Centre wants case on tussle with Delhi shifted to larger Bench

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New Delhi, December 5

The Centre has filed a fresh plea urging the Supreme Court to refer to a larger Bench the pending matter with regard to its ongoing tussle with the Delhi Government for control over bureaucracy in the national capital even as the AAP government opposed it.

On behalf of the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud that he has filed an interim application.

“There are no facts to be controverted. But I have filed an IA (interim application) stating that this matter (Delhi-Centre case) may have to be referred to a larger Bench,” Mehta told the Bench.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Delhi Government, opposed Mehta’s submissions, saying “this will only create delay and such tactics can’t be allowed.”

It amounted to seeking a review of the top court order which had said the matter did not require reference to a larger Bench and the only issue remaining between the parties was the dispute pertaining to control over services in Delhi.

The CJI said, “What action has to be taken on IA can be decided when the Constitution Bench assembles to hear it.” He said Justice Krishna Murari — who was part of the Constitution Bench hearing the matter — was unwell. The hearing scheduled for later this week might have to be deferred, the CJI indicated.