Centre Opposes Priority for Money Bill Pleas in Supreme Court

Centre Opposes Priority for Money Bill Pleas in Supreme Court

VoM News Desk | October 12, 2023 | 09:41 PM IST | Courts & Law | Follow on Google News

Centre Opposes Priority for Money Bill Pleas in Supreme Court

Centre Opposes Priority for Money Bill Pleas in Supreme Court

The Centre has opposed the request for prioritizing hearings related to the validity of laws passed as money bills, such as the Aadhaar Act, in the Supreme Court. The government argued that the order of precedence should not be based on “political exigencies.” This issue stems from the controversy surrounding the classification of certain laws as money bills, allowing them to bypass the Rajya Sabha, where the government lacked a majority. Money bills can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha and are immune to amendments or rejection by the Rajya Sabha. The Upper House can only make recommendations, which may or may not be accepted by the Lower House.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing one of the parties involved in the money bill cases, requested that the matter be given priority as it is a “live issue.” A seven-judge bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, convened to consider procedural directions in several nine-judge and seven-judge bench matters. The Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, argued that prioritization should not be based on “political exigencies.” The bench responded by saying, “Leave it to us.”

The Supreme Court announced its intention to issue a common order for various nine-judge and seven-judge bench matters, including those related to money bills and the Speaker’s authority to disqualify MLAs, to prepare them for hearings. On October 6, the court decided to form a seven-judge bench to address the money bill issue. In November 2019, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court referred the examination of the Finance Act, 2017’s passage as a money bill to a larger bench. This move came as part of the larger issue of assessing the validity of the Finance Act, 2017. The five-judge bench had previously struck down the rules governing the appointment and service conditions of members of various tribunals included in the Finance Act.

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