List of lieutenant governors of Delhi


The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is the constitutional head of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The post was established in September 1966, following the enactment of The Delhi Administration Act, 1966. Thereafter, the former Delhi Legislative Assembly was replaced by the Delhi Metropolitan Council comprising 56 elected and 5 nominated members with the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi presiding as its head. The Council, however, had no legislative powers: it merely played an advisory role in the governance of Delhi. This setup sustained until 1990, when the Assembly was reinstated; the position of Lieutenant Governor retained its role.
Government of [National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021|The National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021] was introduced in the Parliament of India and was passed by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The bill specifies that, in any law made by the Legislative Assembly, the term "Government" shall refer to the Lieutenant Governor.
The incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is Vinai Kumar Saxena. Raj Niwas in Civil Lines, Delhi, serves as the Lieutenant Governor's official residence.

List

Chief Commissioners

Delhi was previously headed by a Chief Commissioner who was an officer of the Imperial Civil Service.
#NamePortraitTook officeLeft officeDuration
1Shankar Prasada, PPA19481954
2Anand Dattahaya Pandit, ICS19541959
3Bhagwan Sahay, ICS19591963
4Venkata Vishwanathan, ICS19647 September 1966
5Aditya Nath Jha, ICS7 September 19661 November 1966

Lieutenant governors

In 1966, the Delhi Administration Act was passed, which established the Delhi Metropolitan Council with the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi as its head. So far, there have been 21 individuals who have held this post, including 12 IAS officers, 4 ICS officers, 2 IPS officers, 2 senior IAF officers, and 1 IFS officer. The appointees have generally been retired, with the exception of Najeeb Jung, who resigned from service.
NamePortraitTook officeLeft officeDuration
1Aditya Nath Jha, ICS7 November 196619 January 1972
2M.C. Pimputkar, ICS19 January 197223 April 1972
3Baleshwar Prasad, IAS24 April 19723 October 1974
4Krishan Chand, ICS3 October 197430 March 1978
5Dalip Rai Kohli, ICS30 March 197817 February 1980
6Jagmohan Malhotra, IAS17 February 198030 March 1981
7Sundar Lal Khurana, IAS30 March 19812 September 1982
Jagmohan Malhotra, IAS2 September 198225 April 1984
8P. G. Gavai, IAS25 April 1984Nov 1984
9Mohan M.K. Wali, IASNov 1984Nov 1985
10Air [vice marshal (India)|AVM] H. L. Kapur, PVSM, AVSM16 November 19853 August 1988
11Romesh Bhandari, IFS4 August 198811 December 1989
12Marshal of the [Indian Air Force |MIAF] Arjan Singh, Distinguished [Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|DFC]12 December 1989December 1990
13Markandey Singh, IPSDec 19904 May 1992
14Prasannabhai Karunashankar Dave, IAS4 May 19924 January 1997
15Tejendra Khanna, IAS4 January 199720 April 1998
16Vijai Kapoor, IAS20 April 19989 June 2004
17Banwari Lal Joshi, IPS9 June 20049 April 2007
Tejendra Khanna, IAS9 April 20079 July 2013
18Najeeb Jung, IAS9 July 201322 December 2016
19Anil Baijal, IAS31 December 201618 May 2022
20Vinai Kumar Saxena26 May 2022Incumbent

Oath

“I, A. B., do swear in the name of God/solemly affirm that I will faithfully
execute the office of Lieutenant Governor of............. and will to
the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution and the law and that I will devote myself to
the service and well-being of the people of..……….”