The Supreme Court on Thursday referred the Delhi government’s petition challenging the Centre’s services ordinance to a five-judge Constitution bench.
The Supreme Court had on Monday said that it is “inclined” to send the Delhi government’s plea, challenging the constitutional validity of the Centre’s ordinance on control of services, to a five-judge Constitution Bench, saying it has legal aspects which were not “dealt with” by the two Constitution Benches which heard the matter earlier.
The Delhi government had approached the apex court against the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 (Impugned Ordinance), promulgated on May 19, and prayed for an immediate interim stay saying it “completely sidelines the elected government, i.e. the GNCTD, from control over its civil service”.
The plea added that the ordinance does so without seeking to amend the Constitution of India, particularly Article 239AA, from which flows the substantive requirement that power and control regarding services be vested in the elected government.
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On May 19, the Centre promulgated the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority to transfer and post Group-A officers in Delhi. This move came in response to a Supreme Court verdict on May 11, which granted control of services in the capital, excluding police, public order, and land, to the elected government.
Following the promulgation of the ordinance, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reached out to leaders of non-BJP parties to seek their support against the ordinance.