Game of Thrones: Another legal battle possible between the Center and the Delhi government.

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has overruled the orders of the Delhi government that has restricted COVID-19 treatment in government and private hospitals only to the residents of Delhi.
Earlier the Delhi government had passed a controversial order that resulted COVID-19 treatment facilities in the government and private hospitals in Delhi only to the residents of Delhi.
The Delhi government had justified this decision by citing a lack of capacity for treating outsiders and hence, it was trying to prioritize the residents of Delhi while treating for COVID-19.

But the lieutenant governor, in his capacity as the chairperson of the Delhi disaster management authority, has overruled the decision of the delhi government. He has stated in his order that right to health is integral to 'right to life' that has been recognized as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian constitution and so, this fundamental right can't be restricted on the basis of one's residency.

This order of the lieutenant governor highlights the conflict between the office of the L.G. and the Delhi government over the distribution of powers as far as the administration of the National capital territory (NCT of Delhi) is concerned.
This development also highlights that the Chief Minister of Delhi doesn't share the same powers as that of the chief ministers of other states, because in other states, it is the chief minister who is the chairperson of their Disaster management authority. But in the case of Delhi, the administrator of the NCT region, i.e. the L.G. is the chairperson of the Delhi disaster management authority, and not the chief minister of Delhi.

Why this conflict between the L.G. and the Chief Minister of Delhi 

Delhi enjoys a special status by virtue of being the national capital of India. Since it is the national capital, it acts as the seat of power of the central government and it also houses foreign missions and embassies. So in this regard, Delhi enjoys a unique strategic value and ensuring its security is of great concern for the central government. The central government would naturally have the desire to secure the seat of power and it also have an obligation to ensure the security of the foreign missions.

In the national capital, the center would like to utilize land and make allocation for various government offices and as well as for foreign embassies. So for the purpose of security, law and order, and control over land,the central government would desire to have control over 3 state subject, i.e. land, police and public order, which otherwise have been placed under state list of the seventh schedule of the Indian constitution. 

So the need of the center to exercise control over the subjects of land, police and public order was fulfilled through the 69th amendment act which introduced article 239AA and article 239AB to the Indian constitution. This article outlines the special status that is given to Delhi. It establishes Delhi as the national capital territory and it has been set up as a union territory with an elected legislative assembly. It also provides that the NCT region would be administered by the office of the L.G., who would be appointed as the administrator by the central government through the office of the president of India.  

So essentially, the L.G. of Delhi acts on the advice of the president and the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in order to administer the NCT region and establish the control of the center over these 3 subjects. 

But with regard to all the other state subjects, it is the council of ministers who are drawn from the elected legislative assembly, headed by the chief minister, who would exercise the jurisdiction and administrative powers. 

But this unique distribution of powers lays the ground for a conflict between the office of the L.G. and the Delhi government. Over the years, the complaint of the chief minister of Delhi and the Delhi government has always been that the central government unnecessarily interferes in the administration of the NCT region by misusing the office of the L.G. 

After the series of legal battles between the L.G's office and the Delhi government, the matter was finally settled by the Supreme Court in a historic ruling in 2018. In this case, the SC held that the LG has no discretionary powers of it's own. The SC made it clear that as far as the subjects of land, police and public order are concerned, the LG would be acting as per the directions of the ministry of home affairs, issued through the office of the president of India. 

Apart from these 3 excluded subjects, the LG is bound by the aid and advice of the council of ministers of the Delhi government.

But despite this ruling of the SC, the power tussle between the office of the LG and the Delhi government has continued in few other areas. For example, in 2019, there was another legal battle between these 2 institutions which had reached the doorsteps of the SC. This dispute was over the powers of the Delhi government to appoint and transfer Delhi government officers and to exercise control over the anti-corruption bureau. 

In this ruling the SC drew a boundary between the powers of the LG and the Delhi government  and it recognized that the Delhi government had the powers to appoint and transfer officers whereas the LG enjoys jurisdiction over the Anti-corruption bureau. 

But still there are other areas and subjects where the conflict keeps coming up and this is one of the reasons why the elected government of Delhi has always been demanding full statehood for the Delhi NCT region. 

But the center has taken the opposite stand and it says that the NCT region can't be granted full statehood because it is the national capital of India and by being the national capital, it acquires a strategic value for the center and it would be very essential for the central government to exercise control over at least these 3 subjects as far as the administration of the region is concerned.

So the recent order of the LG overruling the decision of the Delhi government falls under the same category. The LG, as the chairperson of the Delhi disaster management authority, has passed this order but however, this could open up a new legal battle between both these offices.