Aadhaar bill was money bill, says Jaitley
New Delhi, Sep 26 : Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that bringing a finance bill as an ordinary bill is a fraud on the Constitution and not "bringing a money bill as a money bill", implying that Aadhaar Bill was indeed a finance bill.
"A money bill can only be brought as a money bill. The finance bill cannot be brought as anything other than a money bill," Jaitley said in response to a question by IANS whether the government could have brought the Aadhaar Bill as a non-money bill and stood the scrutiny of the Rajya Sabha.
In a minority judgment on Wednesday, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud -- who was on the five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court that examined the legality of Aadhaar -- held that passing the Aadhaar law as money bill was a "fraud on the Constitution" because it was not a money bill.
"When a government brings a bill as a money bill it runs another risk. If a normal legislation falls, the government does not resign. But if a money bill falls, the government resigns. Therefore, the government takes a risk (in bringing a legislation as a money bill)," Jaitley said.
The Minister pointed out that the Article 110 of the Constitution, which defines a money bill, says a bill shall be deemed to be a money bill "only and if only" certain conditions are met.
"It uses the word only and if only twice," Jaitley, who is also a senior Supreme Court lawyer, said.
"Suppose, a government is unsure of its majority in Lok Sabha, and it brings finance bill as an ordinary bill. So even if it falls I don't resign. That would be a fraud on the Constitution, not bringing a money bill as a money bill," he said.
The opposition has criticised the Narendra Modi government for bringing the Aadhaar bill as a money bill allegedly to bypass the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP was not in a majority at that time.
The Rajya Sabha can discuss a money bill but its amendments to a money bill are not binding.
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Insurance consultant loses Rs 71 lakh in cryptocurrency investment fraud
Thane (PTI): A 42-year-old insurance consultant from Mumbra in Thane district of Maharashtra was allegedly cheated of more than Rs 71 lakh by cyber fraudsters who lured him into investing in cryptocurrency trading, police said on Tuesday.
A case was registered against six persons at Mumbra police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita on charges of cheating and breach of trust. Nobody has been arrested to date.
The complainant, a resident of Kausa in Mumbra, alleged that the accused induced him to invest money in a firm, purportedly associated with a cryptocurrency platform, between August 2025 and March 2026.
He transferred Rs 71,60,015 through cash and online transactions at different times. However, the accused failed to return the invested amount and instead misappropriated the funds, a police official said.
