Govt challenges L-G’s authority over lawyers’ appointment in SC
New Delhi: In a recent development, the Supreme Court has taken up a plea by the Delhi government challenging the authority of the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) to restrict the former’s ability to appoint its choice of counsel and determine their fees in legal matters.
Filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petition challenges a 2017 office memorandum issued by the Union Home Ministry and an order passed by the Delhi L-G’s office on February 16.
Senior advocates Shyam Divan and Siddharth Dave appeared for the Delhi government in the hearing before a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta. They argued that the elected government has the right to choose its advocates, emphasising that this right is fundamental and should not be curtailed by bureaucratic measures. “The elected Government of NCT of Delhi ought to be able to decide on the choose a counsel of a choice is one of the most zealously guarded rights. The elected government cannot be shut out from choosing its advocates before the Constitutional Courts,” the plea stated.
The bench, during the hearing, hinted at the broader implications of the case, suggesting that it could be connected with the Delhi government’s challenge against the 2023 amendment to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act.
This amendment, which limits the Delhi government’s control over civil servants within its jurisdiction, has been a subject of contention between the elected government and the L-G’s office.
In response to the plea, Divan argued for interim relief in the matter, stressing its daily impact and the need to pay the lawyers involved. Justice Khanna, while issuing notice to the respondents, agreed to consider the plea for interim relief. The notice is returnable in the week commencing May 6, 2024, with service to be made through all modes including dasti.
The GNCTD contends that the L-G’s actions obstruct its ability to represent the interests of Delhi’s electorate before the courts, infringing upon its legislative and executive competence under the Constitution.
It argues that the recent amendments to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act do not alter the elected government’s powers, emphasising the principle of aid and advice of the council of ministers.
This legal battle is the latest development in the ongoing power struggle between the AAP-led Delhi government and the L-G’s office over the division of authority in the national capital.
