‘Democracy will be in danger’: SC raps Delhi L-G over MCD standing committee election

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed serious concerns over Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s office’s involvement in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) standing committee elections, questioning the “tearing hurry” to conduct the polls and cautioning against interference in the electoral process.

A division bench of Justices P S Narasimha and R Mahadevan directed the L-G’s office to refrain from holding elections for the MCD standing committee chairman until the next hearing while issuing notice on a petition filed by Mayor Shelly Oberoi challenging the September 27 standing committee polls. The court took a particularly critical view of the L-G’s use of powers under Section 487 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act to conduct the election for the standing committee member. “Section 487 is an executive power. Where do you get the power to interdict the electoral process?” the bench questioned, adding: “What happens to democracy if you keep interfering like this? Democracy will be in danger.”

In a stern observation, the court expressed “serious doubts about the legality and validity” of the L-G’s powers in this context. 

The bench highlighted that Section 487, which allows the Delhi Lieutenant Governor to intervene in municipal corporation functioning, was not meant to interfere with legislative functions.

The case gained prominence after the BJP won the last vacant seat of the MCD’s 18-member standing committee unopposed when councillors from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) abstained from voting.

Mayor Oberoi’s petition contends that the standing committee elections were conducted on the L-G’s office and municipal commissioner’s directions, with an IAS officer appointed as the presiding officer – a move she argues violates protocol as only the mayor can decide the date, time, and venue for such elections.

Senior advocate Sanjay Jain, representing the L-G’s office, raised preliminary objections regarding the petition’s maintainability, arguing that since elections had already taken place, they could only be challenged through an election petition.

He also pointed out that the mayor had postponed the election to October 5, allegedly violating the court’s direction to fill the vacancy within a month. However, the Supreme Court indicated it could “read between the lines” and recognize the political undertones of the situation.

The bench observed that the exercise of power under Section 487 and the manner in which elections were conducted in the mayor’s absence were “prima facie wrong.”

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Mayor Oberoi, expressed concerns that elections for the standing committee chairman might be held during the upcoming Dussehra break when the Apex Court would be closed, prompting the court to issue its oral direction against holding the elections until the next hearing.

The controversy unfolds against the backdrop of broader political tensions in Delhi’s municipal governance.

The AAP had secured a significant victory in the December 2022 civic elections, winning 134 wards and ending the BJP’s 15-year control over the MCD. The BJP won 104 seats, while the Congress secured nine seats in the 250-member body.

This latest development follows the Supreme Court’s August 5 ruling that upheld the L-G’s power to nominate aldermen to the MCD without requiring the council of ministers’ advice. The court had then ruled that the law “expressly enables” the Lieutenant Governor to make such nominations independently.

The bench has now sought a response from the L-G’s office within two weeks on Mayor Oberoi’s plea.

While initially hesitant to entertain the Article 32 petition, the court noted that the manner of exercising powers under Section 487 necessitated its intervention.