On Friday, the 11th of August, the President of India Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2023, colloquially referred to as Delhi Services Act 2023. According to the gazette notification, issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, the Act is deemed to have been in effect since the 19th of May, 2023 when an ordinance was promulgated in this regard.
🚨The President of India has granted assent to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2023.
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) August 12, 2023
The Act is deemed to have been in effect since May 19, 2023.#President #DelhiOrdinanceBill #DelhiServiceBill #Delhi pic.twitter.com/Hs5Rsb2VXd
Now, the Act has replaced the existing ordinance by the central government that was brought for the transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government.
As per the act, a permanent authority named as National Capital Civil Service Authority will be constituted to take decisions with respect to the postings and control of civil servants.
The Delhi Chief Minister will be the ex officio Chairperson of this Authority. It will also include the Chief Secretary of GNCTD as its ex officio Member and the Principal Home Secretary, GNCTD will be the ex officio Member-Secretary to the Authority.
According to the act, all matters required to be decided by the Authority shall be decided by the majority of votes of the Members present and voting.
The Authority can make recommendations to the Lieutenant Governor on matters of transfers and postings of all Group ‘A’ officers and officers of DANICS serving in the affairs of the GNCTD. This will exclude officers handling matters related to public order, land, and police.
Additionally, it can also make recommendations to the LG regarding vigilance and non-vigilance matters. This can be done for the purpose of initiation of disciplinary proceedings and grant of prosecution sanctions in relation to the above officers.
However, the Act has legally conferred the final authority to the LG, that is, in case of any difference of opinion, the LG’s decision will prevail.
Home Minister highlighted the reason for bringing this Law
Union Home Minister Amit Shah tabled the bill in the Parliament on the 1st of August. It was then passed by the Lok Sabha on the 3rd of August by voice vote. Subsequently, it was passed by the Rajya Sabha on the 7th of August after a division of votes. 131 Members of the Upper House cast their votes in favour of this bill while the united opposition bloc could only muster 102 votes against this bill.
The bill saw intense debate in the Parliament as Home Minister Shah targeted the opposition alliance for not boycotting the Parliament session only in regard to this specific bill. He took a jibe at the opposition claiming that the sole purpose of attending the debate on this bill was to safeguard their alliance. He highlighted that Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party had blackmailed the opposition bloc to stop this bill in the Parliament in order to join the ideologically amorphous alliance.
During the debate, Amit Shah also categorically stated that the ordinance and subsequent bill in this regard were brought to stop the encroachment of power by the AAP government. He alleged that the Kejriwal government had no intention to do welfare of the people instead it only wanted to target the vigilance department.
Home Minister Shah accused AAP of tampering with evidence to hide their misdeeds that are being currently probed by the vigilance department. He also asserted that the alliance partners will be betrayed once this bill becomes law and now that it has become a law, the political landscape of Delhi is expected to see major developments in the near future.
The detailed gazette notification of the act can be seen below.
