The Delhi High Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s plea that challenges the home ministry notification over Lt. Gov. Najeeb Jung’s power to place bureaucrats in the city.
“The court has issued the notice on a petition of the Delhi government challenging the MHA notification. The court directed the Central government to file a reply and also file an affidavit on how the posting of officers is governed in other union territories. The court further said that copies of the Delhi government’s orders regarding posting of officers are to be sent to the LG, who’ll deliberate on those orders,” senior advocate HS Phoolka told the media.
Meanwhile, AAP leader Somnath Bharti termed the High Court’s notice a victory for the people of Delhi.
“Today, is a victory for the people of Delhi. The High Court directed that the Chief Minister’s orders have to work a location, be sent to the LG for his deliberations, a provision under the law of the land. It means that the provisions as per the Constitution, as per the Government of NCT Act and as per the Transfer/Transaction of Business rules, they are upheld,” he told ANI.
“The so-called notification issued by the Central government to take away the people of Delhi’s rights… has been taken away,” he added. The MHA notification on May 21 had stated that the LG has primacy in postings and transfers of officers belonging to Central services.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had reacted strongly to it, saying that the NDA Government at the Centre was trying to run the national capital through the ‘backdoor’.
Kejriwal had also stated that the notification was indicative of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) nervousness about the Aam Aadmi Party’s anti-corruption efforts.