“You're playing with fire”; Supreme Court Slams Punjab Governor For Not Signing Bill
India’s top court on Friday slammed the Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit for not assenting bills that were already cleared by the elected assembly of the state. “You”re playing with fire”, said the Supreme Court, adding that the matter is really “serious”. The Chief Justice also asked the governor not to deflect the course of bills passed by the assembly.
“In exercise of which power are you saying that the session called by speaker is being called invalidly. The speaker calls the session. Tell us the power of the governor to say this? The speaker has no power to say adjourn sina die?”, said the Chief Justice.
“How can you say that bill which has been passed cannot be assented to because session is invalid? You realise the gravity of what you”re doing? You (Governor) are playing with fire”, said CJI DY Chandrachud.
The court was responding to a petition filed by the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government of Punjab against the delay by Mr Purohit to grant his assent to four Bills passed by the legislative assembly in June. Three money bills of the state are also awaiting the governor’s recommendation in Punjab.
The SC on Friday added that governor need not wait for a court petition before taking action. While the Punjab Governor Mr Purohit granted approval to the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023, he withheld approval for three money bills. These include the Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Reportedly, in a letter on October 19, the governor contested the legality of the October 20-21 session of the parliament, describing it as “bound to be illegal” and branding any business conducted during it as “unlawful.” The Punjab government had truncated the two-day session on October 20.
According to the top court, the delay in the approval of crucial bills raises questions about the democratic process and the role of governors in upholding the principles of a parliamentary democracy.
