Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: 28 September 2022 at 17:29 IST
On November 9, 2022, Constitution Bench of apex court will begin considering the dispute between the Delhi government and the Union government over control of administrative services in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
On Tuesday, a 5-judge bench comprised of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha announced that the hearing would proceed on a day-to-day basis.
The Bench had scheduled the hearing for September 27, the last date of hearing. It further said that the court will begin hearings provisionally on October 11, 2022.
On Tuesday (27.09.2022), Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi Government, informed the Bench that while the arguments in the matter pertaining to the challenge to the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act (EWS matter) would be concluded by the end of the day.
The plea challenging the Muslim reservation in Andhra Pradesh would be taken up by another Constitution Bench shortly thereafter. As a result, he asked if the current subject may be scheduled three days before or immediately after the Diwali holiday.
The Bench sought the advice of the Solicitor General, Mr. Tushar Mehta, who proposed that the subject be scheduled after Diwali.
On 06.05.2022, a 3-Judge Bench led by the CJI, NV Ramana, referred to a Constitution Bench the limited questions concerning power over administrative services in the National Capital Territory in the legal dispute between the Delhi Government and the Central Government.
The key issue, according to the bench, is the interpretation of the words “any such matter is applicable to UTs” and “subject to the requirements of this constitution” in Article 239AA(3) (a).
“While interpreting 239AA, the Constitution bench did not clearly analyse the implications of the words with reference to entry 41 of the state list. We believe it is acceptable to send the above-mentioned restricted question to the Constitution bench.”
In February 2019, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court delivered a split verdict on the question of the GNCTD and the Union Government’s powers over services and referred the matter to a three-judge bench, which has now referred a limited question of law to the Constitution Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.
In the midst of disagreements between the elected government and the Lieutenant Governor, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court issued broad guidelines for national capital governance in July 2018. By a ruling dated February 15, 2017, a Division Bench of the Supreme Court referred the case to the Constitution Bench.
The Union of India had argued before the three-judge bench led by CJI Ramana that a reference to a Constitution Bench is required for a comprehensive interpretation of Article 239AA, which is crucial to determining the problems involved.
Senior Advocate AM Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, objected to the Union’s plea for a referral. He had said that the Union’s plea for referral of concerns already dealt with by the Constitution Bench amounted to reconsideration or review of the 2018 Constitution Bench verdict.