NEW DELHI, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Putting to rest the long-standing tussle between Delhi authorities and the central government over who wields the power to rule the Indian capital, the Supreme Court Wednesday ruled the real power lies with the elected local government.
In a majority judgment, a five-judge Constitution bench made it clear the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government has powers in all areas except land, police and public order, and the central government's representative -- the Lieutenant Governor -- is bound by its advice.
"The states should enjoy freedom without unsolicited interference from the central government ... popular will cannot be allowed to lose its purpose," the court said.
Asserting the central government's representative has no independent decision-making powers under the Indian Constitution, the bench said: "The Lieutenant Governor is an administrator in a limited sense and is not the Governor."
"The Lieutenant Governor is bound by the advice of (Delhi) cabinet in matters other than those exempted. He needs to work harmoniously with the Delhi government. There is no room for absolutism," it said.
"The Lieutenant Governor special power -- that of referring matters to President -- needs to be exercised in exceptional circumstances and not routinely," Chief Justice Dipak Misra said while reading out the judgment.
The Indian capital's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has hailed the Supreme Court's judgment as "a big victory for people of Delhi."
However, the BJP has claimed that the top court gave some Constitution lessons to the Delhi government, while the main opposition Congress party has blamed the AAP government for the tussle with the central government.
"The Supreme Court verdict has directed the AAP government to follow the law," BJP's Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta told the media.
Former Delhi Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit said: "Delhi is not a state ... If Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor don't work together then Delhi will face problems. Congress ruled Delhi for 15 years, no conflict took place then."
The apex court's ruling came in the wake of a plea by the Delhi government in 2016 against the Delhi High Court's order that the Lieutenant Governor is indeed the administrative boss of the Indian capital as a central government-controlled territory.
Delhi is actually a semi-state. Unlike in much of India, the AAP government does not have absolute administrative powers over the state. The control of the state's police force, land, and law and order rests with the country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government.
The AAP -- which is born out of an anti-corruption revolution in 2011 -- has consistently campaigned for full statehood for Delhi, and its tenure has been peppered with confrontations with the central government.
This was mainly because days after the AAP swept to power in Delhi in 2015, winning 67 of 70 seats and reducing the BJP to only three, the central government had dropped a rule that required the Lieutenant Governor to consult the elected government on every decision.
AAP claims that the central government has since been kind of taking revenge and "using its representative to block every decision taken by the Delhi government," a claim vehemently rejected by the BJP.