Dispute over Services likely to resolved by next week

NEW DELHI: Recently, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had a separate meeting with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on the same matter, and on July 16, Singh will hold another meeting with Kejriwal to clarify the Centre's stand on the Services matter.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party is hopeful with the upcoming verdict of the Supreme Court next week on the services matter.

While the AAP wants a major reshuffle among the higher-ranked IAS officials in the Delhi administration, the Centre has already appointed new IAS officials who may not see eye to eye with the elected government.

After confronting the LG over the 'selective' interpretation of the Supreme Court judgment regarding the transfers and postings of services, the AAP-led Delhi government, last Tuesday, had approached the apex court to urgently dispose of its pending appeals including control over the Services matter.

Soon after the SC order was delivered on July 4, the Delhi government claimed that issues such as Services – which deals with transfers and postings of officers within the government – automatically came under it's jurisdiction.

It said the SC judgment mentions that only three reserved subjects, namely land, police and public order, fall under the LG's jurisdiction.

Last Monday, Delhi government's standing counsel Rahul Mehra had said the intention is to get a final decision on who would control "crucial" agencies like the services department and the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) – which are currently under the LG's control.

Bajial and the Centre, however, said the SC order did not decide the issue of Services and referred it to a separate bench.

Following this, Kejriwal warned the LG and bureaucrats of contempt of court, while saying the government was "exploring legal options".

There are nine appeals filed by the AAP government, which are to be taken up separately by a regular bench of the apex court. These include deciding on the validity of individual notifications — two issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and two by the Delhi government.

Other appeals include policy decisions taken by the AAP government related to setting up of commissions of enquiry into the alleged CNG fitness scam and allegations of malpractices in the Delhi and District Cricket Association.