Officers not appearing before assembly panels will now have to fall in line: Delhi Speaker after SC verdict

New Delhi: Hours after the Supreme Court verdict on the Centre-Delhi services matter, Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said bureaucrats not appearing before House committees will now have to "fall in line" and asserted that works stopped on the lieutenant governor's directions will be resumed.

In a unanimous verdict, the apex court ruled that the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over services except for public order, police and land.

Goel said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital will now function at full-speed as officers will have to work properly.

"Officers will now have to appear before House committees and also reply to queries raised by MLAs following the Supreme Court verdict. They have to fall in line. They (bureaucrats) will have to work properly as transfer and posting have now come under the Delhi government," the speaker told PTI.

He said programmes such as the Delhi government's yoga classes, which were stopped by officers following Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's "directions", will be resumed by the AAP government.

"There were no medicines and doctors in 'Mohalla Clinics' three months ago as payment was stopped by the principal finance secretary that time. Senior citizens, who were not getting their pensions for four months, will now get the same in time," the Goel said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said the speed of work in the national capital will increase manifold following the Supreme Court verdict on administration of services as his hands were earlier tied. He also announced that officers who "obstructed" work of the people will soon "face the music".

"My hands were tied and I was thrown in the water to swim. But we managed to stay afloat. Despite all obstacles, we did good work in Delhi," Kejriwal said.

Asserting that an elected government needs to have control over the administration, a five-judge constitution bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said the Union Territory of Delhi has "sui generis (unique) character" and refused to agree with the 2019 judgement of Justice Ashok Bhushan that the Delhi government has no power over the issue of services.