Beghar Foundation & Anr. Vs Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court of India dismissed the review petitions filed against its 2018 judgment in the Aadhaar case. The petitions challenged the decision of the Constitution Bench, which had upheld the classification of the Aadhaar Act as a ‘Money Bill’ under Article 110 of the Indian Constitution.
The case in question, Beghar Foundation & Anr. Vs Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) & Ors., arose from the Supreme Court’s final judgment on September 26, 2018, which upheld the validity of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, as a ‘Money Bill’. The primary issues revolved around whether the certification of a bill as a ‘Money Bill’ by the Speaker of the House of People is subject to judicial review and whether the Aadhaar Act was correctly certified as such.
The Supreme Court’s order on the review petitions, dated 2023, granted permission to file the review petitions and condoned the delay in filing them. However, the Court rejected the prayer for an open court hearing and dismissed the review petitions, stating that no case for review was made out.
The Court reiterated that a change in the law or a subsequent decision by a coordinate or larger bench could not be regarded as grounds for review. It emphasized that the certification of a bill as a ‘Money Bill’ by the Speaker of the House of People is not beyond judicial review but must be scrutinized within specific legal parameters.
