Q.Read the news report (Centre, Delhi join hands on CNG issue, Sept 2001) and identify the governments at different levels, the role of Supreme Court, elements of judiciary/executive working, and policy/legislation/implementation/interpretation issues involved.

This is a real 2001 news report on the Centre and Delhi Government jointly approaching the Supreme Court over its CNG mandate for Delhi's buses. …

Governments at different levels: the Union/Central Government, represented by the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Mr Ram Naik, and the Delhi (State/Union Territory) Government, represented by Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit. Both agreed to jointly approach the Supreme Court, filing separate affidavits that would nonetheless make common points.

Role of the Supreme Court: the Court had already directed the phasing out of non-CNG commercial vehicles in Delhi and had refused to relax that CNG requirement specifically for buses — though it had never insisted on CNG for taxis or auto-rickshaws. The two governments were now approaching the Court to seek more flexibility: a dual-fuel policy rather than CNG alone, permission to use 0.05 per cent low-sulphur diesel for buses, and permission for vehicles meeting Euro-II emission standards to keep plying.

Elements of judiciary and executive working together: the Court had effectively set an environmental policy target (CNG conversion) through its directive — a clear instance of judicial activism — while the executive at both levels had to work out how to actually implement it: converting a fleet of about 10,000-odd buses, managing CNG-station queues, and coordinating fuel supply. This is exactly the kind of situation the chapter flags as blurring the line between judiciary and executive, since the Court effectively found itself setting transport and environmental policy that would ordinarily belong to the administration. …