Supreme Court okays Centre’s proposal to grant Delhi Chief Secretary six months’ extension of service
The Hindu
The Supreme Court upheld the Centre’s proposal to give a six-month extension of service to Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar a day before he was due to retire on November 30
The Supreme Court on November 29 upheld the Centre’s proposal to give a six-month extension of service to Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar a day before he was due to retire on November 30.
“At this stage, the decision of the Union government to extend the services of the incumbent Chief Secretary for six months cannot be construed to be violative of the law or constitutional distribution of powers between the Union government and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD),” a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said.
The Delhi government, represented by senior advocate A.M. Singhvi and advocate Shadan Farasat, had challenged the Centre’s “unilateral” proposal on the ground that Rule 16 of the All India Services (Death Cum Retirement) Benefits Rules, 1958 required the State government to make a recommendation for the six-month extension with the prior approval of the Union government.
The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, had countered that the Ministry of Home Affairs, and not the State, was the controlling authority of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre of Indian Administrative Service (IAS)/Indian Police Service (IPS).
The court, in a detailed order, said the duties of the Delhi Chief Secretary straddle subjects both within and outside the legislative and executive competence of the Delhi government. The subjects outside the GNCTD’s purview included police, land, and public order.
The court agreed with the Centre that the Delhi Chief Secretary, unlike his counterparts in States, was “entrusted with significant functional responsibilities, which includes the overall administrative control and supervision over subjects which stand excluded from the legislative domain and executive powers of the GNCTD”.
“Consequently, the restrictions which operate in the grant of extension under Rule 16 of the 1958 Rules about Chief Secretaries of State government would not stricto sensu apply in relation to GNCTD,” the Bench, which also comprised Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, held.
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