Big blow to democracy: AAP as SC upholds Delhi LG’s power to appoint MCD aldermen

The Supreme Court on Monday (August 5) ruled that the Lieutenant General (LG) of Delhi has the power to nominate 10 aldermen in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

In doing so, the Supreme Court rejected the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's plea that the LG is bound to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers to nominate aldermen to the MCD.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala pronounced the verdict on a plea by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government challenging the appointments made by Vinai Kumar Saxena, the LG of Delhi. The court had reserved its verdict in the matter on May 17, 2023.

Statutory power

The LG's power to nominate members to the MCD is a statutory power and not an executive power. Hence, the Delhi LG can act per his discretion and not necessarily per the aid and advice of the Delhi government, the apex court said in its verdict.

It is expected that the verdict will resolve the impasse over the constitution of the MCD’s Standing Committee. It will also dictate how the civic body functions going forward.

Respectfully disagree: AAP

Calling the Supreme Court’s decision a “big blow” to Indian democracy, the AAP has said that it “respectfully disagrees” with it.

Putting across the party’s response to the order, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the top court’s decision gives the LG the right to bypass the elected government.

"This is a big blow to India's democracy. By bypassing the elected government, you are going to give all the powers to the lieutenant governor, so that the LG can run Delhi. This is not good for democracy and the Constitution of India. We respectfully disagree with the decision of the Supreme Court," the Rajya Sabha MP said.

The decision is "unfortunate" and "against the spirit of democracy", he added.

Singh said the top court’s decision also contrasted with the comments made by the CJI and other judges during the case’s hearing.

"The court's decision was completely different from the comments made by the chief justice and other judges during the hearing of this case. In other states, the governor approves names of nominated councillors but on the aid and advice of the elected government," Singh said.

May 17 hearing

On May 17 last year, the top court had said that giving the LG the power to nominate aldermen to the MCD would mean that he could destabilise an elected civic body. The MCD has 250 elected and 10 nominated members.

In December 2022, the AAP defeated the BJP in the MCD elections, ending the saffron party's 15-year rule. The AAP won 134 seats, the BJP 104 and the Congress nine.

(This is a developing story. More details and reactions are awaited.)