Central Idea

• The Supreme Court held that the National Capital Territory of Delhi has legislative and executive power over administrative services, with certain exceptions.
• The dispute revolves around the regulation of services and is a continuation of a previous tussle between the state government and the central government.

Key takeaways

(1) Disagreement with Justice Bhushan’s Judgment

• The Supreme Court stated that it does not agree with Justice Ashok Bhushan’s judgment that the Delhi government has no power over services.

(2) Article 239A and Legislative Assembly for NCT

• The Supreme Court highlighted that Article 239A establishes a legislative assembly for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
• The members of the legislative assembly are elected by the electorate of Delhi, and the interpretation of Article 239A should support representative democracy.

(3) Limits of Power

• The court clarified that the control over services does not extend to areas related to public order, police, and land.

(4) Delhi Government Represents Representative Form of Government

• According to the Supreme Court, the Delhi government, like other states, represents the representative form of government.
• Any expansion of the central government’s power would contradict the Constitutional scheme.

(5) Impact on Ministers’ Control

• The court noted that if administrative services are excluded from the legislative and executive domains, ministers would be excluded from controlling civil servants responsible for implementing executive decisions.

(6) Executive Power and Existing Law

• The court clarified that the executive power of the state is subject to existing union laws.

(7) Principle of Collective Responsibility

• The Supreme Court emphasized that if officers do not report to ministers or fail to follow their instructions, the principle of collective responsibility will be affected.

(8) Triple Chain of Accountability

• Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud highlighted that denying democratically elected governments the power to control officers would render the principle of the triple chain of accountability redundant.

Back2Basics: Article 239AA

• Article 239AA granted Special Status to Delhi among Union Territories (UTs) in the year 1991 through the 69th Constitutional Amendment.
• It provided a Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers responsible to such Assembly with appropriate powers.
• That’s when Delhi was named as the National Capital Region (NCT) of Delhi.
• As per this article – Public Order, Police & Land in NCT of Delhi fall within the domain and control of Central Government which shall have the power to make laws on these matters.
• For remaining matters of State List or Concurrent List, in so far as any such matter is applicable to UTs, the Legislative Assembly shall have the power to make laws for NCT of Delhi.

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