After the services department refuses to follow Manish Sisodia’s instructions, Kejriwal govt looks at legal options.
New Delhi: Just a day after its victory against lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal in the Supreme Court, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi found itself in yet another conflict with the state bureaucracy and may have to knock on the doors of the court again.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led government has started exploring legal options after the services department, which looks after the transfer and posting matters, has apparently refused to follow the instructions of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia after the Supreme Court ruling Wednesday.
The Supreme Court had said that other than land, law & order, and police, the elected government in Delhi will be the supervising authority.
Sisodia, who is also the services minister in the Delhi government, issued an order Wednesday detailing the new transfer and posting rules. However, the services department is said to have refused to accept the order citing an August 2016 notification issued on the instructions of then lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung.
“It is very unfortunate that the orders of the Supreme Court are not being followed. The order explicitly mentions that other than land, law & order and police, the power lies with the elected government of Delhi in all other matters,” AAP leader Dilip Pandey said.
He said the department’s refusal is a case of contempt of court, adding that if the officers don’t change their attitude, the government will pursue legal options.
The Delhi high court in an August 2016 judgment had declared the L-G as the administrative head of Delhi. The AAP-led Delhi government had appealed against the judgment in the Supreme Court.
Another AAP leader Atishi Marlena expressed shock over how blatantly the orders of the Supreme Court were being flouted. She said, “It is an open and shut case of contempt of court. I’m requesting the Delhi government officials to follow the Supreme Court verdict.”
Meanwhile, CM Kejriwal requested all stakeholders to implement the Supreme Court order on the distribution of powers between the Delhi government and the lieutenant governor, and to get down to work for the development of the city. Welcoming the order, Kejriwal said the verdict had clearly demarcated power sharing among the stakeholders, PTI reported.
“I want to appeal to all the stakeholders to implement the order and work together for the development of Delhi,” he said. “Sought time to meet Hon’ble LG today to seek his support and cooperation in the implementation of the order of Hon’ble SC and in the development of Delhi,” Kejriwal wrote on Twitter.
Is it indeed a victory of AAP? What victory ? Only status quo has been maintained for the three disputed departments .
It will be a sad day for India when each decision has to be taken by the judiciary, sometimes simply to clarify its own orders. The whole world knew what the issue was in the matter decided by the apex court yesterday, also where merit lay. There are messages for all stakeholders in the verdict, most of all for the LG. If the judgment is not respected in its entirety, letter and spirit, this dispiriting standoff will continue.