Delhi LG has more power than other governors: SC

New Delhi, November 17: The Supreme Court said that Delhi's lieutenant governor has more power than the governor of a state as he does not have to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers all the time.

It said land, police and public orders fall in the domain of the Centre and the Delhi Assembly cannot make laws with regard to these subjects.

“The lieutenant governor cannot run Delhi. He has no role to run the affairs of Delhi. That role is assigned to the council of ministers headed by the chief minister. Nowhere in the Constitution such power has been given to the lieutenant governor,” Senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for the Delhi government, said.

“Delhi does not have its own public service commission though it has power to establish one but still it has not done so. The officers posted in Delhi are from all-India cadres of the IAS, IPS and IRS and they listen to the directions of the LG,” Dhawan said.

The AAP government said that the aid and advice of the council of ministers has some meaning and it is not limited since it is from the elected representatives of the people.

The bench said that there cannot be any disagreement over the subjects like land, police or public orders which fall within the domain of the Centre and not the Assembly. It said that allocation of the business rules does not confer absolute power to the government and they have to work through the provisos.

Earlier, the apex court had raised a question whether the constitutional scheme on division of executive powers between the Centre and the states can be made applicable to Delhi.

The court is hearing a batch of pleas on who enjoys supremacy in governing the national capital. The Delhi government claimed that the lieutenant governor cannot govern Delhi, has no role in the affairs of the national capital. It is only the council of ministers, headed by the chief minister, which can govern, it said.