Setback for AAP as Supreme Court upholds Delhi L-G’s power to appoint aldermen to MCD

The Supreme Court on Monday held that the authority of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi to nominate 10 persons with special knowledge of municipal administration to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MC) is a statutory duty attached to his office and he is not bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, which had reserved its verdict in the matter, said the “statutory power under 3(3)(b)(1) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, to nominate persons with special knowledge was vested in the L-G for the first time by 1993 amendment of the DMC Act to incorporate constitutional changes” brought in by Article 239AA and Article 239AB and introduction of Part IXA relating to municipalities, Indian Express reported.

The verdict came on the plea of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government challenging Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s move to nominate 10 aldermen in MCD without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.

Also Read: ‘Coaching centres have become death chambers’: Supreme Court On UPSC aspirants’ deaths

Reading out the operative part of the judgment, Justice Narasimha said, “The power to nominate is therefore not a vestige of the past or power of the administrator that is continued by default. It is made to incorporate changes in the constitutional structure…”.

The court said, “The text of Section 3(3)(b) of the Act as amended in 1993 expressly enabled the L-G to nominate persons having special knowledge to the corporation…”. “The context in which the power is located, confirms that the L-G is intended to act as per the mandate of the statute and not guided by the aid and advice of the council of ministers,” added the court.

The ruling had been reserved since May 17 of last year.

In its plea, the Delhi government sought quashing of the orders and notifications dated January 1, 2023, and January 4, 2023, issued by the L-G, naming 10 people as nominated members of MCD under the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957. It also sought directions to the L-G to nominate members “in accordance with the aid and advice” of the Council of Ministers.

AAP won the civic elections in December 2022, ending the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s 15-year run at the MCD.