The High Court of Delhi on Wednesday vacated its stay on the decision taken by the Lieutenant Governor to expel 237 temporary appointments made by the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government without the LG’s approval.
LG Vinai Kumar Saxena had previously stayed the appointments stating that they were made without his approval and also without adhering to the constitutional provisions for reservation to SCs/STs.
The appointees included Fellows, Associate Fellows, Advisors, Senior Research Officers and Consultants in various departments, who were allotted the posts by the Aam Aadmi Party government under the ‘Chief Minister Urban Leader Fellowship Programme’. The scheme was likely to cost the exchequer around Rs 30 crore annually.
The Delhi government moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the LG’s letter, which was denied.The appointees on the said posts then approached the Delhi High Court seeking payment of their salaries stopped after the LG’s letter.
While the said payment was allowed by the High Court, the Legislative Assembly Secretariat of the NCT of Delhi challenged it. The High Court vacated its stay on the LG’s letter after it was apprised that the Apex Court had refused to grant the stay too.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Subromonium Prasad rejected the argument made by the AAP government that since the Supreme Court had not passed any order on the matter, the High Court could do so.
The High Court noted that this would be against the judicial propriety and directed the Delhi government to go back to the Supreme Court for any clarifications.