Karnataka Governor Gehlot sends Muslim reservation bill to the President, citing constitutional concerns. He uses the same Supreme Court judgment the state cited to justify the move.
Bengaluru: Today, On May 28, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has stood firm on his decision to withhold approval for the Congress-led state government’s proposed amendment bill, which aims to introduce reservation for Muslims in government contracts.
Instead of giving his assent, he has chosen to send the bill to President Droupadi Murmu for final approval, citing constitutional concerns and a recent Supreme Court judgment.
The bill in question, called the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, was passed by the Karnataka legislature in March.
It proposes to give 4% reservation to Muslims in construction-related government contracts valued up to Rs 1 crore. It also includes similar reservation provisions for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Category 1, and Category 2A groups for procurement of goods and services in government tenders up to Rs 1 crore.
Last week, the Karnataka government had formally requested Governor Gehlot to reconsider his decision of reserving the bill for the President’s assent.
The government argued that his move was unjustified especially after the Supreme Court had recently termed the Tamil Nadu Governor’s delay in approving ten state bills as “illegal, arbitrary and erroneous”.
However, Governor Gehlot defended his action by quoting from the same Supreme Court judgment that the Karnataka government hoped would support its case.
He pointed to paragraph 412 of the judgment, which gives Governors the power to examine the constitutional validity of a bill and, if needed, refer it to the President.
Quoting directly from the judgment, he said:
“to ascertain the palpable constitutionality of a bill, which is by way of reserving it for the consideration of the President”.
He further mentioned that
“there is no mechanism at the state-level for Governors to refer Bills to constitutional courts for their advice or opinion”
, as confirmed by the apex court.
ALSO READ: Karnataka Lokayukta Gives Clean Chit to CM Siddaramaiah and Family in MUDA Case
Explaining the reasons behind his decision, Governor Gehlot said:
“the Bill in question involves Constitutional legality”.
He noted that the matter of Muslim reservation is currently under examination by the Supreme Court, and any decision made at this stage could interfere with ongoing judicial proceedings.
He elaborated:
“Since the matter related to reservation for Muslims is pending before the Supreme Court for adjudication, I deem it fit not to interfere at this juncture, because the issue involves the restrictions imposed by Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution as well as the decisions of various High Courts and Apex Court”.
Further defending his stance, the Governor added:
“sufficient” reasons show how the Bill “would certainly undermine the spirit of” the Constitution.
He expressed concern that once the bill is implemented, the resulting consequences might be irreversible:
“The proposed amendment and the consequences thereof cannot possibly be curtailed or contained by taking recourse to the constitutional courts of the country since an action taken and the undue benefits already distributed or the exceptional losses to all other citizens of the State cannot be by anyway recuperated or made right”.
Due to these reasons, Gehlot said he was
“constrained to not reconsider his decision on reserving the Bill for Presidential assent”.
Reiterating the core reason for his decision, Gehlot firmly stated:
“the Constitution does not allow religion-based reservation. Hence as per the proposed amendment, providing 4% reservation (to Muslims) may be construed as reservation for the community based on religion”.
ALSO READ: Karnataka Honeytrap Case || ‘Political Nonsense’: SC Rejects Plea for Investigation
In a related development, Governor Gehlot has also decided to reserve the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill for Presidential assent.
This bill proposes to use part of the income from wealthy Hindu temples to create a common fund aimed at supporting smaller temples with less revenue.
Click Here to Read Our Reports on CM Siddaramaiah Case
