Notification unlikely to get past SC, says Constitution expert

Ajay Maken lashed out at the AAP, saying that such tussle between an elected Delhi government and the L-G has frequently happened in the past.

A day when the BJP-led Union government challenged a High Court order against an MHA notification on the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor’s powers, senior Supreme Court advocate and constitutional expert Sanjay Hedge said that if the notification is challenged in the apex court, it will probably not be sustained.

Speaking at an event organised by IWPC, Hedge said that the MHA notification would be suspect. “The conflict between the Delhi government and Central government has arisen because of the MHA notification that states that services was and will always be part of the remit of the L-G. So effectively, what it has done is add one more subject to the three subjects where Delhi Legislature does not have any power to legislate,” he said.

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“That in my mind is constitutionally impermissible. Anything that has to be changed in the constitution, should be amended by the Parliament. That not having been done, the notification would be suspect and if challenged in court I don’t see how it could be sustained,” Hedge added.

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Meanwhile, DPCC president and Congress leader Ajay Maken lashed out at the AAP, saying that such tussle between an elected Delhi government and the L-G has frequently happened in the past. He said the AAP government should have tackled it “tactfully”.

“The entire matter should have been handled tactfully. The government should always avoid mentioning anything about its own officers in public. They will be demotivated and reluctant to sign on the files,” Maken said.

Maken further pointed out the discrepancies in the Transaction of Business of the Government of NCT of Delhi Rules, 1993, stating that the previous Congress governments always asked the Central government to makes changes.

“The real issue is to get the transaction of business rules in sync with the Constitution. For instance, the annual confidential records (ACR’s) of the secretaries never came to the ministries. They went for a final noting to the L-G, after being reviewed by the chief minister. I felt sad about it. But despite this, the government needs to function,” Maken said.

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