LG, Delhi govt spar over nod to appoint prosecutors

Lieutenant governor VK Saxena, invoking special power under section 24(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), has approved a proposal from the Delhi government’s home department to appoint 20 advocates as special public prosecutors and has sent the file to the Union ministry of home affairs for notification of the appointment, officials in the LG secretariat aware of the matter said on Thursday.

The Delhi government, responding to the development, termed the LG’s move illegal, and said that the action will be challenged in the Supreme Court when the apex court opens after vacation.

Delhi is a union territory with legislature and it has a multi-layered overlapping governance system. The executive power of the Union government in the capital is confined to land, police and public order while the elected government has control over transferred subjects like health, education, revenue, etc.

Kejriwal and Saxena have had several run-ins over the control of Delhi since May 26, 2022, when the latter took over as LG. The appointment of the public prosecutors is latest in a raging confrontation between the elected government and the Centre-appointed LG over a range of issues, including on a vigilance inquiry into the expenditure for the reconstruction of the CM’s official residence, the routing of files, and the transfer/posting of officials, among other issues.

Seemingly kicking off a new row, LG secretariat officials on Thursday said that the file for the 20special public prosecutors was cleared for the speedy disposal of 20 cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act which are pending in different courts of the Capital. They claimed that Saxena had to invoke special powers because chief minister Arvind Kejriwal allegedly delayed their appointment.

The LG secretariat said in a statement, “In another case of characteristic inaction, blatant disregard of court orders and insensitivity, the Arvind Kejriwal Government has been sitting over a trial court’s order to appoint senior public prosecutors/prosecutors from CBI for speedy disposal of 20 POCSO cases in different POCSO courts of the city for the past 09 months. The file related to this has been doing rounds from the CM to different ministers since 11.01.2023, and is currently pending with CM Kejriwal for the last 25 days. Constrained by this inaction and unexplained delay on part of the AAP government and CM Arvind Kejriwal, the LG has approved the home department proposal to invoke the power of Central government u/s 24(8) of CrPC and send the proposal for issue of notification for appointment of Sr. prosecutors to the Ministry of Home Affairs.”

In response, the Delhi government in an official statement said, “The LG has issued these orders behind the back of the elected government. Neither the minister nor the CM was taken in confidence by the LG. We are surprised that despite facing strong reprimand from the SC repeatedly, LG has issued orders without jurisdiction. LG’s orders are illegal as many of his earlier orders. We will challenge this in SC when it opens.”

A Delhi government official, declining to be named, said, “The people of Delhi are fed up with the LG, who, rather than doing his own job of maintaining law and order, is repeatedly interfering in the working of the elected government. Delhi has never seen such a negative-minded LG. At a time when the women of Delhi are feeling unsafe, the LG should be devoting his energies to providing safety to the people of Delhi.”

A second Delhi government official said that Supreme Court, in a February 14, 2019 order, categorically found the elected government of Delhi to be the “state government” in the context of the appointment of special public prosecutors under CrPC. “Thus, the exclusive power to grant sanction to prosecute under Section 196 of the CrPC. is also vested in the elected government, and the LG is bound to follow the aid and advice of the cabinet,” the official said.