The News Freedom
Chandigarh, November 6
The Supreme Court on Monday said that governors must act on bills even before the matters come before the apex court and they must know that they are not elected representatives of people. While hearing the petition filed by the Punjab government against the Governor regarding pending bills, the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place an updated status report on the action taken by Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on the bills passed by the Assembly and adjourned the matter for November 10.
“Governors must act even before the matter comes to the Supreme Court. This has to come to an end when governors act only when matters reach the Supreme Court. A little bit of soul searching is needed by governors and they must know that they are not elected representatives of the people.”
the Supreme Court said.
Appearing on behalf of the Governor, the Solicitor General Mehta informed the court that the Governor has taken action on bills placed before him.
Following a tussle with the Governor, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on October 20 while participating in the debate on the floor of Vidhan Sabha, had said “The state government will approach the Supreme Court against the Governor to get the pending bills cleared. It is unfortunate that a selected Governor is resorting to bullying tactics to prevent a democratically elected government from taking pro-people decisions.”
Later a few days before the Supreme Court hearing, the Governor wrote a letter to the Chief Minister informing that he will examine all the bills on merit. “I have in consultation with all the concerned and in the larger interest of the welfare of the people of Punjab, decided to examine all the bills on merit as well as in terms of various provisions of the Constitution of India. I will convey to you my decision on each and every bill separately in the coming days,” Purohit had said. The Governor had also approved the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023.