Supreme Court reserves order on power tussle between Delhi govt vs Centre
India Today
On Thursday, the Supreme Court reserved its order on the Centre’s petition to refer to a larger Constitution Bench in connection with the power tussle between the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor on control over services.
The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its orders on the Centre’s petition to refer to a larger Constitution Bench the dispute involving the Delhi Government and the Lieutenant Governor (LG) regarding control over services.
The Delhi government, in its petition, contended that the amended Act violates the 'basic structure of the Constitution' and that the Centre, through the amendments, has given more power to the Lieutenant-Governor than the elected government of Delhi.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said, “We are reserving our orders on the issue.”
Senior advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, opposed the plea of the Centre to send the matter to a larger Constitution Bench.
Singhvi stressed that once the constitution bench has already decided on the matter, there is no point in asking again to refer the matter to a larger Constitution Bench.
The Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, a senior lawyer appearing for the Central government, had earlier told the Supreme Court that the dispute involving the powers of the Delhi government against the Centre has to be referred to a larger bench.
“It is not the first time that the court is deciding whether a constitution bench matter needs to be referred to another or not," Mehta told the court.
