Delhi ordinance row: Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, next hearing on July 17

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre following a petition by Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party government, challenging the constitutional validity of the executive order controlling the bureaucrats.

The Delhi administration was ordered to revise its argument and include the Lieutenant Governor as a party in the case by a bench presided over by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.  "We'll issue notice," the bench said while posting the matter for hearing on July 17.

In its plea, the AAP government has said it is an "unconstitutional exercise of executive fiat" that attempts to "override" the top court and the basic structure of the Constitution. Besides quashing the ordinance, the Delhi government has also sought an interim stay on it.

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The Supreme Court was considering a plea from the AAP administration that contested a Centre rule that overturned a Supreme Court decision from May that handed the local government control over administrative services in Delhi.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinet ministers have been seeking the support of various political parties to get the legislation blocked if the Centre tables a bill to replace the ordinance in the upcoming Parliament Monsoon session.

The Delhi government was given executive control over "services" in May by the Supreme Court, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Days later, the Centre introduced an act designating the Lieutenant Governor as the final arbitrator in the case.

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