SC Asks Union Govt to Decide on Panjab Bills; Need for New Tree Law

The Supreme Court of India has issued notice to the union government on the Panjab govt’s petition challenging the Governor’s action in reserving Bills passed by the state legislative assembly for the President's assent. Panjab has sought a declaration that the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, passed by the state assembly have got 'deemed assent' such as the SCI’s 8 Apr verdict in Tamil Nadu’s case due to the ‘inaction’ of the Governor. Issuing notices to the Principal Secretary to the Governor and Panjab Legislative Assembly Secretary, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks. The Gurdwara Bill seeks free of cost, uninterrupted live feed of the holy Guru Granth Sahib from Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amrtisar to all media houses, platforms, and channels. The Police Bill is to create an independent mechanism for selection and appointment of suitable persons to the post of Director General of Police. Meanwhile, more than 2K advocates across India have backed a requisition by Panjab lawyer Tahar Singh seeking the immediate filling up of approximately 283 vacant High Court judges’ posts, including 26 in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. They warned that judicial delays, institutional favoritism, and nepotism are threatening the credibility and independence of the higher judiciary. Concurrently, according to the 2021, the tree cover in Panjab is 3.67%. The 2023 version of the report says Panjab has lost 22% of its forest and tree cover over the past 22 years. The existing tree preservation policy is not enough to tackle the problem, and Panjab needs a new law to tackle the issue. The founder of the Vatrukh Foundation Samita Kaur and the founder of Water Warriors of Punjab Manjit Singh have proposed a Tree Preservation Act and submitted the draft to the Chief Minister, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the leader of the Opposition, Members of Legislative Assembly, and the Chief Secretary.

‍