The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit for not giving assent to bills passed by the state assembly, saying he was “playing by fire”. A bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, stressed the importance of respecting the legislative process and asked the governor not to deflect the course of bills passed by the duly elected assembly.

“You’re playing with fire. How can the governor say this…these are bills passed by elected members…Will we continue to be a parliamentary democracy? This is a very serious matter,” CJI Chandrachud remarked.

The Punjab government had moved the top court over an alleged delay in the governor giving assent to crucial bills passed by the state assembly, including those pertaining to fiscal management and gurudwara’s administration.

The Punjab governor initially withheld approval of three money bills which were to be tabled in the Assembly during the October 20-21 session. Since the governor’s assent is crucial for the tabling of money bills in the assembly, the two-day session called by the Punjab government came to an abrupt end on October 20.

The governor had said the October 20-21 session, which was projected as an extension of the budget session, was “bound to be illegal” and any business conducted during it “unlawful”.

Purohit finally gave his approval to two of the three bills sent to him.

The Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023 are still awaiting the governor’s assent. These bills were passed during the June 19-20 session of the Punjab Assembly, which the governor had termed “patently illegal”.

“In exercise of which power are you saying that the session called by the Speaker is being called invalid? The speaker calls the session. Tell us the power of the governor to say this? The speaker has no power to say adjourn sine die?” the CJI asked while hearing the plea filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state.

Earlier this week, the apex court voiced concern over Raj Bhavans not acting on bills passed by state legislatures, and directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place on record the details of action taken by the Punjab governor on the bills cleared by the assembly.