Puducherry: Puducherry Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking the maintenance of status quo in respect of her administrative powers prior to the Madras High Court adjudication that curtailed her authority to act independently of the Union Territory’s elected government.
The application filed by Bedi reads, "Persuant to the order dated 10.05.2019 , propriety demanded that status quo ante as it existed prior to the impinged judgement dated 30.04.2019 having been passed, be maintained. However it was not to be."
The retired IPS officer has alleged in her petition that the officers in Puducherry are threatened of contempt of court action. She has further stated that the administration is confused on whether to implement the Madras HC order or not.
In her plea, she cited "administrative chaos" as the reason behind the urgency.
On April 30, the Madras High Court ruled that Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi “cannot interfere” in the day-to-day affairs of Puducherry’s elected government. Referring to the Supreme Court judgment on the tussle between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Anil Baijal, the high court also said restrictions imposed on the Government of Delhi are not applicable to the Government of Puducherry.
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The court’s ruling came on a plea by K Laksminarayanan, a Congress MLA, who had alleged that Kiran Bedi was running a “parallel government” in Puducherry.
