“Plea To Increase Number Of Ministers Needs Consideration”: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said that a petition asking to increase the number of ministers in the Delhi government deserves proper consideration.

The case will now be heard again on July 28.

A bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela raised several important questions to the petitioner’s lawyer before deciding to hear the matter in detail later this year.

The petition was filed by Aakash Goel through his lawyer Kumar Utkarsh. It argued that the Delhi government is currently run by just seven ministers, even though there are 38 portfolios (or departments) and 70 elected MLAs in the Delhi Assembly.

The petition pointed out that this is the lowest number of ministers in any state or union territory in the country. In comparison, Goa and Sikkim have at least 12 ministers each, even though they have only 40 and 32 MLAs, respectively.

Challenge To Constitutional Provision

The plea also challenged Article 239AA of the Constitution, which limits the number of ministers in Delhi to just 10% of the total MLAs. The petitioner argued that this rule is unfair, discriminatory, and goes against the spirit of the Constitution, particularly the principles of federalism, democracy, and efficient governance.

The petition said that Delhi is not like other union territories. Because of Article 239AA, it has a “sui generis” (one of a kind) status that gives it a special position, and so it should not be treated like other union territories when it comes to ministerial strength.

Court Acknowledges Delhi’s Special Status

The High Court agreed that Delhi has a unique status under the Constitution. The bench said Delhi can’t be directly compared to other states, as its governance structure involves power-sharing between the Centre and the state government — a system not found in other states.

“How can you compare Delhi with other states when its constitutional setup is so different?” the bench asked. It noted that certain state-level powers are shared with the Centre in Delhi, unlike in other parts of India.

Call To Align Laws With Other States

The petition also referred to Article 164(1A) of the Constitution, which says that the number of ministers in a state, including the chief minister, should not be more than 15% of the total number of MLAs, but not less than 12 ministers. However, this rule does not apply to Delhi due to Article 239AA.

The petitioner said this created an inconsistency, and the Centre should amend Article 239AA to bring Delhi in line with the rest of the country. The failure to do so, the plea said, was depriving Delhi citizens of effective governance and their right to equality.

Governance Issues

The petition added that the small number of ministers in Delhi has led to administrative delays, inefficiencies, and heavy workloads on the current ministers, ultimately affecting policy implementation and public services.

The High Court has now allowed the matter to be heard further and scheduled the next hearing for July 28.