Despite the city law department’s serious reservations, the Kejriwal Cabinet has reportedly decided to table the proposed Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC Amendment Bill) in the Winter Session of the Delhi Assembly, beginning Wednesday.
After a marathon meeting, the Cabinet on Monday decided to table the proposed Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC Amendment Bill), Delhi School Education Amendment Bill, Working Journalists Provisions Act (Amendment Bill), Delhi Schools Verification of Accounts and Refund of Excess Fee Act, Minimum Wages Amendment Bill and the Amendment in Delhi Right to Citizens Time-Bound Service Delivery Act. The Kejriwal Cabinet also approved the simplification in issuance of various certificates by the revenue department of the city administration.
A highly-placed source said that the law department had expressed strong reservations over tabling of the proposed Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Amendment Bill on the grounds that prior approval of the Centre was required to do so. Being a concurrent subject, both the Centre and the state can formulate their laws under the CrPC.
The AAP government’s proposed bill relates to Section 176 of the CrPC on the inquiry by a magistrate into the cause of death. Citing Section 55 of the Business of Transaction Rules, the law department had opined that the proposed CrPC amendment bill required the Centre’s approval before it could be tabled in the Assembly.
The source said that the Cabinet turned down the law department’s suggestion and decided that the bill should be tabled in the Winter Session of the Assembly. The Cabinet was reportedly of the view that though the city was governed by the Transaction of Business Rules of the NCT Act, it was going to table the proposed bill as per the Constitution of India.
The Kejriwal Cabinet was of the view that the Constitution empowered the state to bring in such an amendment bill on its own. “We believe in the fact that nothing is above the Constitution of this country. That’s precisely why we have decided to table the CrPC Bill,” a senior AAP functionary told this newspaper.
