Questioning the “tearing hurry” shown by the Lieutenant Governor (LG) V.K. Saxena for issuing direction for holding election of the sixth member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to his office seeking reply on a plea by Mayor of Delhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Shelly Oberoi challenging the election held on September 27, which was won by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Taking a stern view of the LG’s office exercising the executive powers directing the holding of the election of the sixth member of the Standing Committee, Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha heading a bench also comprising Justice R. Mahadevan, asked, “What was the tearing hurry” in holding election in the absence of Mayor.

Questioning the decision of the LG to exercise his powers under Section 487 of the Delhi Municipal Act to direct the election of the sixth member, the bench asked, “Where do you get the power to interdict it (election) under Section 487? Section 487 is an executive power not to interfere with legislative functions. It’s the election of a member. What happens to democracy if you keep interfering like this?”

The Section 487 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act allows the Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor to intervene in the functioning of the municipal corporation.

Having expressed its reservation over the manner in which Saxena’s office has acted, the top court asked it not hold the elections for the post of the chairman of the Standing Committee till it hears the matter. It cautioned that the court would view it “seriously” if elections are held in the meanwhile.

Leaving nothing to doubt, Justice Narasimha told the senior advocate Sanjay Jain, appearing for the LG, “We are just telling you, don’t hold the elections.”

In the course of the hearing senior advocate Sanjay Jain told the bench that the Mayor herself postponed the election to October 5 and thereby violated the court’s direction passed on August 5 to fill the vacancy within a month.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Mayor, urged the bench to halt the election of the Chairman of the Standing Committee.

The petitioner Mayor Shelly Oberoi has challenged the election of the sixth member of the standing committee of the MCF stating that the election was unconstitutional and violated the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act and related rules. Oberoi in her petition claimed that the election of the sixth member of the Standing Committee was held on the directions of the LG and the Municipal Commissioner, an IAS officer, convened the meeting.

Terming it illegal, Oberoi has said that only the Mayor of the MCD can decide the date, time and venue for the corporation meeting where the Standing Committee election takes place.The election for the Standing Committee must take place in a corporation meeting presided over by the mayor. However, instead of an elected Mayor, an IAS Officer was made the Presiding Officer of the meeting, which, Oberoi said, is grossly illegal and unconstitutional.

The vacancy of the sixth member arose because of the election of BJP’s Kamaljeet Sehrawat to the Lok Sabha.