PIL in Supreme Court for quashing ordinance

A PIL was filed on Saturday in the Supreme Court seeking quashing of controversial Food Security ordinance on the ground that the constitutional provision has been misused for pre-election propaganda and political gains.

President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday signed the ordinance on Food Security to give THE nation's two-third population the right to get five kilogrammes of foodgrains every month at highly subsidised rates of Rs 1-3 a kg.

The petition, filed by advocate M L Sharma, said the Article 123 of the Constitution that deals with the power of the President to promulgate ordinances during the recess of Parliament has been misused as there was no "emergency" situation.

Seeking quashing of the ordinance, it said, "there was no emergency circumstances exist to issue impugn ordinance hence it does not comply with the terms of Art. 123. Therefore, the impugned notification is unconstitutional and is liable to be declared unconstitutional and void." The plea also raised several questions including as to whether the Government can invoke Article 123 without any emergency situation.

"Whether Article 123 can be allowed to be misused by the sitting political parties in government for their pre-election propaganda for political purposes?, it said. It also said that million of tons of foodgrains are rotting in open as the country lacks storage facility even as people are dying of hunger.

"Instead of complying with the Supreme Court direction to release food grain for the protection of life of citizens of India, the Respondent (Centre) has released a food bill via ordinance route for securing political mileage for their election mandate," the PIL, which has made Principal Secretary of the PMO and the agriculture minister as parties, said.

The petition has also sought a direction to the Centre for release of food grain in the market at "no price or similar price declared in the food bill immediately in open market.