Congress welcomes SC move to hear Aadhaar Act as money bills

New Delhi: Welcoming the Supreme Court's decision to consider a plea for setting up a Constitution Bench to hear pleas challenging the validity of passing laws like Aadhaar Act as money Bills, Congress on Monday said it hoped that a final verdict will come before Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud retires later this year.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said several Bills have been "bulldozed" in Parliament in the last ten years by having them declared 'Money Bills' under Article 110 of the Constitution and a good example of this is the Aadhar Act of 2016.

He said he had challenged its declaration as a money bill in the Supreme Court, and in his dissenting judgement then the present CJI had called this declaration as a "fraud on the Constitution". 

"I had challenged other instances as well. The verdict of the CJI today to set up a separate Constitutional Bench to hear pleas on the gross misuse of Article 110 since 2014 is a welcome step. Hopefully a final and definitive pronouncement will come before he retires in November 2024," Ramesh posted on 'X'.

On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to consider a submission for setting up a Constitution Bench to hear pleas challenging the validity of passage of laws like the Aadhaar Act as money bills.

Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal raised the issue before a bench consisting of the CJI and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra saying the pleadings are complete and the petitions needed to be listed for hearing. "I will take the call when I form the constitution benches," the CJI said.