New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the issue of whether the Lieutenant governor (LG) of Delhi can nominate members to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi without the consent of the elected government. 

While hearing the Delhi government petition that sought quashing of notification through which the lieutenant Governor appointed ten nominated aldermen to MCD, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narsimha and Justice JB Pardiwala said that LG, with such power, can effectively destabilize the democratically elected MCD. 

“There is another way to look at it. Is the nomination of people who have specialised knowledge in a local body such great concern to the Union of India? By giving this power to the LG, he can effectively destabilize the democratically elected MCD,” said CJI Chandrachud. 

“They will have voting power. They can be placed anywhere, these ten members by the Lieutenant Governor,” he added. 

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhavi, appearing for AAP led Delhi government agreed to the SC remark and highlighted that the nominations were made in committees where BJP was weak. 

Earlier, the Delhi government had filed a petition against LG’s move to appoint members in MCD.

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