Historic, good for federalism, says Kapil Sibal on SC setting timeline for governors to act on bills
New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI): Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday hailed the Supreme Court for setting a timeline for governors to act on bills passed by state assemblies and said it is a "historic" verdict "good for federalism" as it defines the role of governors.
In a major victory to DMK-led Tamil Nadu government, the Supreme Court last Tuesday cleared 10 bills that were stalled and reserved by Governor R N Ravi for President's consideration.
The court also set a timeline for governors to act on bills passed by state assemblies.
Hailing the ruling at a press conference here on Saturday, Sibal said this ensures that the federal structure will move forward under principles of the Constitution.
The ruling also defines the governor's role, Sibal said.
"The Supreme Court has recently pronounced a historic judgement. It is in discussion because ever since the BJP government came to power (at the Centre), the governors have started acting arbitrarily. Whenever a bill is passed and the Governor's signature is required, the Governor would keep the bill at his end and delay it. They would not sign, hence the notification would not happen. People would suffer," the senior advocate said.
This used to happen in states where a party other than the ruling party at the Centre would be in power, and hence it was political, he said.
"We had been talking about this for years. I have been saying that it is against the federal structure. The leaders of the Centre tried to bring instability -- it was seen in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and many other places. Not only Governors, the Speakers would also act arbitrarily in Assembly. Now the Supreme Court has ordered against this practice," Sibal said.
"Now the Supreme Court has decided a three-month time frame to send the bill back. When the bill is passed again, the Governor would be required to sign it within a month. The Attorney General opposed this saying a time frame cannot be mandated for Governors, but the Supreme Court denied it...
"The Governor would have the discretion to send the bill to the President, but the President would also have to follow the time frame," Sibal said, adding, "This is good for federalism."
In a first-of-its-kind direction, the top court on Tuesday fixed a timeline within which the Governor has to act on bills passed by the state legislature.
The apex court said there was no expressly specified time limit for the discharge of functions by Governor under Article 200 of the Constitution.
"Despite there being no prescribed time limits, Article 200 cannot be read in a manner which allows the Governor to not act on the bills presented to him for assent and thereby delay, and essentially roadblock law-making machinery in the state," it has said.
Fixing the timeline, the bench said in case of withholding assent on a bill and reserving it for the President with the aid and advice of the council of ministers, the maximum period would be one month.
In case the Governor decides to withhold assent without the aid and advice of the council of ministers, the bills must be returned to the assembly within three months, it added.
The top court said if the state assembly presents the bill after reconsideration, it has to be given assent by the Governor within a period of one month.
The bench cautioned that any failure to comply with the timeline would make the Governor's inaction subject to judicial review by the courts.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
