Despite SC’s order, Delhi officials refuse to cede power to AAP govt

After Supreme Court’s decision on Wednesday in favour of the Delhi government, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's first move was to send a file to Secretary (Services), authorising Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to transfer officers instead of Lt Governor Anil Baijal. The file was sent back the same evening with a detailed note that called Sisodia's order “legally untenable.”

"Chief Secretary (Services) sent us a written document expressing why the Services department would not be able to carry out the orders. We are consulting our lawyers regarding the issue," Sisodia told reporters.

The note from the Services department said the Supreme Court has not yet cancelled a union home ministry notification in May 2015 - months after AAP swept the elections and took power - assigning the job of transferring and posting bureaucrats to the Lieutenant governor.

This means, despite the Supreme Court's ruling, that officials are firm that the Delhi government could only control movement of personnel at a lower level, like stenos.

Officials say the subject is still being decided by the Supreme Court, so the Kejriwal government cannot jump the gun.

In a series of tweets this morning, AAP said: "The LG can't do transfers as per orders of the Supreme Court and the officers insist they will not obey (Sisodia's) orders till the home ministry notification is explicitly quashed. So, will there be no transfer orders in Delhi from now till decision of Division Bench?"

AAP also tweeted: "Delhi Services Department refuses to abide by @msisodia order, says 'government can't take transfer decisions'. This is a clear violation of the Supreme Court order."

The services department has been a key trigger for the AAP-Lt Governor feud in the past three years. The first major face-off was over the Lt Governor appointing bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin as interim chief secretary despite strong objections from Kejriwal and AAP. Since, Kejriwal and his ministers have routinely objected to officials being posted or shifted without the Lt Governor consulting the Delhi government.

AAP took the SC’s decision as a big victory. The SC had said, “The cabinet must convey all decisions to the Lieutenant Governor but his concurrence is not required in all matters." The court also said the Lt Governor must not be "obstructionist" and "should not act in a mechanical manner and stall decisions of the Delhi cabinet.”

(with agency inputs)