SC to hear plea against Punjab Governor’s refusal to call budget session

The Supreme Court is set to hear a plea by the Punjab Government Tuesday afternoon filed against Governor Banwarilal Purohit’s decision to not call an assembly meeting for the budget session on March 3.

Following a hearing tabled by the SC on the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis, a bench chaired by CJI DY Chandrachud is scheduled to hear the plea regarding the issue at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

The governor was required under the state cabinet’s recommendation to call the assembly and his unwillingness to do so had caused a crisis, Senior attorney AM Singhvi claimed on behalf of the Punjab government.

Governor Purohit refused to give the government permission to call the Budget Session until he had sought legal counsel in relation to CM Bhagwant Mann’s tweets and letters, according to media reports.

The petition listed the Principal Secretary to the Governor as the first respondent and was submitted under Article 32 of the Constitution.

“Glimpses of the world’s largest democracy…Go to Supreme Court to make mayor despite majority in Delhi…Go to the Supreme Court to make Deputy Mayor…The Punjab Vidhan Sabha has to go to the Supreme Court to conduct the Budget session,” Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann stated while announcing his government’s decision to file in the apex court.

“The search for democracy continues,” CM Mann added further.

“In a democracy, elected persons take decisions and not those selected. We (AAP) know how to fight our battles and we cannot be intimidated by the ED or CBI,” CM Mann stated while at a function in Bhavnagar, Gujarat on Sunday.