Division Bench sets aside 2021 single judge ruling that treated Arvind Kejriwal’s COVID-era rent relief assurance as legally binding
The Delhi High Court has held that a promise or assurance made by a Chief Minister during a press conference cannot be enforced in the absence of a formulated government policy, while setting aside a 2021 single judge decision which had held otherwise.
The ruling came in an appeal filed by the Government of NCT of Delhi challenging the earlier judgment which had declared that assurances given by then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regarding payment of rent for poor tenants during the COVID-19 lockdown were legally enforceable.
The issue traces back to March 29, 2020, when, days after the nationwide lockdown was imposed, the Chief Minister addressed a press conference requesting landlords to defer rent collection from economically weaker tenants.
During the same address, it was stated that if tenants were unable to pay rent due to poverty, the government would bear the rent on their behalf.
Subsequently, a writ petition was filed seeking enforcement of this assurance.
In its judgment dated July 22, 2021, a single judge of the High Court held that such a promise or representation by a Chief Minister amounts to an enforceable promise and directed the government to act upon it.
Challenging the ruling, the Delhi Government contended before the Division Bench that the statement made in the press conference was merely a political statement and did not constitute a binding promise enforceable in law.
However, the Division Bench rejected the submission insofar as it characterised the assurance as merely a “statement made by a politician,” indicating that the nature of the statement required closer legal scrutiny.
Court’s observations on enforceability of executive promises
The High Court ultimately held that for any such assurance to be enforceable, it must be backed by a duly formulated policy or statutory framework.
It clarified that a statement made in a press conference, without any corresponding policy decision or implementation mechanism, cannot by itself create a legally enforceable obligation on the State.
In doing so, the Court overturned the reasoning of the single judge that had treated the Chief Minister’s assurance as binding per se.
Allowing the Delhi Government’s appeal, the Division Bench set aside the July 22, 2021 judgment.
The Court thus held that the assurance regarding payment of rent to poor tenants, made during a press conference in 2020, was not enforceable in law in the absence of a formal policy decision by the government.
