Punjab governor reserves 3 bills for Prez’s consideration
The controversial bills, which have been at the centre of the latest row between Purohit and the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, include the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday reserved three bills passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in June this year for the consideration of President Droupadi Murmu.
The controversial bills, which have been at the centre of the latest row between Purohit and the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, include the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The first aimed at providing free-to-air telecast of the Gurbani from Golden Temple in Amritsar by amending the British-era Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, and ensuring that it is not commercialised in any manner. The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was for replacing the governor with the chief minister as chancellor of 11 state-run universities. The AAP government brought the Bill following a standoff with the governor over the procedure to appoint vice-chancellors of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to do away with the Supreme Court-mandated procedure in the selection of the director general of police.
The governor has reserved the three bills for the consideration of the President of India as per Article 200 of the Constitution, a Raj Bhawan spokesperson said.
According to Article 200 of the Constitution, “When a bill has been passed by the legislative assembly of a state or, in the case of a state having a legislative council, has been passed by both Houses of the legislature of the state, it shall be presented to the governor and the governor shall declare either that he assents to the Bill or that he withholds assent therefrom or that he reserves the bill for the consideration of the President.”
The Raj Bhawan spokesman declined to disclose the reasons cited by the governor while reserving the three bills for President’s consideration. There is, however, speculation that the governor reserved the bill related to free-to-air telecast as there is a view that 1925 Act is a central legislation and can only be amended by Parliament. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann has been at loggerheads with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for the exclusive rights for telecasting Gurbani from the Golden Temple to a private channel. The SGPC has been opposed to the government’s move. As for the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, it seeks to bypass the procedure laid down by the Supreme Court for the appointment of the state police chief from a panel of officers shortlisted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) from the names of eligible officers received from the state government . The apex court had, in its 2018 order, had also ruled that any law framed by a state government in contravention of court orders will remain suspended.
Hope Prez takes decision soon: AAP
AAP’s state chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said the Supreme Court recently defined the powers of the government and the governor, clearly stating that elected people have the real powers in a democratic set-up. “We are hopeful that the President will take decision on these bills very soon so that they take the form of laws,” he said. Last week, the governor had granted assent to the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023, which is aimed at streamlining the functioning of the Punjab Educational Tribunal for government-aided private colleges. All four Bills were cleared by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha during the two-day special session held on June 19 and 20 and had been pending with the governor since then. Purohit had called the June 19-20 session, which was convened after adjournment of the budget session in March sine-die instead of prorogation, as “patently illegal”, casting doubt on the legality of the Bills passed during the sitting of the House.
The governor’s decision on the Bills came days after the Supreme Court declared the June 19-20 session as constitutionally valid and asked him to take decisions on four bills passed during the sitting and pending with him. The apex court, in its November 10 judgment that was uploaded on its website on November 23, ruled that governors cannot be at liberty to keep bills indefinitely. The state government moved the court accusing the governor of sitting over bills. The court did not spare the state government either, saying its actions of keeping the assembly in suspended animation amounted to defeating the Constitution. It, however, upheld the Speaker’s supremacy in conducting the business of the House or adjourning its sessions.
After the Supreme Court’s order, Mann and Purohit had on November 24 exchanged letters over the pending Bills. Mann wrote to Purohit requesting him to grant assent to bills “forthwith” in keeping with the “constitutional obligation” and the spirit of democracy as elucidated in the order of the Supreme Court. The governor had also responded promptly, writing to Mann that the Bills were under his “active consideration” and appropriate decision according to the law would be taken expeditiously in keeping with the apex court’s November 10 judgment. Another bill, the State Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2022, which was passed by the state assembly in September 2022, is still awaiting the governor’s assent.