NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the Supreme Court order nullifying amendments to 19 tribunals through the “money bill” route was a major embarrassment for Modi government, saying the Centre had used the strategy to avoid voting in the Rajya Sabha where it lacked majority.
Ramesh, the petitioner in the case, said the rules for tribunals were diluted to extend government control over these judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, including the crucial ones like the National Green Tribunal and the Central Administrative Tribunal.
Crucially, Ramesh said the decision of the five-judge bench to refer the “money bill” subject to a larger bench will reopen the judgment on the issue delivered by the apex court in the landmark Aadhaar bill case last year.
The Centre had passed the Finance Act of 2017, classified a “money bill”, to amend 19 tribunal laws. A “money bill” is required to be passed only by the Lok Sabha.
Ramesh said the SC has struck down the amendments and the government will have to bring them through separate bills that will have to be passed in both HouseRead More – Source
