India’s Supreme Court calls Tamil Nadu Governor’s delay on 10 Bills ‘illegal and erroneous’

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday held it “illegal and erroneous” on the part of Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi to reserve 10 bills, which were re-adopted by the State Legislative Assembly, for the consideration of the President.

A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan ruled that it was not open for the Governor to reserve a bill for the President, which was represented by the state government after being passed again by the Assembly.

It said the reservation of 10 bills by the Governor for the President’s assent was illegal and, therefore, liable to be set aside.

Holding that the Governor did not act bona fide, the Supreme Court said the Bills were deemed to have been assented to by the Governor on the date when they were re-presented to him.

In its detailed opinion, the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench said the Governor can reserve a readopted Bill for the consideration of the President when the Bill presented in the second round is different from the first version. Also, the apex court laid down that there was no scope for the Governor to simplictor declare withholding assent, adding that under Article 200 of the Constitution, the Governor does not possess any discretion and has to mandatorily act on the aid and advice of the Chief Minister and his council of ministers.

In February this year, the apex court reserved its decision in the matter after hearing the oral arguments of Attorney General (AG) R. Venkataramani, the top-most law officer of the Centre and senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Mukul Rohtagi, appearing on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government.

The Tamil Nadu government had filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court claiming that the Governor had positioned himself as a “political rival” to the legitimately elected state government. The Governor had returned 10 out of 12 Bills pending with him for his assent after a notice was issued by the Supreme Court on the Tamil Nadu government’s plea.

After the Tamil Nadu Assembly in a special session re-adopted 10 bills, which were sent back by the Governor for reconsideration, he referred some of them to the President.

During the course of the hearing, the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench had asked the AG Venkataramani if the Tamil Nadu Governor could simply sit over the Bills passed by the Assembly under the impression that they were repugnant to the Constitution and not communicating his opinion to the legislature.

“If the Governor is prima facie of the view that the bill suffers from repugnancy, should it not bring it to the notice of the state government? How is the government expected to know what is in the mind of the Governor? If repugnancy is something that troubled the Governor, the Governor should have immediately brought it to the notice of the government, and the Assembly could have reconsidered the bills,” the apex court had said.

In November last year, the top court raised questions over the delay by Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi in giving assent to the Bills passed by the state legislature. After it was told that the Governor returned 10 out of 12 Bills pending with him for his assent, the SC asked: “These Bills have been pending since January 2020. It means that the Governor took the decision after the court issued the notice. What was he doing for three years? Why should the Governor wait for the parties to approach the Supreme Court?”

According to Article 200 of the Constitution, if a Bill is passed again, with or without amendments, and is presented to the Governor for assent, he has to accord his approval.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin hailed the ruling against Governor R.N. Ravi as a historic victory for Tamil Nadu and all state governments across India.

Speaking in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Stalin said the verdict vindicated the state’s stand on legislative autonomy.

CM Stalin said, “This ruling strengthens Tamil Nadu’s fight for autonomy and reinforces the Dravidian model, which upholds the principles of federalism and state self-governance.”

In a related matter, the Supreme Court also upheld internal reservations within the Scheduled Caste quota in Tamil Nadu, which CM Stalin described as another significant affirmation of the state’s progressive policies.

The court approved a 3 per cent internal reservation for the Arundhatiyar community within the existing 18 per cent SC quota, which the Chief Minister called a victory for social justice.

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday, holding Tamil Nadu Governor Dr R.N. Ravi’s withholding of assent to 10 Bills as “illegal”, drew rare consensus from traditional political rivals in Kerala.

In Kerala, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) is in power, while the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) sits in opposition. The BJP, though a marginal player in the 140-member state Assembly, has a presence in the Lok Sabha from the Thrissur constituency, represented by Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi.

Welcoming the Supreme Court’s verdict, Kerala Law Minister P. Rajeeve recalled how former Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had delayed action on several Bills -- some pending for as long as 23 months.

“There were Bills that remained with the Governor for 13, 16, even 18 months. We had said publicly that such delays were undemocratic. The Governor is expected to function in accordance with the advice of the elected government,” Rajeeve said.

He added, “The Supreme Court has made it clear that no Governor can hold on to Bills for more than three months. Moreover, not all Bills can be referred to the President. This verdict is a clear affirmation of democratic principles.”

State Revenue Minister K. Rajan said the Supreme Court verdict should be welcomed “with great pleasure.” “Governors can no longer be used as tools by the Centre to obstruct state governments. This ruling sends a strong message in response to the conduct of the Tamil Nadu Governor,” Rajan said.

Senior UDF leader and Lok Sabha MP N.K. Premachandran described the ruling as “historic” and one that reinforces constitutional values. “This will be remembered as a landmark judgment that upholds the democratic rights of state legislatures,” he said.

Significantly, the ruling comes even as the Kerala government has moved the Supreme Court over two Bills that are still awaiting gubernatorial assent -- a legacy of Governor Khan’s tenure, during which his frequent run-ins with the Pinarayi Vijayan government over pending legislation often made headlines.