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On February 14, the Supreme Court bench of Justice A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan has been divided over the issue relating to the power of appointment and transfer of officers of State Public Services under Entry 41, List II of the Constitution of India. Justice Sikri believed that transfers and the posting of officers of and above the rank of Joint Secretary were under the control of the Delhi Lieutenant General and the other officers are under the control of the Delhi Government. Justice Bhushan did not agree that the "services" remained totally outside the jurisdiction of the Delhi Government. The bench remained undivided on the other issues.
The SC declared the competent authority in respect of the disputed issues are as follows:
1) Anti Corruption Bureau under Centre; Delhi Govt has no police powers
2) Competent authority under the Commission of Inquiry Act is the Centre. Delhi Govt has no power to appoint the Commission of Inquiry.
3) Electricity Board under the Delhi Government, which is the appropriate government under the Electricity Act
4) Power to appoint Public Prosecutor with the Delhi Government
On November 1 last year, the SC bench passed a decision on a petition challenging several notifications, including those on control of services and power of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the dispute between the Delhi government and the Centre.
The Centre has told the Supreme Court that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) has the power to regulate services in Delhi and the powers are delegated to the Delhi administrator and the services can be administered through him. Unless the President of India expressly indicates, the LG, who is the administrator of Delhi, cannot consult the Prime Minister or the Council of Ministers.
On October 4 last year, the Delhi government told the court that it wanted its petitions relating to the governance of the national capital to be heard soon and it also wanted to know its status quo regarding the administration in view of the Constitution bench verdict of the apex court on July 4.
On July 4, the five-judge bench set broad parameters for governance of the national capital, which saw a power struggle between the Centre and the Delhi government since the Aam Aadmi party came to power in 2014. The apex court had unanimously declared that Delhi cannot be recognized as a state. The Lieutenant Governor (LG) has no "independent decision-making power" and must act on the basis of the help and opinion of the elected government representatives. On September 19 last year, the Centre told the court that Delhi administration could not be left alone to the Delhi government and stressed that it holds an "extraordinary" position being the capital of the country. The Centre had told the court that a five-judge constitution bench of the apex court had categorically declared that Delhi cannot be given the status of a state and that one of the fundamental problems was whether the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) had the legislative and executive powers with respect to "services". The national capital houses and several vital institutions, such as the Parliament and the Supreme Court, and even foreign diplomats reside in Delhi. The issue relating to "services" is referred to a larger bench.
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