AAP vs LG: Delhi government paralysed as it can't transfer officers, SC told
New Delhi, July 18 : Amid an ongoing tussle with Lt Governor Anil Baijal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the Delhi government was paralysed because it could not transfer or post bureaucrats.
Senior Congress leader and advocate P. Chidambaram, appearing for the Delhi government, told a bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Navin Sinha that it was an urgent issue and should be heard soon.
"Delhi government is paralysed today. We can't transfer or post officers. What's the purpose of Constitution bench judgement? It's an urgent issue," Chidambaram said. The bench posted the matter for July 26 for hearing as the Lt Governor sought accommodation for a week.
The AAP government has sought an early disposal of all appeals filed by the Delhi government on the scope of its powers in view of the recent verdict by a Constitution bench.
The three-judge Constitution Bench of Chief Justice Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud on July 4 ruled that the Lt Governor was bound to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.
The bench has also ruled that the Lt Governor exercised no independent powers as the representative of the central government except in law and order, police and land. The Delhi government has the powers to legislate and govern on other issues.
The apex court had said that issues regarding various notifications issued by the Delhi government in exercise of its administrative and legislative powers would be dealt separately by an appropriate smaller bench.
After the Supreme Court ruling, the Arvind Kejriwal government had sent Baijal files recommending transfer and posting of officials. But the Lt Governor stonewalled it, saying the issue involving "Services" was yet to be decided.
Baijal said the Union Home Ministry had advised him to keep exercising powers over "Services" because the May 21, 2015 notification remained valid until a regular bench of the apex court decided on it.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
