High Court order critical of Kiran Bedi

The Madras High Court has stepped in to rein in the runaway administrator that Lt Governor Kiran Bedi had become after she appeared to have appropriated to herself all the powers of Puducherry and reduced the elected government to a sideshow.

Although Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy had approached the Central government against the Lt Governor, he did not get the relief he and his government expected. Even after the Supreme Court order curtailing the exercise of powers by the Delhi Lt Governor, Kiran Bedi contended that the ruling was not applicable to Puducherry and continued appropriating the powers of the elected government.

 “The Central government as well as the Administrator should be true to the concept of democratic principles. Otherwise, the constitutional scheme of the country of being democratic and republic would be defeated,” said Justice R. Mahadevan in his recent order on a petition filed by a Congress MLA in 2017. Section 44 of the Union Territories Act, 1963, states that there shall be a Council of Ministers in each Union Territory to aid and advice the Administrator who shall act in his/her discretion only insofar as any special responsibilities were concerned, the judge pointed out on April 30.

Another issue that was flagged with the court was the practice of Kiran Bedi giving instructions on WhatsApp groups to officials. The judge disapproved of the alleged practice of government officials being made part of social media groups and Kiran Bedi giving instructions to them. According to service rules, they were bound to use only authorised medium of communication when it came to issues relating to administration, the judge said.