Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Thursday said the Delhi High Court ruling, which said anyone in his position was the administrative head of the Delhi-National Capital Region, was not a victory or loss for either him or the ruling party. He emphasised that governing the city under constitutional laws was of critical importance, at the end of the day. "It is not a victory for anyone. It is not a win for Najeeb Jung and a loss for Arvind Kejriwal. The court order is a kind of clarification that incorrect things will have to be corrected," he said, according to PTI.
Earlier on Thursday, the high court dismissed the Aam Aadmi Party's contention that the lieutenant governor must act on the advice of the Delhi Cabinet. The court also ruled that the Council of Ministers must confer with Jung before making key decisions. Reacting to the verdict, AAP said they will challenge the order in the Supreme Court.During a press conference, Jung said that various decision made by the Delhi government that he did not agree with will have to be "corrected", such as its orders to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission and a few directions related to tax. The lieutenant governor, who has been involved in a jurisdictional tussle with the AAP government in Delhi for a while, added that the high court ruling clarified that there were subjects related to services that he could handle that did not need the Centre's approval.
The high court bench stated that it was not unconstitutional for a lieutenant governor to exercise their powers on service matters. It was hearing nine petitions on the power tussle between the Delhi government and the lieutenant governor. The AAP-led government had argued that it does not need to take Jung's permission on matters such as law and order and land. The Centre, however, claimed that it had a range of powers in the area through the lieutenant governor.
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