Supreme Court rules Delhi LG not bound by Delhi govt. advice for appointment of aldermen to MCD

The Supreme Court on Monday 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. [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 ruled that the Delhi LG is not bound by the aid and advice of the Delhi government's cabinet on appointment of aldermen since his powers in that regard is derived from the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. "It was 1993 Delhi Municipal Corporation Act which first vested the power to nominate on LG. the power expressed by the statute on LG shows the statutory schemes in which power is distributed. Delhi LG is expected to act as per the mandate of the statute and not the aid and advice of council of ministers," the Court held.Agreeing with the submissions made by Solicitor general Tushar Mehta who led arguments by Delhi LG the top court held that the law requires Delhi LG to do so and it is covered by the exception to Article 239 which empowers President to administer Union Territories."It is the law made by the parliament, it satisfies the discretion exercised by LG since law requires him to do so and falls under exception of Article 239," the Court held..The verdict was passed nearly 15 months after the Court concluded its hearing in the matter.The judgment assumes significance since it has been 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 verdict notes that Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act is a Parliamentary enactment vesting the 'power of nomination of persons with special knowledge in municipal administration' with the LG."The power is to be exercised as a statutory duty of the Lt. Governor and not as the executive power of the Government of NCTD."Further, it held that the LG is not akin to a Governor in a State under Article 163 of the Constitution. "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 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. According to the Delhi government's petition, the only two courses of action open to the LG were to either accept the proposed names recommended to him for nomination by the elected government or differ with the proposal and refer it to the President. During the hearings, the CJI had orally remarked that the nomination of aldermen by the LG could destabilise the democratic functioning of the MCD. In May 2023, the Court reserved its verdict.Notably, on account of the pendency of the verdict, the standing committee of the MCD could not be constituted as the ten alderman are part of the body which elects this committee.MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi had flagged concern that the civic body's functioning has come to a halt as a result, while urging the top court to allow the MCD Corporation to perform the functions of the standing committee for the time being.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..Judgments reserved for months together: When the Supreme Court does not follow its own directions.[Read judgment]