The five-member constitution bench of the Supreme Court will now decide the answer to this question whether the transfer and posting of officers in Delhi will be done by the Delhi government or the central government. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Manoj Mishra were included in the three-judge bench hearing the petition of Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal government in the Supreme Court.First- What are the limits of the powers of Parliament to make laws for Delhi? Second – Can the Parliament use its powers to ‘abrogate the constitutional principles of governance’ for the Delhi government by enacting a law to take back control of the administrative services?The Supreme Court bench said that there is a need to end the long legal battle between the Center and the Delhi government regarding the administration of the national capital Delhi.What did the court say? In its ten-page order, the bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud raised two preliminary issues for the constitution bench.The first issue is related to the inclusion of Section-3A of the Ordinance. Section-3A removes entry 41 (Services) of the State List from the legislative powers of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD). With the deletion of entry 41, the Delhi government no longer has executive power over the services.The second issue is whether any law can completely take away the Delhi government’s executive powers on services? Because the Ordinance states that the aspect of services under Entry 41 is also linked with the validity of Section-3A. During the hearing on Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected the Delhi government’s argument that there was no need to refer the matter to a constitution bench.Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Delhi government, said that there is no need to refer the matter to a constitution bench as the matter can be decided by a three-judge bench. The court said that during its pendency the entire system would be paralyzed. Apart from the Delhi Government, the Central Government also filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the Supreme Court’s decision on the regulation of services in Delhi.On the one hand, the Supreme Court has sent the matter of the ordinance to the constitution bench, and on the other hand, the central government is going to introduce the ordinance in the Parliament. In such a situation, the question arises whether the ongoing fight between the Center and the Delhi government will end with the decision of the Supreme Court? Can the Supreme Court strike down the ordinance? Why is there not a conclusive solution to the dispute over rights despite long hearings and heavy decisions of the Constitution Bench?Why is there not a conclusive solution to the dispute over rights despite long hearings and heavy decisions of the Constitution Bench? The BBC spoke to legal experts to find out the answers to these questions.
