NEW DELHI: The AAP based Arvind Kejriwal government on Tuesday put a surprising question to the Supreme Court: Has the Constitution of independent India or any law passed by Parliament affirmed Delhi as the capital of India?
in conflict for Delhi government in its effort to shape out specific areas for unhindered exercise of its decision-making authority, senior advocate Indira Jaising said a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan that there was no mentioning statement in the Constitution or in any law that Delhi was the capital of India.
“Nations’ Capital is not defined by any law. Tomorrow, the Centre can make a decision to move the capital to somewhere else. The Constitution also does not say the capital is to be Delhi. We know that the British changed the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. There is National Capital Territory of Delhi Act but it does not constitute Delhi as the capital of India," she said. The bench did not comment.
Indira Jaising said the decisive question before the bench was whether there could be two orders over NCT — Delhi government and the Union government. "I am not claiming that Delhi is a state as it has an assembly and a council of ministers headed by the chief minister. But like the decision-making powers of the states and the Centre are defined and made elatedly, a similar solution needs to be found for Delhi," she insisted
Indira further said there has to be a division of executive power between Centre and Delhi government so as to allow the Kejriwal government to roll smoothly without hindrance by the Centre, at least in the field of social welfare subjects like women's welfare, employment, education, sanitation and healthcare.
The bench told the Constitution provided for three different lists that itemize the subjects on which the Centre and the states could be legislated. "All states have to work in cooperation with the Centre. No legislation pointed to vertical division of decision-making power," it said.
