The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a plea seeking to publish Draft Legislations prominently on government websites and in the public domain, at least 60 days before introducing it in the Parliament and State Assemblies.
The petition will be heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India UU Lalit. The plea has been filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey The petitioner has sought to issue to direct the Centre and States to publish Draft Legislations prominently on government websites and in the public domain, at least 60 days before introducing in the Parliament and State Assemblies, as the case may be, and comply with the decisions taken in the meeting of the Committee of the Secretaries held on January 10, 2014 under Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary on Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy, in order to ensure wide public discussion and feedback.
The petition also sought to direct the Centre to ensure that all the Draft and Final Legislations are duly published on the government websites and put in the public domain in all regional languages, listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
The petitioner said that in today’s democratic process with the advent of advanced media and technology, it is no longer appropriate for Governments, both Central and State, to suddenly pass laws overnight with scarcely any legislative debate and no wider consultation at all.
Recent events of the farm protests show the consequences of how the message of the law is lost in the legal jargon and the lack of such a mandatory discussion prior to the bills being tabled in the legislature.
The petitioner said that the injury caused to the public is large because the existing law-making process is not only undemocratic but also unconstitutional.
The petitioner also said that the law-making process needs drastic reforms.
“Any Draft Legislation, except those related to National Security, must be published on the government’s website for at least 60 days before introduction in Parliament / State Legislature. People will come to know about the law through various platforms such as electronic print and social media. Experts would analyse it, professionals would debate it and People Representatives will discuss in their constituencies. It will strengthen the concept of socialist secular democratic republic,” the petitioner said. (ANI)
