Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has accepted the plea to list petitions challenging the passage of contentious legislations in Parliament as Money Bills. This has given rise to the expectation that the matter could be heard and decided before Chandrachud demits office in November this year.
What is a Money Bill?
Article 110 of the Constitution provides the definition of Money Bill. As per the Article, a Bill shall be deemed to be a Money Bill if it contains only provisions dealing with the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax; the regulation of the borrowing of money or the giving of any guarantee by the Government of India, or the amendment of the law with respect to any financial obligations undertaken or to be undertaken by the Government of India; the custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of moneys into or the withdrawal of moneys from any such Fund; the appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India; the declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure; the receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India or the custody or issue of such money or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a State.
It further states that a Bill shall not be deemed to be a Money Bill by reason only that it provides for the imposition of fines or other pecuniary penalties, or for the demand or payment of fees for licences or fees for services rendered, or by reason that it provides for the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax by any local authority or body for local purposes.
Why is the issue in focus?
In recent years, the government has come under heavy criticism for rushing through Parliament contentious legislations using the Money Bill route. The government is accused of misusing the Money Bill provision to evade scrutiny of the Bill by the Rajya Sabha where it was numerically weaker as compared to the Lok Sabha where it enjoyed pre-eminence. The alleged misuse of the Money Bill clause has been challenged before the Supreme Court on more than one occasion. A seven-judge constitutional bench was set up in October 2023 to hear the petitions, but it has not commenced hearing the matter.
The contentious legislations passed as Money Bills
Aadhaar Act, 2016; amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002; amendments to the Foreign Contributions Regulations Act, 2010; Finance Act, 2017 which brought about changes in the mode of appointment of judicial tribunals; electoral bonds scheme brought through Finance Act, 2017.
