SC: Chief secy to follow elected govt in issues under its control

Even as the Union government gained a legal and political win over the Delhi government with the Supreme Court recently deciding that the former has the power under the 2023 law on the administration of Delhi to unilaterally appoint the capital's chief secretary, the court verdict highlighted that Delhi's chief secretary "must" comply with the directions of the elected government over matters on which it has executive competence.

- Utkarsh Anand 

"The actions (or inactions) of the chief secretary must not put the elected government at a standstill," held a bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud in its November 29 judgment, which was released on Thursday.

The bench, which also comprised justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, dictated most of the judgment on November 29, when it declined to interfere with the Centre's decision to give a sixmonth extension to incumbent chief secretary Naresh Kumar.

The detailed judgment, issued on Thursday, included certain key observations on the role of the chief secretary in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

The court referred to its 1974 judgment in in EP Royappa Vs State of Tamil Nadu which dwelled on the importance of the post of chief secretary in terms of its sensitivity, responsibility, and the rapport required between the chief secretary and the chief minister.

"As observed by this court in Royappa, the post of the chief secretary is a 'post of great confidence-a lynchpin in the administration'. This court, in the 2023 Constitution bench judgment, observed that civil servants are required to be politically neutral and must abide by the directions of the elected arm to give effect to the principle underlying the triplechain of collective responsibility," said the bench.