HT explainer: What do 3 Punjab bills sent for President’s consideration entail
As Purohit kept the bills pending following a row with the AAP government over the special session, the latter petitioned the Supreme Court, which ruled that governors cannot be at liberty to keep bills pending indefinitely without any action. The governor later decided to send three bills for the President’s consideration, and their fate now hangs in the balance.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit has reserved three bills passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the consideration of President Droupadi Murmu. The three bills — the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023; and The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023; were passed along with a fourth bill by the House during a special session in June this year. A look at the key aspects of the issue:
What are these three bills?
The Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to provide free telecast of Gurbani from the Golden Temple in Amritsar by amending the British-era Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who has been at loggerheads with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for giving the telecast rights to a private channel, strongly backed the bill. The SGPC, the apex religious body of the Sikhs, opposed the AAP government’s move, stating that the 1925 Act is a central legislation and can only be amended by the Parliament. Mann, however, said the state government is fully competent to amend the Act.
The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aims to replace the governor with the chief minister as the chancellor of 12 state-run universities. The AAP government brought the bill following differences with Purohit over selection of vice-chancellors. The governor had questioned the procedure followed by the state government to appoint VCs of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). The ruling party accused the governor of creating impediments in appointments. “If we cannot appoint a VC of a university, then it is disrespect of the mandate which people have given us,” Mann said during a discussion on the bill in the House.
The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to do away with the Supreme Court-mandated procedure for the selection of the director general of police (DGP). The apex court had laid down a detailed procedure for the appointment of a DGP from a panel of IPS officers shortlisted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) from among the names of eligible officers received from the state government. The bill proposed a parallel system with a seven-member committee constituted by the state to prepare a panel of three officers. There is a view in official circles that the proposed procedure, if it gets the approval, would allow the state government a greater say in the selection process.
What was the tussle?
Purohit and Mann have been at odds over a host of issues for well over a year. Their tussle escalated over the June 19-20 special session of the state assembly in which four bills, including the three now reserved for the President, were passed. The session was convened as an extension of the budget session held in March as the assembly was adjourned sine-die, and not prorogued. Purohit said the calling of the special session was in “breach of law and procedure”, thereby casting doubts on the “legitimacy and legality” of these bills. The ruling AAP said the special session was as per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Punjab Legislature Assembly. In October, when a two-day special sitting was called, Purohit withheld his approval to three money bills that were to be tabled in the House, calling the session “patently illegal”. The session was cut short by the government and Mann announced to move the SC against the governor for sitting over bills.
What did the Supreme Court say?
The apex court, in its November 10 order ruled that governors lack the constitutional powers to question the validity of an assembly session convened by the elected arm of the state, pulling up the Punjab governor for keeping four bills pending. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, while declaring the June 19-20 session as constitutionally valid, asked the governor to decide on the four bills. It also did not spare the state government either, saying its actions of keeping the assembly in suspended animation amounted to defeating the Constitution.
What options were available to the guv?
Article 200 of the Constitution lays down that when a bill, passed by the legislative assembly of a state, is presented to the governor for assent, he may grant assent to the bill; may withhold assent to the bill; may return the bill, if it is not a money bill, for reconsideration of the state legislature; or may reserve the bill for the President’s consideration. After the SC order, the governor on November 30 granted assent to the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023, one of the four bills passed in the June 19-20 session, and decided to send the remaining three bills to the President. A communication from the Raj Bhawan said the governor has reserved the three bills for the consideration of the President of India as per Article 200 of the Constitution.
What lies next?
Article 201 of the Constitution says that when a bill is reserved by the governor for the consideration of the President, the President may declare that he assents to the bill or that he withholds his assent there from. If the President assents to the bill, it becomes a law. In case the President withholds the assent, it cannot become a law, thus it lapses. The ball, according to a constitutional law expert, is now in the President’s court, and there is no time limit for the President to take a decision on the bills.