The Supreme Court on Friday slammed Delhi LG VK Saxena over the election for the last vacant seat in the Delhi Municipal Corporation standing committee and directed him not to hold elections for the post of chairman of the MCD Standing Committee. A bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice R Mahadevan also pointed out that the Lieutenant Governor ordering the elections is a violation of the norm.
The apex court warned, “We will view it seriously if you hold an election for MCD Standing Committee chairman.” The court asked LG Saxena, “The nomination issue is also there; the mayor is there to preside. Where do you get the power?”
The apex court sought a response from the LG office by mentioning that “democracy will be in danger if the LG starts using executive power under the MCD Act for holding elections”.
The top court also objected to the timing and speed of the election. The court asked, “What was the ‘tearing hurry’ in holding elections for members of the MCD Standing Committee? What happens to democracy if we interfere like this? Is there politics in this too?”
The controversy in the election began when the BJP won the last vacant seat in the Delhi Municipal Corporation standing committee. The BJP candidate Sundar Singh won the election unopposed as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress chose to boycott the polls.
Earlier, the LG VK Saxena overruled the decision of Delhi MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi to postpone the election, which sparked the controversy. AAP supremo criticised the move by LG and claimed that he was trying to “steal the mandate.”
“They (freedom fighters) did not sacrifice their lives so that an LG or officers would sideline the elected representatives and run the government as per their wish,” he said. Shelly Oberoi on Sunday approached the apex court to challenge the recent election.
