In a major boost to AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) the apex court ruled that Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor (LG) is bound to listen to the city’s democratically elected government and cannot act independently.
PTI reported, “The L-G is bound by the aid and advice of the council of ministers,”
said a five-judge bench in a majority verdict after hearing appeals
filed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s government against a Delhi
high court judgment declaring L-G as the sole administrator of the city.
The L-G’s special power -- that of referring matters to the President --
needs to be exercised in exceptional circumstances and not routinely,
said the Supreme Court.
All decisions by Delhi’s council of ministers, who are elected representatives, must be communicated to the L-G but that does not mean his concurrence is required. “There is no room for absolutism and there is no room for anarchism also,” said the court.
All decisions by Delhi’s council of ministers, who are elected representatives, must be communicated to the L-G but that does not mean his concurrence is required. “There is no room for absolutism and there is no room for anarchism also,” said the court.
The judgement -- pronounced by Chief Justice Dipak Misra -- also held that the LG cannot act as an “obstructionist”. , according to news agency PTI.
