The Supreme Court will soon be set up seven-judge bench to hear a batch of pleas challenging the Centre’s use of the Money Bill route to pass certain key legislations.
The 7- judge bench will essentially examine whether a law was validly categorised as a Money Bill or only to circumvent scrutiny of the Rajya Sabha.
Article 110 of the Constitution deals with Money Bills.
A money bill is a bill that, in the opinion of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, deals with taxation or the appropriation of public funds — the Consolidated Fund of India or the Contingency Fund of India.
A money bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha, and the Speaker categorising a bill as a “money bill”.
If any question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the House of the People thereon shall be final.
The matter of the money bill came into question when the Centre passed the Aadhaar Act in 2016.
The amendments made to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were introduced as money bills.