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PART C other matters” except the three matters in the State List in respect of which the power of the Legislative Assembly of NCTD has been excluded.

28. The above discussion implies that all the five Judges in the 2018 Constitution Bench judgment did not construe the phrase “in so far as any such matter is applicable to Union Territories” in Article 239AA to be exclusionary.

29. However, in his opinion in the 2019 split verdict, Justice Bhushan was of the contrary view. He held that the majority opinion in the 2018 Constitution bench judgment did not interpret the phrase “insofar as any such matter is applicable to Union Territories”:

“187. As noticed above, the Constitution Bench in para 39 extracted above has noticed the submissions of the counsel for the respondent that words “insofar as any such matter is applicable to Union Territories…” in Article 239-AA(3)(a) restrict the legislative power of the Legislative Assembly of Delhi to only those entries which are only applicable to Union Territories and not all. The elaborate discussion on its answer is not found in the majority opinion expressed by Justice Dipak Misra, C.J. (as he then was). The submission having been made before the Constitution Bench which submission was considered in other two opinions expressed by Dr Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and myself, it is useful to notice as to what has been said in other two opinions in the Constitution Bench…

191. Dr D.Y. Chandrachud, J., thus, held that the expression “State” is by itself not conclusive of whether a particular provision of the Constitution would apply to Union Territories. His Lordship opined that the expression “insofar as any such matter is applicable to Union Territories” is not one of exclusion nor can it be considered to be so irrespective of subject or context.

192. I had also dealt with the above submission in paras 500, 551 and 552 in the following words: