Chhattisgarh HC Seeks Raj Bhavan’s Response On Pending Reservation Bill

The Chhattisgarh high court on Monday issued a notice to the Raj Bhavan secretariat seeking a response over the pending reservation bill.

The petition was filed by the state government against the Union of India and secretary in Governor Secretariat for allegedly stalling the Chhattisgarh Public Service (Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes Reservation) Amendment Bill, 2022.

The bench of Justice Rajni Dubey issued the notice to the Governor’s Secretariat challenging the ‘delay’ in Governor’s assent to the 76% reservation bill that was unanimously approved by the assembly two months ago.

“The high court asked the governor’s office to file a reply by February 24 which is the next date in the petition. The notice is served to the secretary in the office of Raj Bhavan,” a senior government official stated.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared on behalf of the state government, argued that the Governor has no right to halt the bill, which was unanimously passed by the assembly on December 2, last year. According to him, Article 200 of the Constitution empowers a Governor to do one of three things: sign the bill, return it to the government, or forward it to the President of India.

“Raj Bhavan has ignored these procedures for political gain and has stalled the bill in violation of the Constitution,” Sibal argued.

The bill was immediately sent to Raj Bhavan by the state government, but Governor Anusuiya Uikey has yet to sign it. She had sent the government ten questions, requesting information on quantifiable data on SC/ST communities as well as any study or “extraordinary situation” that compelled the state government to increase the reservation beyond 50%.