Centre, states should display harmonious co-existence, avoid discord: SC

The Centre and state governments must display harmonious "coexistence and interdependence" to avoid any possible constitutional discord, the Supreme Court said today.

In its landmark verdict on the power tussle between the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government and the Centre, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the Constitution mandated a federal balance in which independence of a certain required degree has been assured to the state governments.

"As opposed to centralism, a balanced federal structure mandates that the Union does not usurp all powers and the states enjoy freedom without any unsolicited interference from the Central Government with respect to matters which exclusively fall within their domain," CJI Misra, who wrote the 237-page verdict for himself and on behalf of Justices A K Sikri and A M Khanwilkar, said.

The bench also emphasised on the principle of collective responsibility and said it was of immense significance in the context of 'aid and advice'.

"Ours is a parliamentary form of government guided by the principle of collective responsibility of the Cabinet. The Cabinet owes a duty towards the legislature for every action taken in any of the ministries and every individual minister is responsible for every act of the ministry," it said.

"If a well deliberated legitimate decision of the council of ministers is not given effect to due to an attitude to differ on the part of the Lieutenant Governor, then the concept of collective responsibility would stand negated," the court said.

The bench said that the idea behind concept of collaborative federalism was "negotiation and coordination" so as to iron out the differences which may arise between the Centre and state governments in their respective pursuits of development.

"The Union government and the state governments should endeavour to address the common problems with the intention to arrive at a solution by showing statesmanship, combined action and sincere cooperation. In collaborative federalism, the Union and the state governments should express their readiness to achieve the common objective and work together for achieving it," the court said.

The bench said that they were "absolutely unequivocal" that both the Centre and states must work within their spheres and not think of any encroachment.

"The constitutional vision beckons both the Central and the State Governments alike with the aim to have a holistic edifice. Thus, the Union and the State Governments must