New Delhi: In a big victory for the AAP government led by Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Supreme Court slammed the Punjab governor for “playing with fire” and “putting parliamentary form of government in peril” by withholding assent to four bills passed by the assembly on the erroneous and mistaken ground that the June 19-20 session, in which the bills were passed, was invalid.
Mincing no words in criticising the governor for exceeding his jurisdiction and treading into the domain of the speaker, who alone exercises power to adjourn or prorogue the assembly, a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said, “The speaker was within his rights to adjourn the budget session sine die without proroguing it. How can you (governor) say that a bill, which has been passed by the assembly, shall not be assented to on the ground that the session itself is invalid? Do you realise the gravity of what you are doing?”
The SC said, “The governor says the session of the legislative assembly, which has passed four bills, that session itself is void because the assembly ought to have been prorogued and not adjourned sine die. Do you realise you are playing with fire?
“The bills are passed by a duly elected legislative body. If you have reservations on the bill on the ground that it is unconstitutional, you have your remedies under the Constitution. You can reserve it for consideration of the President, you can return it to the assembly. But surely, you can’t sit on judgment over it and say this legislative assembly session is unconstitutional. If we allow this power to the governor, what will happen? Will we continue to be a parliamentary form of government?” It ruled that the session was valid and asked the governor to proceed to examine the bills within his constitutional powers.
For the Tamil Nadu government, similar grievances were made by senior advocates A M Singhvi, Mukul Rohatgi and P Wilson, who said the governor was sitting on 12 bills. “How will the government function with such an obstructionist governor?” Wilson asked.