On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) of Delhi has the authority to appoint ten aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without needing the state cabinet’s approval. This decision is a setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government.
The ruling was delivered by Justice PS Narasimha, with Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala also on the bench. Justice Narasimha stated that appointing aldermen is a “statutory duty” of the L-G, who does not need to consult the state cabinet for this.
The court explained that according to Section 3(3)(b)(i) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, as amended in 1993, the L-G has the power to appoint aldermen. This power is not considered an outdated practice or an overreach of constitutional authority.
The Supreme Court had earlier warned that giving the L-G this power could potentially disrupt the democratically elected MCD. The MCD includes 250 elected members and 10 nominated aldermen. The court had expressed concerns that allowing the L-G to nominate aldermen could destabilize the elected MCD by giving the L-G too much influence.
In the December 2022 civic elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won control of the MCD by securing 134 wards, ending the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) 15-year dominance. The BJP won 104 seats, while Congress took nine.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi argued that aldermen nominations should follow the city government’s advice, a practice that has been in place for 30 years. However, additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain argued that this long-standing practice does not make it the correct approach.