SC RULES OUT REVIEW OF AADHAAR ORDER

SC RULES OUT REVIEW OF AADHAAR ORDER

CONTEXT

• The Supreme Court has dismissed petitions seeking a review of its 2018 judgment upholding the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act

MORE ABOURT NEWS

• • In 2018, the SC upheld the country’s biometric identity system and also cleared mandatory Aadhaar enrolment of recipients of government welfare benefits.
  • The court, in its verdict, had also approved the passage of Aadhaar law by the Parliament as a money bill, which did not require an approval of the Rajya Sabha. Thereafter, review petitions were filed against the judgement.

• Major issue involved is Whether the decision of the Lok Sabha Speaker under Article 110 (3) of the Constitution to certify a bill as a money bill under Article 110 (1) is final and binding, or can be subject to judicial review.

SC’S JUDGMENT 

• • A five-judge Bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra had upheld the Aadhaar Act in a 4:1 ruling on September 26, 2018.

• The issue whether judicial review can be exercised over a decision of the Speaker had arisen subsequently before another Constitution Bench in Rojer Mathew v South Indian Bank Ltd.

ROJER MATHEW V SOUTH INDIAN BANK LTD

• This was in the context of whether some provisions of the Finance Act, 2017 (relating to appointments to tribunals and the conditions of service of members), could have been certified as a money Bill.
• That judgment had said that the Speaker’s decision was not beyond judicial review though the scope was extremely restricted. 
• It had also said that the 2018 Aadhaar verdict had not answered conclusively the question as to what constitutes a money Bill under Article 110 (1) and had directed that it be referred to a larger Bench.

BACK TO BASICS

MONEY BILL

• In the Westminster system a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending (also known as appropriation of money), as opposed to changes in public law.
• Article 110 of the Constitution deals with the Money Bills. It states that a bill is deemed to be a money bill if it contains ‘only’ provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters:

• The imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax.
• The regulation of the borrowing of money by the Union government.
• The custody of the Consolidated Fund of India or the contingency fund of India,
• The payment of money into or the withdrawal of money from any such fund.
• The appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Declaration of any expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or increasing 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.
• Any matter incidental to any of the matters specified above.

• Procedure for a Money Bill:
  • A Money Bill may only be introduced in Lok Sabha, on the recommendation of the President. 
  • It must be passed in Lok Sabha by a simple majority of all members present and voting.  Following this, it may be sent to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations, which Lok Sabha may reject if it chooses to.  
  • If such recommendations are not given within 14 days, it will deemed to be passed by Parliament.

ORDINARY BILL VS MONEY BILL