SC to hear Punjab govt’s plea against governor’s delay in nod to Bills today

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea moved by the Punjab government on the issue of alleged delay in granting assent by Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Bills passed by the Assembly.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear the plea, which has also sought directions to the governor to clear all pending Bills, which have been passed by the Assembly and are awaiting his assent.

The plea has said such “unconstitutional inaction” has brought the entire administration to a “grinding halt”.

It has said the governor cannot indefinitely sit over the Bills as he has restricted powers under Article 200 of the Constitution, which deals with the governor’s power to give or withhold assent or reserve a bill for the president’s consideration.

The Punjab governor is involved in a running feud with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

On November 1, Purohit gave his approval to two of the three Bills sent to him, days after he wrote to Mann, saying he would examine all the proposed laws on merit before allowing those to be tabled in the Assembly.

The governor’s approval is needed to table money Bills in the House.

Purohit has approved the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023.