Puducherry L-G Kiran Bedi Can't Interfere With Govt's Day-to-day Activities, Rules Madras HC

[Kool_SRG]

The order came on a writ petition filed by Puducherry Congress MLA Lakshminarayanan in 2017 questioning the L-G’s powers.

The Madras High Court on Tuesday curtailed the powers of Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, saying she does not have the power to interfere with the day-to-day activities of the Union Territory. Bedi has been engaged in a running feud with Chief Minister V Narayansamy over alleged interference in the state’s policies ever since she assumed office in May 2016.

The order came on a writ petition filed by Puducherry Congress MLA Lakshminarayanan in 2017 questioning the L-G’s powers to interfere in day-to-day administration despite the presence of a council of ministers.

 

 

 

The power tussle between Bedi and Narayansamy intensified last year after the Chief Minister launched a six-day agitation against the alleged interference in state policies. He also received support from his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, who said Delhi was facing a similar situation. Narayanasamy had accused Bedi of working on the Centre’s orders to disrupt the functioning of his government. 
 

 

Bedi, on her part, has denied the allegations, saying she was working within the ambit of the Government of Union Territories Act of 1963. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she alleged that Narayanasamy and his colleagues were making "persistent" allegations that her office was a "bottleneck" in implementing welfare schemes.
 

 

With reference to the power tussle, the Supreme Court had clarified last year that the case of Puducherry could not be compared with that of Delhi as it is governed by a provision which is different from that concerning the national capital.

The top court said that the case of Puducherry even stood on a different footing from the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep and Chandigarh.

Highlighting the difference between Delhi and Puducherry, the bench held: “At the outset, we must declare that the insertion of Articles 239AA and 239AB which specifically pertain to NCT of Delhi is reflective of the intention of the Parliament to accord Delhi a sui generis status from the other Union Territories as well as from the Union Territory of Puducherry to which Article 239A is singularly applicable as on date.”

With regard to Puducherry, the bench said that Article 239A gives the discretion to Parliament to create a Council of Ministers and/or a body which may either be wholly elected or partly elected and partly nominated to perform the functions of a legislature.

It said that the Article was brought into force by the Constitution (14th Amendment) Act, 1962. Prior to 1971, under Article 239A, Parliament had the power to create legislatures or Council of Ministers for the then Union territories of Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, Goa and Daman and Diu.

 

[Kool_SRG]

Win for Puducherry CM, Madras HC rules LG cannot interfere in govt’s daily affairs

The verdict comes months after the Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasami staged a dharna with his colleagues outside the residence of LG Kiran Bedi.

In a significant win for Puducherry’s elected Council of Ministers, the Madras High Court on Tuesday ruled that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) does not have the right to interfere in the daily affairs of the elected government.

The order was delivered by Justice R Mahadevan on Tuesday on a petition filed by Puducherry Raj Bhavan MLA K Lakshminarayanan. Justice Mahadevan ordered that the LG is bound by the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers in matters which rests with the legislature of Puducherry.

“The Administrator is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in matters where the Legislative Assembly is competent to enact laws as contemplated under Section 44 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1962 though she is empowered to differ with the views of the Council based on some rationale which raises a fundamental issue regarding the action of the Government,” read the order.

Further, the order addressed the main bone of contention between the MLA and the LG and stated, ”The Administrator cannot interfere in the day to day affairs of the Government. The decision taken by the Council of Ministers and the Chief Minister is binding on the Secretaries and other officials.” It also stated that the Administrator has no exclusive authority to run the administration negating the Constitutional Principles and the Parliamentary Laws governing the issue.

This order comes months after the Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasami had staged a dharna with his Cabinet colleagues outside the residence of LG Kiran Bedi opposing her alleged overreach of powers, which he said interfered in his government’s functioning.

The tussle between Puducherry CM and LG Kiran Bedi

The dispute dates back to 2017 when the row between the Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasami and LG Kiran Bedi was at its peak. While Narayanasami had always maintained that the LG did not have the right to interfere into the daily affairs of the elected government of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi had refuted that stance by saying that she was the administrator of the union territory and hence had the right to conduct meetings and demand document for the decisions taken by the government.

