Despite announcement of assembly poll dates, is it mandatory to convene Haryana Vidhan Sabha Session before Sept 13?
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, August 16, 2024: Despite poll announcement, is convening Haryana Vidhan Sabha Session before Assembly polls on September 13 mandatory? The Elections to the 90 assembly constituencies in Haryana will be held in a single phase on October 1 and the counting of votes will take place on October 4, Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar announced on Friday.
Hemant Kumar, Advocate in Punjab and Haryana High Court said in compliance with Article 174(1) of the Constitution of India, it is mandatory to convene a session of the existing State Legislative Assembly, even if it is for a single day, before the 13th September 2024 as it is mandatory under the aforesaid Article of the Constitution of India.
"It is clearly mentioned that there should not be a gap of 6 months between two sessions of the Legislative Assembly," he added.
Hemant Kumar expressed that this will be the first time in the nearly 58-year history of Haryana that a session of the current state assembly will have to be called after the Election Commission announces the next assembly general elections.
"As far as calling the session and its date are concerned, the final session has not been completed yet. If it is a matter of decision, then a decision can be taken in this regard in the proposed meeting of the Haryana Council of Ministers (Cabinet) under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naib Saini, scheduled at 9 am on Saturday, 17 August," he said.
Hemant further said that recently the state government has got a total of 5 ordinances promulgated by the Governor of Haryana under Article 213 (1) of the Constitution of India, which gives relief to the employees working on a contract basis in the state. One ordinance to provide security in service to employees, three ordinances to provide reservation to persons of Backward Class Block B in the urban bodies (Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, and Municipal Committees) and Panchayati Raj Institutions of the state and Haryana Shamlat (Joint) Land Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance is included. All these were approved by the Governor of the state on 14th August, out of which the gazette notification regarding the service security of contract employees was published on the evening of 14th August itself, while the rest The four ordinances were published as notifications in the state government gazette on August 16 (though before the model code of conduct came into force).
Now when it is a constitutional requirement to call the next session of the Haryana Assembly before 13 September, it will be the responsibility of the present ruling Naib Saini government to present the above five ordinances promulgated by the Governor as bills in the upcoming assembly session and get them passed by the House. Now it will be worth seeing whether all the above-mentioned ordinances are passed without any obstruction in the upcoming session of the State Assembly or not.
Hemant said that the ordinance promulgated after receiving assent from the state governor under Article 213 (2) of the Indian Constitution shall not remain in force for more than six weeks from the date on which the next session of the state legislative assembly is convened. However, if during the period of that session, that ordinance is presented before the House as a bill and is passed by the House, then it can become a valid law of the State and remain in force.