AAP moves SC against Ordinance on Delhi

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of a recent ordinance that gave the lieutenant-governor overarching powers on bureaucracy. The ordinance was promulgated on May 19.

The ordinance established a National Capital Civil Service Authority for managing transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi and also disciplinary postings against them. The ordinance followed a Supreme Court ruling that transferred control of bureaucrats in the national capital's administration - excluding police, law and order and land - to the elected government led by AAP.

Before the May 11 SC ruling, all officer-level transfers and postings were under the executive control of the lieutenant-governor.


Terming the ordinance as a circumvention of the Supreme Court verdict on control of services, the AAP petition said, "The ordinance of the central government should be immediately struck down."

AAP has been trying to garner support to defeat the bill replacing ordinance in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament. Barring Congress, almost all opposition parties have assured support to AAP.

AAP had also announced a series of public protests against the ordinance, including burning copies of ordinance by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers at the party's Delhi office and across all 70 assembly constituencies on July 3. The party, however, later withdrew the move and said that since the ordinance had been challenged in the Supreme Court, the matter was subjudice.

A spokesperson said: "AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and senior leadership of AAP will neither burn nor participate in the protests and agitations against the Delhi ordinance on July 3 as proposed earlier since the matter is now subjudice in the Supreme Court. July 3 programme is cancelled."