Supreme Court Restraints Pudocherry Government from implementing cabinet decisions with financial implications

By: – Syed Ali Taher Abedi

The Apex court on Friday deferred the hearing in the case relating to the power struggle between the lieutenant Governor and the elected government of the Union Territory pudocherry to 10 July.

A vacation bench of Justice Deepak Gupta and Surya Kant felt that the matter required to be heard at length and therefore they are listing theplea before a regular bench.

Pudocherry government submitted that it has taken three major cabinet decisions that includes free distribution of rice to the ration card holders, renaming a department and auction of a sick factory.

Senior counsel Kapil Sibel appearing for the Government of Pudocherry said that the scheme of free distribution of rice can be allowed as the scheme has been running for the last ten years.

The solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for lieutenant General Kiran Bedi opposed the same citing the reasons tat the implementation of such scheme will be considered a modification to the earlier order and has huge financial implications.

He said the earlier free rice was distributed to only BPL (Below the Poverty Line) card holders but now the Government of Pudocherry has turned it into a populist scheme and planning to distribute free rice to all ration card holders irrespective of their categories

The Apex court earlier had restrained the Pudocherry government led by Chief Minister V. NarayanaSwamy not to implement any decision, having financial implications.

The Narayanaswamy government is at loggerheads with The Lieutenant General Kiran Bedi.

The Application filed by Centre and Bedi had sought a direction for restoring the situation prevailing before the 30 April Madras High Court Verdict which has clearly mentioned that LG “cannot interfere” in the day-to-day affairs of the elected government in the Union Territory.