Delay in assent to Bills: Haryana Guv unsure about validation Bill to legitimise de-licensing - Hindustan Times
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Delay in assent to Bills: Haryana Guv unsure about validation Bill to legitimise de-licensing

Hindustan Times, Chandigarh | By, Chandigarh
Sep 10, 2020 02:12 AM IST

While bureaucratic reasons, including indisposition of assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta (he has to lend his signatures to the Bills passed) has been attributed to the delay in the process of communicating the Bills by the law department to Raj Bhavan, sources said the governor is unsure about assenting to Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (second amendment and validation) Bill.

Two weeks after the Haryana assembly passed 12 Bills, including the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (second amendment and validation) Bill, 2020, the governor is yet to accord his assent to the Bills.

A Bill passed by the state legislature becomes a law only after getting the assent of the governor; or President in case it has been reserved by the governor for the consideration of the President.
A Bill passed by the state legislature becomes a law only after getting the assent of the governor; or President in case it has been reserved by the governor for the consideration of the President.

A Bill passed by the state legislature becomes a law only after getting the assent of the governor; or President in case it has been reserved by the governor for the consideration of the President.

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While bureaucratic reasons, including indisposition of assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta (he has to lend his signatures to the Bills passed) has been attributed to the delay in the process of communicating the Bills by the law department to Raj Bhavan, sources said the governor is unsure about assenting to Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (second amendment and validation) Bill.

Bill aimed at giving relief to Ambience Mall developer

The validation Bill, if assented by the governor, would come as a major relief to the developers of the Gurgaon-based Ambience Mall and several similar cases involving de-licensing of land.

The Punjab and Haryana high court had on July 10 quashed the town and country planning department’s October 18, 2001 and September 1, 2010 orders to de-license two chunks of land (8 acres and 3.9 acres) out of 18.98 acres approved for constructing Ambience Lagoon Island residential complex. The de-licensed land was then permitted by the department for raising a commercial complex, the Ambience Mall.

The CBI, on high court (HC) orders, had also registered a criminal case in the matter. Officials said that over 54 similar cases of de-licensing were discovered by the department after the HC ruling which needed to be validated.

The HC had termed the term de-licensing a misnomer in the context of the Act and the case at hand. The bench said that the state counsel had admitted that there was no such provision in the Act. The court said the argument that Clause 21 of the General Clauses Act which gives power to grant a licence also contains implied power to de-license was bereft of any merit or logic.

Guv may send the Bill to President

As per Article 200 of the Constitution, the governor can declare either that he assents to the Bill or that he withholds assent therefrom or that he reserves the Bill for the consideration of the President.

Legal experts say there were two issues involved in the Validation Bill which warrant Presidential assent.

The assembly has approved insertion of a new clause section 3 (a) in the Act which would give the power to add to, amend, vary, suspend, withdraw or rescind, licence or notification, order, rule or direction or to de-licence.

The second is an all encompassing validation clause which said that notwithstanding any judgment, decree or order of any court or tribunal or any authority, any action taken or orders issued, things done or purporting to have been taken or done by the director, before the commencement of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (amendment and validation) Act, 2020, shall be deemed to be as valid and effective as if such action, approval, orders were issued or action taken in accordance with its provisions.

Explaining the legal position, former advocate general, Ashok Aggarwal said while the legislature does not have the power to overrule or tinker with the judgment of the high court or Supreme court, it certainly has the powers to bring in a retrospective amendment to remove the basis of a judgment. When asked whether the validation Bill would need President’s assent, the former advocate general said that Governor in his wisdom can always reserve the Bill for the consideration of the President.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Hitender Rao is Senior Associate Editor covering the state of Haryana. A journalist with over two decades of experience, he writes on politics, economy, migration and legal affairs with a focus on investigative journalism.

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