SC upholds Haridwar's inclusion in Uttarkhand

The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the inclusion of the temple town of Haridwar in the state of Uttarkhand under the UP Reorganisation Act 2000.

The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the inclusion of the temple town of Haridwar in the state of Uttarkhand under the UP Reorganisation Act 2000.

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A Bench of Justices S B Sinha and Cyriac Joseph said under Article 3 of the Constitution, Parliament has absolute powers to decide on such issues and it was not mandatory that views of state legislatures should always be taken into account.

"The views of the state legislature certainly would be taken into consideration but the same would not mean that the Parliament would be bound thereby. Substantive compliance of the said provision shall serve the purpose.

"What is mandatory is that the President may refer the Bill to the Legislative Assembly for obtaining its views but it will bear repetition to state that Parliament would not be bound by the views of the state legislature and even in a case where substantive amendment is carried out, the amended Parliamentary Bill need not be referred to the state legislature again for obtaining its fresh views," the apex court observed.