Punjab Governor grants assent to Bill dissolving State Vigilance Commission after one year

Putting an end to over a year of uncertainty and speculation, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has finally given his much-awaited assent to the Punjab State Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2022 — originally tabled in the assembly by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on October 1, 2022. The Bill, seeking the dissolution of the State Vigilance Commission, had been in limbo since reaching the Governor's desk on October 10.

The Bill for its dissolution was passed by the AAP-led Vidhan Sabha at a time when the Punjab State Vigilance Commission was actively investigating complaints against certain bureaucrats, including the matter of “alleged irregularities in power purchase agreements during 2007-2017”. The Commission was headed by the former Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Mehtab Singh Gill.

In a significant development for the state's administrative landscape, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann welcomed the Governor's assent, emphasizing that the decision was taken in the larger public interest. Mann, during the assembly session, passionately argued that the existence of the Vigilance Commission had led to overlapping responsibilities, contradictory findings, and significant delays in addressing corruption cases.

“The Punjab State Vigilance Commission Act 2020 (Punjab Act No 20 of 2020) failed to serve any useful objective except being a burden on the state exchequer,” Mann had declared while tabling the bill. He had reiterated that with multiple agencies already in place, including the state vigilance department, the continuation of the Vigilance Commission had become unnecessary, leading to inefficiencies and communication gaps.

It was argued that the Government aimed to establish a more stringent system by dissolving the Commission, particularly as the AAP Government intensified its scrutiny of former ministers, MLAs, and numerous officials implicated in alleged corruption cases.

Dissolved Before Completion of Tenure

Established in April 2021 to inquire into complaints of offences by public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Commission had faced unanimous approval for its dissolution from the Punjab Assembly. The delayed approval had left the Vigilance Commission operational, with Justice Mehtab Singh Gill (retired) continuing as its chairperson. Justice Gill, appointed by former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, had been at the helm during the period of uncertainty.

With the Governor giving his assent, the post and office ceases to exist. Also, Justice Gill was not commissioning any inquiry ever since the Bill was passed by the Vidhan Sabha. Justice Gill, in a report submitted to the then Chief Minister, had disclosed that the panel had received a total of 237 complaints from April 7, 2021, to April 6, 2022. Out of these, 81 complaints prompted the initiation of the inquiry process by the Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), leading to 47 complaints being sent to the Vigilance Bureau.

An additional 64 complaints were forwarded to the Chief Director of the Vigilance Bureau for consideration, while 54 complaints were sent to the Vigilance Bureau for transmission to the relevant administrative departments for necessary action.

Second Dissolution

Interestingly, this dissolution of the Vigilance Commission marks the second time such an event has occurred in the state's history. Initially, established in October 2006 during the Congress regime, the Commission faced dissolution in March 2007 under the leadership of the SAD-BJP government led by Parkash Singh Badal. It was subsequently reconstituted in November 2020, again by the Congress-led State Government, only to face dissolution once again with the recent approval from the Governor Purohit. Interestingly, both instances of the Vigilance Commission’s establishment and dissolution took place during the tenure of Capt Amarinder. The Congress Chief Minister had appointed Justice Mehtab Singh Gill as the head of the Commission in April 2021, with his tenure originally set to end in April 2026. 

Three Controversial Bills Headed for Presidential Scrutiny"

The Governor had initially raised concerns about the Bill being categorized as a money bill, asserting that the Government had not sought prior approval before its tabling. However, in early November, the Supreme Court intervened, directing the Governor to clear the state's bills.

In response, the Governor, on December 6, reserved three ‘contentious’ bills for the President's consideration. Among these are ‘The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023’; ‘The Sikh Gurudwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023’, and ‘The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023’.

‘The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill’ proposes to strip the Governor of the chancellorship of universities in the state, while The Sikh Gurudwaras (Amendment) Bill seeks to break the undue control of a “particular family” over the rights to telecast sacred Gurbani from the Golden Temple. The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill aims to establish an independent mechanism for selecting and appointing individuals to the post of the state police chief.