L-G’s power to nominate aldermen in MC: Supreme Court may pronounce verdict on Delhi Govt’s plea this week

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, July 29

The Supreme Court on Monday said it may pronounce this week its verdict on the Delhi Government’s petition challenging the Lt Governor’s power to nominate aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)

“Mr Singhvi, please wait till Friday, the judgment may be pronounced. We will keep it on Monday,” a three-judge Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who represented Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi who alleged the MCD Standing Committee was not functioning.

The top court had on May 17, 2023, reserved its verdict on the Delhi Government’s petition challenging L-G VK Saxena’s decision to nominate 10 members (aldermen) without the aid and advice of the council of ministers.

Amid raging controversy over nomination of 10 aldermen to the MCD, a Bench of CJI Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala had on May 17, 2023, said giving such power to the L-G will mean he can destabilise the elected civic body as they would get appointed to the standing committees and have voting power.

The MCD has 250 elected and 10 members nominated by the L-G. The AAP won 134 of the 250 wards in the MCD polls held in December 2022, while the BJP won in 104 wards. The Congress came third with just nine wards to its kitty.

The then Additional Solicitor General, Sanjay Jain, representing the L-G office, had submitted that the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1991 accorded a special status to the Union Territory of Delhi by making it the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Jain had said there were some powers under the Act which were entrusted to the administrator and some others were given to the government. The nominated aldermen didn’t have much power, he had said.

On behalf of the Delhi Government, Singhvi had contended no separate powers had been accorded to the state government to nominate people to the MCD, and for the past 30 years, the practice of the L-G nominating aldermen on the aid and advice of the city government has been followed.

“The L-G never appoints aldermen in his own right,” he said, adding the nominations are always made by the President but on the aid and advice of the Union Government.

The Delhi government has sought the quashing of the orders dated January 3 and 4 whereby the L-G nominated 10 persons to the MCD.

The L-G has “illegally” appointed 10 nominated members to the MC on his own initiative, not on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, the AAP Government’s petition alleged.

This is the first time since Article 239AA came into effect in 1991 that such a nomination has been made by the L-G completely bypassing the elected government, thereby arrogating to an unelected office a power that belongs to the duly elected government, it said.

It has sought a direction “to nominate members to the MC under Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, in accordance with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers”.