Although the Constitution allows the Lok Sabha Speaker alone to decide whether a particular Bill is a Money Bill, the decision should be exercised in tune with the spirit of the provision.
According to the definition of Money Bill under Article 110 of the Constitution, inclusion of matters in such a Bill should be explicable and discretion exceptional.
If a Bill covers too many provisions or if these as are only remotely related to the money aspect, the matter would depend on the court’s discretion. This is what the Money Bill did: It included regulation of donation to political parties; powers to income tax officials to raid anyone, anytime, without giving any reason and without reference to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal; merger of eight tribunals and power to appoint judges on tribunals under various laws without the approval of Parliament; and Aadhaar card being made compulsory for filing income tax returns.
The Bill also amended a few provisions of existing laws such as Industrial Disputes Act, the Copyright Act and the Trademark Act.
The discretion has not only been overstretched but is also being aimed at deliberately curtailing the role of the upper house in deciding policy issues. The government’s defence that it wants to avoid the Rajya Sabha because of its non-cooperation in passing key legislation does not justify an extreme action.
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