In the Public Political Party vs Union of India case, the Supreme Court on 12 February dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Deputy Chief Ministers in States on the ground that no such position exists in the Constitution.
Key points
- A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India found no harm in the appointment of Deputy Chief Ministers, reasoning that they were after all Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) of the States and Ministers of State governments.
- Deputy CM’s are first and foremost Ministers in the government of the State.
- A person who holds the office of the Deputy Chief Minister must at any event, within a stipulated period, be an MLA.
- Such appointments do not breach the Constitution. These persons appointed did not draw a higher salary and were like any other Minister in the government.
- The petitioner Public Political Party argued that such appointments were against Article 14 (right to equality) and the tenet of Article 15 which holds that the State ought not to discriminate on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
- At present, there are 26 deputy CMs in 14 states. Andhra Pradesh leads the list with five deputy CMs, followed by UP, Maharashtra, Bihar, MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Meghalaya and Nagaland with two each.