She also had with her, an order passed by the government of India, granting her the rights to ask for documents from the government of Puducherry. Following this, MLA Lakshminarayanan approached the court seeking the quashing of this order that was issued by the government of India.

He had also stated that the fact that the LG was conducting review meetings with officials bypassing the elected government, calling for each and every file even before they are officially circulated to her as per the rules and hierarchy, and conducting inspections and giving on-the-spot orders, amount to running ‘a parallel and diametrically opposite Government within the government’.

During the hearing, LG’s personal secretary had submitted that the law provides special powers to LG and that the administrator of the Union Territory of Puducherry itself is the LG and hence the petition must not be allowed.

Senior advocate P Chidambaram represented K Lakshminarayanan and submitted that LG has the power to interfere only in the rarest of rare decisions of the government and not in the daily affairs of the elected government of Puducherry.

The Union Home Ministry had submitted that the petition filed by the MLA is not maintainable under the law and cannot be filed as a Public Interest Litigation either.  It further argued that the MLA was an individual and that he has no interest (locus standi) in filing this petition.

[futureofandhra]

27 minutes ago, Kool_SRG said:

Win for Puducherry CM, Madras HC rules LG cannot interfere in govt’s daily affairs

The verdict comes months after the Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasami staged a dharna with his colleagues outside the residence of LG Kiran Bedi.

In a significant win for Puducherry’s elected Council of Ministers, the Madras High Court on Tuesday ruled that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) does not have the right to interfere in the daily affairs of the elected government.

The order was delivered by Justice R Mahadevan on Tuesday on a petition filed by Puducherry Raj Bhavan MLA K Lakshminarayanan. Justice Mahadevan ordered that the LG is bound by the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers in matters which rests with the legislature of Puducherry.

“The Administrator is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in matters where the Legislative Assembly is competent to enact laws as contemplated under Section 44 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1962 though she is empowered to differ with the views of the Council based on some rationale which raises a fundamental issue regarding the action of the Government,” read the order.

Further, the order addressed the main bone of contention between the MLA and the LG and stated, ”The Administrator cannot interfere in the day to day affairs of the Government. The decision taken by the Council of Ministers and the Chief Minister is binding on the Secretaries and other officials.” It also stated that the Administrator has no exclusive authority to run the administration negating the Constitutional Principles and the Parliamentary Laws governing the issue.

This order comes months after the Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasami had staged a dharna with his Cabinet colleagues outside the residence of LG Kiran Bedi opposing her alleged overreach of powers, which he said interfered in his government’s functioning.

The tussle between Puducherry CM and LG Kiran Bedi

The dispute dates back to 2017 when the row between the Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasami and LG Kiran Bedi was at its peak. While Narayanasami had always maintained that the LG did not have the right to interfere into the daily affairs of the elected government of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi had refuted that stance by saying that she was the administrator of the union territory and hence had the right to conduct meetings and demand document for the decisions taken by the government.

She also had with her, an order passed by the government of India, granting her the rights to ask for documents from the government of Puducherry. Following this, MLA Lakshminarayanan approached the court seeking the quashing of this order that was issued by the government of India.

He had also stated that the fact that the LG was conducting review meetings with officials bypassing the elected government, calling for each and every file even before they are officially circulated to her as per the rules and hierarchy, and conducting inspections and giving on-the-spot orders, amount to running ‘a parallel and diametrically opposite Government within the government’.

During the hearing, LG’s personal secretary had submitted that the law provides special powers to LG and that the administrator of the Union Territory of Puducherry itself is the LG and hence the petition must not be allowed.

Senior advocate P Chidambaram represented K Lakshminarayanan and submitted that LG has the power to interfere only in the rarest of rare decisions of the government and not in the daily affairs of the elected government of Puducherry.

The Union Home Ministry had submitted that the petition filed by the MLA is not maintainable under the law and cannot be filed as a Public Interest Litigation either.  It further argued that the MLA was an individual and that he has no interest (locus standi) in filing this petition.

Welcome to pushpam batch world

Decades to congi

5 years to pushpam batch to demolish