After the Supreme Court ruled that the Lieutenant Governor does not have independent decision-making powers, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia put out orders taking back the power to transfer officers, but the services department rejected it, saying the LG remained in charge of this key department.
Left red faced after its latest order was rejected and termed “legally incorrect”, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government has threatened to go to court again.
The refusal of bureaucrats to comply with the Delhi government’s directives amounts to contempt of court and the leadership is seeking legal opinion on the matter, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Thursday.
A day after the top court ruled that LG was bound by the elected government’s advice and could not be an “obstructionist”, Sisodia said he appealed to officials and the Centre to abide by the judgment.
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“The chief secretary has written to me saying the services department will not follow the orders. If they are not going to abide by it and the transfer files will still be seen by the LG then it will amount to contempt of the constitution bench,” Sisodia told reporters.
“We are consulting our lawyers about what can be done in the situation,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court had clearly stated that the LG has the power to interfere only in three subjects, which does not include the services department. I appeal to the officers as well as the Centre to abide by the Supreme Court judgement,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Delhi government had introduced a new system for transfer and postings of bureaucrats, making Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal the approving authority.
However, the services department refused to comply, saying the Supreme Court did not abolish the notification issued in 2016 which made the Ministry of Home Affairs the authority for transfers and postings.