HC asks Delhi govt to respond to plea challenging decision to appoint Chief Secretary as MCD Election Commissioner

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response of the Delhi government on a plea by BJP MLA challenging the appointment of Chief Secretary as Election Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi from April 21, next year. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Delhi government and the three MCDs - East, North and South, on the petition seeking direction to the state to immediately withdraw its November 25 notification.

By its notification, the Delhi government has allegedly improperly earmarked the appointment of serving chief secretary of Government of NCT of Delhi as Election Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi with effect from April 21, 2022, the plea filed by BJP MLA Nand Kishore Garg said.

The plea, filed through advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi, claimed that the appointment was made in utter violation to the settled principles of law which mandates that important government post like election commissioner must be offered to the neutral and apolitical person and must not be the party to the several political as well as administrative decision of a particular government as it can be capable of affecting the free and fair election process in the MCD.


"In this respect, it is submitted that the serving chief secretary of Government of NCT of Delhi is still having his tenure of present service till March 8, 2023. However, the respondent no.1 (Delhi government) has acted with vested interest and ulterior motive as incumbent chief secretary of Delhi has been actively associated with it at every level of administrative decisions and it has obliged the serving chief secretary to pay-back to it in forth coming election of MCD as the government had decided to extend the service tenure of incumbent chief secretary for more than five years..," the plea said.

It alleged that this "blatant decision" of the government as serious bearing and repercussion to the very foundation of democracy and the notification is not only improper but also illegal and against the settled principles of law and same may be declared as unconstitutional.