt. Governor, under Article 239AA(4) is concerned, he will act in his discretion, ‘in so far as he is required by or under any law’. Article 239AA of the Constitution takes into account the unique position of NCTD and therefore adopts the mandate of ‘law’ as a distinct feature for exercise of discretion," the Court said..The Supreme Court had on August 5 upheld the appointment of ten aldermen by the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without the aid and advice of the Delhi government's cabinet. It ruled that the Delhi LG is not bound as was argued, since his statutory powers in this regard are derived from the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act enacted by the Union government..The verdict which was published on the Supreme Court website today was passed nearly 15 months after the Court concluded its hearing in the matter.The judgment assumes significance since it was delivered at a time when the Delhi civic body has come under criticism for its apparent mismanagement of the city's infrastructure and drainage, which had led to waterlogging in many parts and even led to the death of three UPSC aspirants who were trapped in a flooded basement of an IAS coaching institute. .The petition by Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government claimed that this was the first time since Article 239AA of the Constitution came into effect in 1991 that such a nomination had been made by the LG by completely bypassing the elected government. During the hearings, the CJI had orally remarked that the nomination of aldermen by the LG could destabilise the democratic functioning of the MCD.Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi with Advocates Shadan Farasat, Shourya Dasgupta, Hrishika Jain and Natasha Maheshwari appeared for the Delhi government. Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain appeared for the LG..[Read Judgment]