This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.

No Statehood For Delhi, But Supreme Court Says 'LG Cannot Be An Obstructionist'

"The LG must work harmoniously with the state, the LG and council of ministers have to be constantly aligned."
File photo.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
File photo.

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, headed by Justice Deepak Mishra, has said that Delhi cannot be given statehood.

This verdict comes even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by Arvind Kejriwal has launched a campaign seeking full statehood for Delhi, claiming that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) was the stooge of the Narendra Modi government.

However, the court has said that the LG cannot be obstructionist and must not refer every matter of the state to the President of India.

The court also said that the Centre and state governments must work together and have a healthy relationship.

Chief Minister Kejriwal welcomed the judgement saying it was a big victory for the people of Delhi.

According to NDTV the court is said to have observed that the LG had primacy under the Constitution but "had to operate within some red lines." It also said that the land, police and bureaucracy were not under the control of the elected city government. But for other matters, like it is in the states, the LG has to take the advice of the elected government.

The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal by the AAP, one which it had reserved its order, on a Delhi High Court order that the LG was the sole administrator of the capital.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.