Punjab plans reviving State Law Commission

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh (File)

The Punjab government is planning to revive the State Law Commission. The Home department has forwarded the proposal to the finance department and is awaiting its nod. The proposal was mooted by Punjab Advocate General Atul Nanda. According to the proposal, the Commission will have either a retired judge of Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of the High Court as the Chairman. There will be four others in the proposed Commission, including the AG, who will be an ex-officio member. Punjab plans reviving State Law Commission

Among other things, the Commission will be mandated to “examine all the important state laws with a view to recommend, as a result of such examination, lines on which such laws should be simplified, consolidated, amended, revised or otherwise brought up-to-date keeping in view the changed socio-economic conditions of the society and the directive principles of the Constitution of India”.

The last Law Commission of Punjab was functional till 2013, after it was created in 2007 when the SAD-BJP formed the government after dislodging the previous Congress government led by CM Captain Amarinder Singh.

The previous Law Commission was headed by Justice (retired) Amarbir Singh Gill from the time of its creation till 2013. Few retired High Court judges who spoke to The Indian Express termed the State Law Commission as “parking commission” to accommodate people “when there was a fleet of legal experts in AG office”.

However, Nanda, when contacted, justified the proposal. “Legislative drafting is a very difficult subject. Conducting a case is routine for a lawyer and a judge. But, when you are looking at requirement of a legislation or if it has become redundant, it has to be done by people who do this on daily basis. Union government also has Law Commission of India which has rendered more than 200 reports till date,” he said, adding: “Some judges write good judgments and some judges are research-oriented. They (latter) make good chairmen of Law Commission.”

Asked if he had zeroed on in the retired Supreme Court judge to head the proposed Commission as chairman, Nanda said it had not been done as yet as the proposal was being examined by the state government.

Gill, the retired Punjab and Haryana High Court judge who was appointed chairman of previous Law Commission, when contacted, said, “I rendered number of suggestions during my tenure and all are part of official records.” Apart from suggesting the AG as an ex-officio member, Nanda has also proposed a retired judge of the High Court as a member, two eminent jurists as members and Legal Remebrancer as member secretary of the proposed Commission.

“The selection of members of the new Law Commission could be done exactly as was done while making the last Law Commission of Punjab,” said the proposal by AG in his proposal, a copy of which was accessed by The Indian Express. It added, “The remuneration allowance and terms of conditions of members of the Law Commission could be decided later in consultation with the finance department.”

The earlier State Law Commission, besides Gill, had the AG and Legal Remebrancer as ex-officio members. As per the notification, the Commission was accorded the status of a judge of the High Court.

In October 2007, the salary of the Commission chairman was fixed as last drawn salary minus pension along with other privileges as applicable to the sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

As per the proposal by Nanda, the State Law Commission will also have the mandate to “remove anomalies and ambiguities in the existing laws brought to light by conflicting decisions of the Supreme Court and the High Court or otherwise and also to suggest the omission of unnecessary and obsolete laws.” It will also be mandated to “suggest ways and means for improving administration of justice in the state”.