The Supreme Court’s verdict on Thursday on the Centre-Delhi services row has come as a boost for the AAP government before next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

Delhi chief minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal told reporters on Thursday that his functioning for the last eight years had been akin to “both my hands being tied, and being thrown into a river and told to swim”.

Three months after he was re-elected as chief minister in 2015, the Centre took control of the services portfolio — which governs the transfers and postings of public servants — in the capital.

Kejriwal’s government has been in a legal battle with the Centre ever since, with a decisive blow being struck when Parliament amended the law that governs the capital in 2021 and gave overarching powers to the lieutenant governor.

“I thank the people of Delhi who supported us during this time without which we could not have done the work we did…. Now we will work at 10 times the speed. The most important thing is to provide an administration that is responsive, sympathetic and compassionate towards the needs of Delhi’s people,” Kejriwal said.

AAP sees Thursday’s verdict as a near-restoration of the pre-2015 system of governance of the capital.

The chief minister said: “In the next few days, there will be a large-scale overhaul. Many officers and employees will be transferred on the basis of the work they have done.” Kejriwal alleged that some officers had stalled medicines in clinics and the execution of water projects. “Such employees and officers will be identified. They will have to pay for their deeds,” he added.

Orders have been issued to transfer services secretary Ashish More, a Delhi government source said.

Party members celebrated at their Rouse Avenue headquarters and the Delhi secretariat.