Chairmen of corp in JK not under profit bill

Srinagar, Aug 3: Chairmen of Corporations presently holding the status of a minister, were never under the ambit of office of profit specified by the Supreme Court, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig said.

He said the the Bill introduced in the Assembly to this regard is of declaratory in nature and the State Legislature has full power of making laws with retrospective effect.

Replying to the discussions on the Bill in the Legislative Assembly seeking to exclude various offices from disqualification and empowering government to notify other offices in this behalf, Mr Baig said that since the Supreme Court has given verdict in a case related to Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan it was required that legislation is brought to declare which office is deemed to be under the government.

He said the Chairmen holding the offices of corporation by no means are deemed to be disqualified as the corporations do not come under the ambit of office of profit as these are either autonomous or statutory and their boards are having independent powers.

Citing the reference from Basu's constitutional law book, the Deputy Chief Minister said that legislature has full power of making retrospective legislation explaining that only panel legislation cannot be of retrospective nature.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the Bill provides for declaring offices out of the ambit of office of profit specified by Supreme Court, reiterating that present chairmen were neither in past nor in present or future covered under any office of profit specified by the Supreme Court.

He said laws are of two natures one is that which for the first time provides for creation of rights and liabilities while the second declares the position and the Bill introduced in the House, he said.

Mr Baig said th Bill has declared 69 offices out of the purview of the explanation given by the Supreme Court to the offices under government while the State Bill provides for declaring 26 offices out of the ambit of the office of profit.

Mr Harshdev Singh proposed amendment incorporating the word ''Vice Chairman'' in the Bill, which the House passed with voice vote.

Earlier, when the Bill was being discussed in the House there was some heated discussion between the members of opposition and treasury benches.

UNI