Delhi HC seeks Centre’s stand on plea challenging GNCTD Amendment Act

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The Delhi High Court on May 18 sought a response from the Centre on a public interest litigation (PIL) to strike down the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Amendment Act.

A Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the office of Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) seeking their stand on the plea by a lawyer against the Amendment which increased powers of the CURRPOL L-G with effect from April 27.

The High Court refused to grant an interim stay on the operation of the GNCTD(Amendment) Act, according to a CNBC-TV18 report.

The petitioner told the Court that there is confusion on who is in command in Delhi - the elected government or the L-G.

It is unclear whether the elected government or the L-G is responsible for pandemic management in Delhi, the petition challenging the Amendment said, according to a PTI news report.

READ: Explained: All you need to know about NCT Bill and how it seeks to extend powers to Delhi L-G

On March 28, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Bill that extended more powers to Delhi’s L-G over the elected government.

The “government” in Delhi means the “Lieutenant Governor” and the city government will now have to seek the opinion of the L-G before taking any executive action, according to the legislation.

The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on March 22 and in Rajya Sabha on March 24.

While the Congress-led opposition in Lok Sabha termed the Bill ‘unconstitutional’, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal calling it a “sad day for Indian democracy”said that the Bill was an ‘insult’ to the people of Delhi as it takes away powers from those (AAP) who were voted and gives powers to those who were defeated (BJP).

The issue had been a bone of contention between the Arvind Kejriwal government and the Centre until July 2018 when a Constitution Bench of Supreme Court gave an order in favour of the elected government.

(With PTI inputs)