The Supreme Court has issued a stay order on the direction of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that appointed the Lt. Governor of Delhi as the head of the High-Level Committee for Yamuna river pollution. The decision came after the matter was presented before a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice Manoj Misra.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Dr AM Singhvi, representing the Delhi Government, argued that such power should not be given to the Lt. Governor or even a Governor. He contended that a domain expert should lead the committee. Justice Narasimha responded by stating that it was a matter of propriety, and Chief Justice Chandrachud agreed, suggesting that an expert could have been appointed instead. The bench issued a notice in the case.

Chief Justice Chandrachud clarified that the stay order applied only to the appointment of the Lt. Governor as the head of the committee and not the entire NGT order.

The appeal filed under Section 22 of the NGT Act claimed that the appointment of the Lt. Governor as the committee head violated the constitution. The plea argued that the executive power for matters relating to local governance lies exclusively with the State Government, except as limited by parliamentary law. Referring to Article 239AA of the Constitution, the Delhi Government contended that the Lt. Governor is primarily a figurehead with limited powers in specific areas.

The plea also cited the State (NCT of Delhi) v. Union of India (2018) case, wherein the Supreme Court affirmed that the elected government of Delhi has executive powers over all subjects in the state and concurrent list, excluding public order, police, and land.

The appeal was filed and prepared by Advocate-on-Record Shadan Farasat, with assistance from Advocate Aman Naqvi.

Case Title: GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI V. ASHWANI YADAV, DIARY NO. 22325 OF 2023