Passing Aadhaar law as money bill is fraud: Justice Chandrachud
New Delhi, Sep 26: Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, a member of the five-judge Supreme Court bench on Aadhaar issue, on Wednesday held that the Aadhaar Act cannot be treated as a money bill and passing it as one will be a fraud on the Constitution.
Holding that Rajya Sabha has an important role in the making of laws, Justice Chandrachud in his dissenting judgment said, "Superseding the authority of the Rajya Sabha is in conflict with the constitutional scheme and the legitimacy of democratic institutions. It constitutes a fraud on the Constitution."
Passing of a Bill as a Money Bill, when it does not qualify for it, damages the delicate balance of bicameralism which is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution, said Justice Chandrachud.
Permitting the tabling of a bill as money bill when it is not so, Justice Chandrachud said would "constitute a subterfuge, something which a constitutional court cannot countenance."
"Differences in a democratic polity have to be resolved by dialogue and accommodation. Differences with another constitutional institution cannot be resolved by the simple expedient of ignoring it", Justice Chandrachud said.
"It may be politically expedient to do so. But it is constitutionally impermissible", he said, adding: "This debasement of a democratic institution cannot be allowed to pass. Institutions are crucial to democracy. Debasing them can only cause a peril to democratic structures."
Justice Chandrachud said the decision of the Lok Sabha Speaker on whether a bill can be treated as money bill can be subjected to judicial review.
The phrase in Article 110(3) of the Constitution says that the Speaker's decision "shall be final" is subject to judicial review, Justice Chandrachud said. "The power of the Speaker cannot be exercised arbitrarily in violation of constitutional norms and values, as it damages the essence of federal bicameralism, which is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution."
Justice Ashok Bhushan, agreeing with Justice Chandrachud, also held that the Aadhaar Act has wrongly been passed as a money bill.
"The Aadhaar Act, 2016 is not a money Bill. The Speaker of Lok Sabha wrongly certified the bill as a Money Bill under Article 110 of the Constitution of India virtually excluding the Rajya Sabha from legislative process and depriving the President of his power of return," he added in his separate judgement.
"The Aadhaar bill being not a money bill and having been passed by Parliament as a money bill, this ground alone is sufficient to strike down the entire Act, 2016."
Justice A.K. Sikri, reading the judgement also on behalf of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, however, held that Aadhaar bill was "rightly introduced" as money bill.
"We are of the opinion that bill was rightly introduced as money bill. Accordingly, it is not necessary for us to deal with other contentions of the petitioners, namely, whether certification by the Speaker about the bill being money bill is subject to judicial review or not, whether a provision which does not relate to Money Bill is severable or not. We reiterate that main provision is a part of Money Bill and the other is only incidental and, therefore, covered by clause (g) of Article 110 of the Constitution," said Justice Sikri.
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Cong claims TVK chief Vijay has sought its support for govt formation in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday claimed that TVK chief Vijay has sought its support for government formation in Tamil Nadu and its leadership has directed the state unit to take a final decision on the matter, keeping in view the state's sentiments.
The party, which fought the assembly election in alliance with the DMK, asserted that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government and that it is determined "not to have the BJP and its proxies run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner".
Top Congress leaders held a meeting at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Tuesday evening that was attended by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar, among others.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Congress general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal said the Congress leadership discussed the post-election scenario in Tamil Nadu.
"TVK President Thiru Vijay has requested the Indian National Congress for support to form a Government in Tamil Nadu. He has spoken about drawing inspiration from Perumthalaivar Kamaraj as well, in his political mission.
"The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government that is committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit. The INC is determined not to have the BJP and its proxies run the Government of Tamil Nadu in any manner," he said.
"Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Thiru Vijay's request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state reflected in the electoral verdict," Venugopal told reporters.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each.
On the other hand, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
