The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that Delhi can never be given the status of a state as doing so would cause chaos, IANS reported.
The makers of the Constitution never thought of conferring such a status on Delhi, and it cannot be done now by interpreting the Constitution, Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh told a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.
The Delhi government, Singh said, was meant to take care of the “daily utilities” of the national Capital, while the real administrative power is vested with the president and the Union government, The Hindu reported.
The Centre and the Delhi government are involved in a legal battle over who has administrative power over the Capital city and whether the lieutenant governor of Delhi can make unilateral decisions without the Delhi government’s help.
The Delhi government’s counsels did not argue that Delhi was a state but sought the status by interpreting the Constitution, Singh said. “The demand is that ‘I am not a state, but treat me as a state,’” he added.
Senior lawyer Rajiv Dhavan, one of the counsels of the Aam Aadmi Party government, reminded Singh that none of the lawyers representing the Delhi government had argued that Delhi was a state.
Earlier on Tuesday, senior counsel Shekhar Naphade, who also appeared before the court on behalf of the Delhi government, said the lieutenant governor can exercise his discretionary powers, but he has to follow the advice of the elected government on other matters, The Hindu reported.
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