Government of NCT of Delhi v. Union of India
Supreme Court of India, 4 July 2018, 5 judges
Under Article 239AA, Delhi is not a State, but the Lieutenant Governor is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers except when he refers a matter to the President, a power for exceptional cases.
Facts
Disputes arose between the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the elected Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister. Nine writ petitions in the Delhi High Court challenged, among other things, Ministry of Home Affairs notifications giving the Lieutenant Governor powers over 'Services' and notifications of the Delhi Government issued without placing them before the Lieutenant Governor for his views or concurrence. On 4 August 2016 a Division Bench of the High Court held that Delhi remained a Union Territory governed by Article 239 even after Article 239AA. The Government of NCT of Delhi appealed, and a two-Judge Bench referred the appeals to a Constitution Bench on the interpretation of Article 239AA.
Questions before the Court
- What is the constitutional status of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and its Lieutenant Governor after the Sixty-ninth Amendment inserting Article 239AA?
- Is the Lieutenant Governor bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers under Article 239AA(4), and what is the scope of the proviso allowing reference to the President?
- Must decisions of the Council of Ministers receive the concurrence of the Lieutenant Governor?
What the Court held
- NCT of Delhi cannot be accorded the status of a State. Its status is sui generis, and the Lieutenant Governor is not a Governor of a State but an Administrator in a limited sense.
- Parliament may legislate for Delhi on any matter in the State and Concurrent Lists. The Legislative Assembly may legislate on Concurrent List matters and all State List matters except public order, police and land, and the executive power of the Delhi Government is co-extensive with that legislative power.
- The Lieutenant Governor is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers so long as he does not invoke the proviso to Article 239AA(4). He has no independent decision-making power: he must act on aid and advice or implement the President's decision on a reference.
- 'Any matter' in the proviso does not mean 'every matter'. The power to refer is an exception for exceptional circumstances, to be used with reasons and not mechanically, after attempting to resolve differences by discussion.
- Decisions of the Council of Ministers must be communicated to the Lieutenant Governor to keep him informed, but his concurrence is not required.
Why it matters
The Constitution Bench gave an authoritative reading of Article 239AA after the Sixty-ninth Amendment. It holds that although Delhi is not a State, representative government there means the Lieutenant Governor ordinarily acts on ministerial aid and advice, with the reference to the President confined to exceptional cases. It stresses constitutional morality, collaborative federalism and purposive interpretation, and left the individual appeals to a regular Bench.
In the Court's words
Copied from the official judgment; each passage links to its page.
“it is clear as noon day that by no stretch of imagination, NCT of Delhi can be accorded the status of a State under our present constitutional scheme. The status of NCT of Delhi is sui generis, a class apart, and the status of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is not that of a Governor of a State, rather he remains an Administrator, in a limited sense, working with the designation of Lieutenant Governor.”
“The meaning of 'aid and advise' employed in Article 239AA(4) has to be construed to mean that the Lieutenant Governor of NCT of Delhi is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers and this position holds true so long as the Lieutenant Governor does not exercise his power under the proviso to clause (4) of Article 239AA.”
“The words "any matter" employed in the proviso to clause (4) of Article 239AA cannot be inferred to mean "every matter". The power of the Lieutenant Governor under the said proviso represents the exception and not the general rule which has to be exercised in exceptional circumstances by the Lieutenant Governor”
“While the provisions contained in the Transaction of Business Rules require a scrupulous observance of the duty imposed on the Council of Ministers to inform the Lieutenant Governor on all matters relating to the administration of the NCT, neither the provisions of Article 239AA nor the provisions of the Act and Rules require the concurrence of the Lieutenant Governor to a decision which has been taken by the Council of Ministers.”
Provisions interpreted
- Article 239AA, Constitution
- Article 239, Constitution
- Article 239AB, Constitution
- Sections 41 and 44, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991
- Transaction of Business of the Government of NCT of Delhi Rules, 1993
Case and bench
- Parties
- Government of NCT of Delhi v. Union of India & Another
- Case
- Civil Appeal No. 2357 of 2017, with Civil Appeals Nos. 2358 to 2364 of 2017, Criminal Appeal No. 277 of 2017 and Contempt Petition (Civil) No. 175 of 2016
- Decided
- 4 July 2018
- Bench
- Dipak Misra (CJI), A.K. Sikri, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan
- Opinions
- Three opinions answering the reference. Dipak Misra, CJI wrote for himself, A.K. Sikri and A.M. Khanwilkar, JJ., a majority of the five Judges; D.Y. Chandrachud, J. and Ashok Bhushan, J. wrote separate opinions, Chandrachud, J. noting a broad coalescence of views and Ashok Bhushan, J. substantially agreeing with the Chief Justice.
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