india

Updated: Jul 12, 2019 22:41 IST

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to extend its order restraining the Congress government in Puducherry from implementing any cabinet decisions having financial implications and asked the Centre to move the Madras high court with its plea on alleged power tussle between the chief minister and the lieutenant governor.

Puducherry LG Kiran Bedi and CM V Narayanasamy have been at loggerheads ever since she took office in May 2016. Following the stand-off, Bedi had moved the Madras HC seeking clarity on control of bureaucrats in Puducherry.

The apex court had on June 4 directed that “any decision in the cabinet meeting to be convened on July 7 having financial implications or with respect to any transfer of the lands shall not be implemented”.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose on Friday did not allow the plea of solicitor general Tushar Mehta that the issue of alleged power tussle between LG and the CM was important and required a judicial decision in the light of the five-judge Constitution bench verdict in the Delhi-Centre power row matter.

“We are not inclined to entertain this case. It would be open to the petitioner [Centre] to challenge the order of the single judge bench order [of the HC] in the division bench,” the bench said.

The Puducherry government, led by CM Narayanaswamy, had earlier told the apex court that it has taken three decisions — distribution of free rice to all ration card holders, renaming a department and auctioning of a factory.

Out of these, free distribution of rice to all ration card holders can be allowed as the scheme has been running for the last 10 years, it had said. The counsel for Bedi said the scheme cannot be allowed as it would be a modification of an earlier order and has a huge financial implication.

On April 30, the Madras HC allowed a plea filed by Congress MLA Laksminarayanan and set aside the two communications issued in 2017 by the ministry of home affairs “elevating” the powers of the administrator.

Referring to the SC judgement on the tussle between Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and LG Anil Baijal, the high court had said that restrictions imposed on Delhi government are not applicable to the Puducherry government.

CM Narayanasamy called Friday’s ruling as a “victory for people of Puducherry and democracy”.

LG Kiran Bedi said she has not read the complete order yet. “Therefore I cannot offer my comments as yet,” Bedi said.