In a significant setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the lieutenant governor (LG) of Delhi does not need the aid or advice of the Delhi government to nominate aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). This decision was delivered by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
The ruling rejected the Delhi government’s plea, which argued that the LG should be bound by the advice of the council of ministers when nominating 10 aldermen to the MCD. The court’s decision reaffirms the LG’s autonomous power in this matter.
The MCD comprises 250 elected members and 10 nominated aldermen. In December 2022, the AAP ended the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) 15-year control over the MCD by winning 134 seats, compared to the BJP’s 104 and the Congress’s nine.
Previously, on May 17, 2022, the Supreme Court had expressed concerns about giving the LG the power to nominate aldermen, suggesting it could destabilize an elected civic body. “Is the nomination of specialized people in MCD of that much concern to the Centre? Actually, giving this power to the L-G would effectively mean that he can destabilize the democratically elected municipal committees because they (aldermen) will have voting powers also,” the court had noted.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, argued that for the past 30 years, the practice has been for the LG to nominate aldermen based on the aid and advice of the city government. He cited a 2018 constitution bench judgment and a recent Supreme Court verdict on control over services to support his claim that the LG should act according to the government’s advice.
In contrast, additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain, representing the LG’s office, contended that historical practices do not validate the necessity of such practices. Jain asserted that the constitutional scheme and the specific powers of the LG as an administrator mean that the concept of ‘aid and advice’ does not apply to the nomination of aldermen.
