NEW DELHI: With no sign of abatement of the turf war between the Centre and the Delhi government and a new front opening over the selection of the chief secretary of the national capital territory, the Supreme Court on Friday devised a unique method to insulate those in the zone of consideration from social media discussion by asking the Centre to bring a panel of seasoned civil servants to the court on Tuesday.“We will ask the Delhi government to select, within an hour, one from the panel of names suggested by the Union government for appointment as chief secretary of Delhi,” said a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, a ruling that seeks a balance between the Delhi government's claim that it had the sole prerogative to select the key bureaucrat and the Centre's insistence that, after the change of the law, the matter belonged squarely in its domain.The bench was hearing a petition by the AAP government demanding that the appointment of the successor to Naresh Kumar, who is due for retirement on November 30, be done by the Centre in consultation with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.Appearing for the Kejriwal government, senior advocate A M Singhvi said notwithstanding the generic law vesting the control of services in Delhi with the Union government, the appointment of chief secretary should be done in consultation with the CM.In the federal system of governance in a democracy like India, there must be utmost confidentiality and trust between the government and chief secretary, Singhvi said and requested the court to direct the Centre to consult the Delhi CM on the appointment.Appearing for the lieutenant governor, senior advocate Harish Salve said, “There has been a running commentary on the incumbent chief secretary so much so that he had to move a court to get an injunction against scurrilous attacks.

In this scenario, they (AAP government) come and tell the SC not to foist someone on them.

This is vitiating the atmosphere.”The CJI said, “I don’t think there will be a solution if we leave it to the LG and CM.

Let the Centre or LG suggest a panel of seasoned IAS officers and the CM will pick one of them.” Salve said, “One request, what names are there in the panel should not be in social media discussions.”Justice Chandrachud said, “We completely agree.

Why subject them to scurrilous attacks.” Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said it has happened.

“The moment names are suggested, it is put on social media and subjected to scurrilous attacks.” Singhvi agreed that there should be complete secrecy to selection.The CJI said a workable solution must be found so that there is a degree of confidence between the chief secretary and the Delhi government.

The bench asked the Centre to bring the panel of names and the SG said he would respond to the court’s suggestion on Tuesday.State govt vs Governors: Supreme Court raises questions over delay in Bill approval“The way officers are treated by the ministers, each of them complains about the treatment meted out to them.

They have nothing to do with any party,” he said, adding that the chief secretary of Delhi has always been appointed by the home ministry and that process is going on.