SC says can't entertain every issue between Delhi govt and LG

New Delhi [India], December 15 : The Supreme Court on Friday while hearing a plea of the Delhi Commission of Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) over the alleged freezing of its funds, said that it can't entertain every issue between the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor (LG).
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra refused to entertain the plea of DCPCR and asked it to approach the Delhi High Court.
Not every issue between the Delhi government and LG could be covered under an Article 32 petition before the Supreme Court, said CJI.
The Supreme Court is primarily concerned with adjudicating upon the broader constitutional issues, CJI told senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who was representing DCPCR.
"Mr. Sankaranarayanan, what's happening is, every dispute all in sundry between the Delhi government and the LG is coming here... It's (the court) to entertain some broader constitutional issues, now it must go to the High Court. Everything between the government and the LG is coming here every two days. Yesterday Bus Marshal's scheme was discontinued, we get a petition under Article 32."
Sankaranarayanan told the bench that the Commission functions independently of the Delhi government and said that the Centre freeze everything that the Delhi government is doing.
"You conduct whatever you want but don't freeze our money. How can 6 million children of the State be told that not a penny is going to come to the Commission? They freeze everything that the Delhi government is doing. But, I am an independent Commission, I am required by the Parliament to function independently," Shankarnarayan argued.
However, the bench was not inclined to entertain the plea and asked him to approach the High Court.
Senior advocate then told the bench that Commission's member and Chairperson has retired on November 30. To this, the bench directed top court's registry to transfer the proceedings to the Delhi High Court.
Yesterday, the apex court declined to entertain a plea of Delhi government challenging LG VK Saxena's decision to terminate the services of all civil defence volunteers working as marshals in DTC buses here.
It asked AAP government to approach the Delhi High Court with the plea.
In November, LG gave his nod to the Delhi government's proposal to institute an inquiry to probe the allegations of misuse of funds by DCPCR and conduct a special audit of its accounts.
While giving his nod to the request for inquiry and special audit, the LG also directed that no further request for allocation of funds by DCPCR should be entertained till it is completed.
DCPCR is a statutory watchdog of the Delhi government on child rights matters.