Chief Secy’s actions must not paralyse govt functioning: SC

New Delhi, December 7

Amid the ongoing tussle between the Centre and the Delhi Government for control over bureaucracy in the Capital, the Supreme Court has said that the actions or inactions of a Chief Secretary must not bring the elected government to a “standstill”.

A three-judge Bench, led by CJI DY Chandrachud, which on November 29 held that the Centre’s decision to extend the services of the top-most bureaucrat in the Delhi Government for six months cannot be construed as violative of law, has now released its detailed verdict on the issue.

“The Chief Secretary performs functions which fall both within and outside the executive competence of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).

The Chief Secretary, though appointed by the Central Government, must comply with the directions of the elected government over matters, on which their executive competence extends,” it said.

The verdict came on the Delhi Government’s petition against any move by the Centre to appoint, without any consultation with it, a new Chief Secretary or extend the tenure of the incumbent top civil servant Naresh Kumar, who was due to retire on November 30.