Chandigarh: A petition filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on April 4 has challenged the validity of sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act (1966) pointing that when interpreted to extend the control of Punjab’s river water to the Centre, the sections violate the provisions of the Indian Constitution itself.
The petition is moved by Patiala MP Dr. Dharamvira Gandhi and his associates of the Punjab Federal Manch.
Through their counsel Rajvinder Singh Bains and Loveneet Thakur, the petitioners said the sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Act were violative of articles 162 and 246(3) of the Constitution as “Irrigation and Hydel Power ” are the State Subjects under entry 17 of the State list.
Therefore, the Parliament was not empowered to legislate on these provisions in so far as they hit the above mentioned articles.
“The sections talk about some hydel projects as those were setup by the undivided Punjab and thus they should have the limited implication. But the way these sections encroach over the state subjects, which makes them ultra-vires of the Constitution”, Advocate Rajwinder Singh Bains said during the press conference held at the Press Club (Sector 27) Chandigarh.
- READ RELATED NEWS: Right to River Waters: Petition Challenges Validity of Section 78, 79, 80 of Punjab Reorganisation Act
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