Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has confirmed that the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) has the authority to nominate 10 aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without being bound by the aid and advice of the Delhi council of ministers. This significant verdict, delivered on Monday, underscores the legislative powers vested in the LG by the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, enacted by Parliament.
The detailed ruling, published on the Supreme Court’s website on Tuesday, was given by a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justices P S Narasimha, and J B Pardiwala. Justice Narasimha, writing the judgment for the bench, referenced Article 239AA, which generally requires the LG to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers. However, the bench clarified that the nomination of aldermen to the MCD falls under an exception to this rule.
Section 3 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, amended in 1993, explicitly empowers the LG of the National Capital Territory of Delhi to nominate 10 individuals with special expertise in municipal administration. Justice Narasimha emphasized that this nomination power is a statutory duty of the LG, not an executive power of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).
This ruling has come as a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government and the MCD, which had argued that the LG should act based on the elected government’s advice in making nominations. The Supreme Court’s decision means that the LG’s power to nominate aldermen is exercised independently of the elected government’s influence.
The bench also dismissed the Delhi government’s argument that the LG’s role is similar to that of a governor in a state. Unlike a governor, who must generally act on the advice of the council of ministers, the LG has discretionary powers in specific instances, as defined by law, under Article 239AA.
The AAP government had contended that allowing the LG to nominate aldermen independently could destabilize a democratically elected MCD, as these aldermen play a crucial role in the standing committees responsible for fund disbursement. However, the Supreme Court upheld that the 1993 amendments to the DMC Act clearly allocate this power to the LG.
In December 2022, AAP won the civic elections, ending the BJP’s 15-year dominance by securing 134 out of 250 wards. The BJP won 104 seats, and the Congress finished with nine seats.
