On 29th November (Wednesday), the Supreme Court allowed the Union government to extend the tenure of the Chief Secretary of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), Naresh Kumar, by six months. He was otherwise due to retire tomorrow (30th November). The apex court also upheld the Central Government’s power to appoint the Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government.
The court also held that such power also includes the power to extend the term of the superannuating officer. The top court noted that the Centre is empowered to extend the tenure of the Chief Secretary who deals with police, land, and public order, which are beyond the Delhi government’s ambit. As per the newly passed Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2023, the three subjects namely public order, police and land are Constitutionally excluded from the powers of the Delhi government.
Centre empowered to extend tenure of chief secretary who deals with police, land, public order which are beyond Delhi govt's ambit: SC
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 29, 2023
Notably, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra was hearing a writ petition filed by the Delhi Government. The bench rejected the Delhi government’s plea which had urged the court to restrain the Union from extending Kumar’s term as the Chief Secretary.
The plea had also challenged the Union government’s power to unilaterally appoint a Chief Secretary or extend the term of the incumbent without consultation with it. The CJI refused Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s argument that the Delhi govt should have a voice because the CS is dealing with several other matters that are in the domain of the Delhi government.
The Supreme Court bench noted that the Centre’s decision was “not violative of Constitutional distribution of powers”. However, it clarified that its views were ‘prima facie’ in nature and that they were subject to the adjudication by the Constitution Bench on the validity of the Centre’s services law.
The bench said, “We conclude that at this stage, bearing in mind the judgement of this court in CB 2 and subsequent developments, the decision of the Union Govt to extend the services of Chief Secretary for 6 months cannot be construed to be violative of the law.”
While rejecting the Delhi Government’s plea, the bench referred to the recent services law passed by the Parliament (Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2023). The law gives the Centre overriding powers over GNCTD services.
While the validity of the Act has been referred to a Constitution Bench, the operation of the Act has not been stayed.
The bench noted that three subjects are Constitutionally excluded from the powers of the Delhi government – public order, police, and land. During the hearing, the CJI highlighted that the Chief Secretary has to deal with these excluded matters as well.
The bench rejected the Delhi government’s plea a day after the Centre told the Supreme Court that it intends to extend the tenure of Naresh Kumar for a limited period.
Regarding the Centre’s submission, the bench asked the Solicitor General under what provisions the government intended to do so. The Solicitor General replied, “Till a new appointment is done, we intend to extend the tenure of the present Chief Secretary.”
