‘Governor must act…’: Supreme Court talks tough on delay in clearing bills
The Supreme Court expressed concerns while hearing the Punjab government's plea against Governor Banwarilal Purohit's delay in giving a nod to bills passed by the state assembly.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place an updated status report on the action taken by the Punjab Governor and listed the matter for Friday (November 10).
Purohit has given his nod to 22 of the 27 bills passed by the Punjab Assembly during the term of the current Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government. The recent feud between Purohit and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government pertains to three money bills that were proposed to be tabled by the State during a Special Session of the
fourth Budget Session on October 20.
On November 1, Purohit gave his nod to two of the three money bills, days after he wrote to Mann, saying he would examine all the proposed laws on merit before permitting those to be tabled in the Assembly.
The governor's approval is needed to table money bills in the House.
However, in his earlier letter to the Punjab Chief Minister on October 19, the Governor had withheld his approval to the three money bills.
Purohit has withheld his approval of the Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023, which were to be tabled in the Assembly during the October 20-21 session.
Furthermore, the Punjab Governor said in the past that the October 20-21 session, which was seen as an extension of the budget session, was "bound to be illegal" and any business conducted during it "unlawful", the PTI report added.
On October 20, the Punjab government had cut short its two-day session.
During today's hearing, Solicitor General Mehta, appearing for the Punjab Governor, told the Supreme Court bench that Purohit has taken action on the bills placed before him and the state government's plea is unnecessary litigation.
"The SG says the Punjab governor has taken action and an updated status report will be placed in a few days. Let the plea be listed on Friday and let the court be apprised of the action taken by the governor," the top court bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said.
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