SC to Delhi LG, CM: Rise above political bickering

The Delhi chief minister and the Lieutenant Governor (LG) must “rise above political bickering” and “get down to the serious business of governance” of the national capital, the Supreme Court observed on Monday, as it asked the two constitutional functionaries to sit together and decide on the next chairperson of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC).

- Utkarsh Anand

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud also mulled over referring the Delhi government’s separate challenge to the 2023 Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Ordinance, giving the Centre control over the state bureaucracy, to a constitution bench of five judges. The Delhi government, on its part, opposed the reference to the larger bench.

“So much work of a government is done away from the glare of publicity and media statements. Both the functionaries must get down to the serious business of governance. We are not so much concerned about the appointment of the DERC chairperson, which we know will be done. We are on the larger issue. If both can sit together, we are certain a lot can be done. We would expect an agreed solution,” the bench said.

The bench, which included justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra, was hearing two petitions filed by the Delhi government. The first petition challenged the Centre’s pick for the DERC chairperson while the second disputed the legal validity of the 2023 ordinance. During the hearing, the bench wondered if every dispute between the government and the LG has to be resolved only through a court order.

“We want to know if it is possible to break this impasse. Cannot the LG and the CM, as two constitutional functionaries, sit together and give us a name of a consensus candidate for DERC? You either let the institutions work or you don’t. They have to rise above political bickering,” it remarked.

The court added that had there been a statute authorising the judges of the Supreme Court to appoint a DERC chief, it would have done it. “But we don’t want to step into this and want you two to work it out. Why can’t two constitutional functionaries sit and resolve this?” it asked the senior lawyers appearing for the Delhi government and LG VK Saxena.