Kiran Bedi vs V Narayanasamy: Puducherry Lt Governor Has No Power to Interfere With Day to Day Activities, Rules Madras High Court

Chennai, April 30: In what could be considered a legal victory for the elected government of Puducherry, the Madras High Court on Tuesday ruled against the Lieutenant Governor's interference in routine governance of the Union Territory. The bench curtailed L-G Kiran Bedi from exercising powers beyond what is accorded to her as per the law.

"Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi does not have the power to interfere with the day to day activities of the Union Territory," the court said. The order further states that L-G has no right to seek any official documents from the Puducherry government. Modi Encouraged Lt Governor to Create Problems For Us, Says Puducherry CM, Says Narayanasamy

The Madras HC's order comes amid a bitter feud between Bedi and Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, after the latter charged her of usurping rights of the elected legislators and the state cabinet.

Update by ANI:

The writ petition, on which the court ruled today, was filed by Congress MLA Lakshminarayan in 2017, questioning whether the L-G has the powers to intervene in the day-to-day activities of the legislators and the council of ministers.

Narayanasamy had recently staged a hunger strike for nearly 15 days outside the L-G's office, accusing the Bedi of bringing the UT's administration to a standstill due to her "unwarranted interference". His agitation had drawn support from an unlikely ally, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has also accused the national capital's L-G Anil Baijal of clipping the powers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 30, 2019 12:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).