"Is there no other IAS officer?": Supreme Court on Centre's proposal to extend tenure of Delhi Chief Secretary

The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the Central government about necessity of extending the tenure of the incumbent Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar..A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud as well as Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta why the government was 'stuck' on only one person to be Chief Secretary of Delhi."Don't you have any other IAS officer who can be the Chief Secretary. You can appoint whoever you want. Why are you stuck only one who can be the Chief Secretary of Delhi," the bench remarked.The Court granted the SG time till tomorrow to demonstrate the Central government's power to extend the Chief Secretary's tenure."Show us the powers to extend by tomorrow. Ultimately their point is that why are you insisting only one name or else just make the appointment," the Court said..The Court was hearing a plea filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi government opposing the extension of the incumbent Chief Secretary's tenure or the unilateral appointment of a new official by the Central government..Senior Advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, urged the Court to consider alternatives and suggested selecting a candidate from a panel or appointing the senior-most IAS officer. He raised concerns about the extension being a unilateral decision, bypassing established procedures.Further, Singhvi highlighted that the apex court itself had ruled that the Lieutenant Governor was bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers..However, the Court pointed out that The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023 was in force which grants the Central government power to appoint the Chief Secretary of Delhi..As such, the Court suggested going as per law. It, however, asked the Central government not to extend the tenure of the current Chief Secretary but to make a fresh appointment..SG Mehta, however, insisted that the Central government has the power to extend the appointment. Accordingly, the Court granted the SG time till tomorrow to demonstrate the same.