New Delhi: The Supreme Court reprimanded Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for using disparaging language to improperly deny information requested by Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit. The Governor had been trying to prolong the assembly's budget session in violation of the Constitution.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha decided to impart lessons on the constitutional duties of the Governor and CM despite the Governor convening the budget session as requested by the Mann government just before the hearing, which substantially met the demands of the AAP government.
The bench criticised the Governor's choice to seek legal counsel regarding the summoning of the House, despite the Council of Ministers' recommendation that he call the budget session on March 3 due to the "derogatory letter and tweets" of the CM. The bench cited Article 174 of the Constitution and the Supreme Court's nearly 50-year-old decision in the Shamsher Singh case.
“In view of the clear constitutional provisions, it leaves us in no manner of doubt that the authority, which is entrusted to the Governor to summon the House, is to be exercised in the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. This is not a constitutional area in which the Governor can exercise his discretion… He is not required to seek legal advice on whether to summon the budget session of the assembly as he is bound by the advice of the Council of Ministers,” the bench said.