Passage of laws as money bills: CJI DY Chandrachud says will consider request to set up 7-judge bench

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said on Wednesday that he will examine the request to set up 7-judge bench to hear certain Constitutional cases including the one relating to passage of laws as money bills by the parliament. .He made the remark after Senior Counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter relating to money bills."This is the 7 judge bench matter, the money bills issue. I realise it cannot be constituted immediately. Lead plea is Rojer Mathew," Singhvi said. "I have been wanting to constitute the 7-judge bench matters. Will see," the CJI replied..Money Bills are those Bills which exclusively contain provisions for imposition of taxes and appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund. They can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha can only suggest amendments to money bills.The recommendations on money bills by Rajya Sabha aren’t binding on the Lok Sabha, which may choose to reject it.In November 2019, a 5-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had ordered that validity of passage of Finance Act 2017 as money bill should be decided by a larger bench. The decision came in a batch of petitions concerning the functioning of tribunals including a challenge to the Finance Act 2017 which had revamped the schemes governing the functioning of tribunals..In that case, all suggestions made by the Rajya Sabha regarding the Bill passed in the Lok Sabha were junked, and the Act came into force on April 1, 2017.It was the petitioners’ case that the passage of the Finance Act in the form of a Money Bill was entirely inappropriate and amounted to a fraud on the Constitution.An earlier decision regarding passage of Aadhaar Act as money had been approved by the Supreme Court. Since that decision was also by a 5-judge bench, the Supreme Court in its 2019 decision decided to refer the matter to a 7-judge bench. Interestingly, CJI Chandrachud who was then a puisne judge had dissented in the Aadhaar case and said that Aadhaar Act could not have been passed as a money bill. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.