New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) A plea has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of certain amendments introduced in the Constitution for implementing Goods and Services Tax (GST), which will be heard by a bench headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud on Monday.
Earlier in April this year, the Patna High Court had dismissed a writ petition challenging the constitutionality of Sections 2, 9, 12 and 18 of the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016.
In its impugned decision, the high court ruled that the petitioner being an advocate did not have the locus standi to challenge the amendments as he was not involved in any commercial activities and no legal injury had been caused to him.
The special leave petition filed before the apex court said that the high court has failed to appreciate the settled principle of law that if the issue raised is of fundamental importance involving the larger public interest, the rule of locus standi can be relaxed.
“If any amendment to any provision in the constitution abrogates its basic feature, every citizen irrespective of his position has the right to challenge the vires of the said provision before the Constitutional Courts,” it added.
Further, it said that the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016 brings about a sea change in the manner and power of levy of indirect taxation in the country, the incidence of which is indeed passed on to common people and every citizen at large are affected by such provision whether directly or indirectly.
The plea, filed through advocate Chandan Kumar, said that the GST Council, an executive body, is empowered to create a new levy in respect of petroleum crude, high-speed diesel, motor spirit, etc., and de facto amend the VII Schedule of the Indian Constitution from the date of its recommendation.
“There is implied limitation to the delegation of legislative powers of the Parliament as the Parliament under our Constitution is a creature of Constitution and cannot delegate its essential functions of amendment as provided under Article 368 to another body which is neither a part of the Parliament nor in any way responsible to it,” it contended.
The plea added that the legislative functions of Parliament for providing compensation to the states have been subjected to the recommendation of the GST Council, without any constitutional safeguard, undermining the essential functions of the Parliament.
The special leave petition is slated to be heard on September 2 by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, as per the causelist published on the website of the apex court.
–IANS
pds/dpb
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
