New Delhi:
In a major victory for the Tamil Nadu government led by MK Stalin, the Supreme Court today ruled that Governor RN Ravi’s decision to assure 10 major bills was “illegal” and “arbitrary”. The court ruled that the Governor cannot reserve the bill for the President after giving consent.
“The governor’s action is illegal and arbitrary to reserve 10 bills for the President. Thus, the action is separated. All the works done for 10 bills by Governor Therito are kept separate. The court said that Governor Ravi did not work in “good faith”.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin described the verdict as “historic”. “This is a major victory not only for Tamil Nadu but also for all Indian states. DMK will continue to fight for the state autonomy and federal politics,” he said.
The governor, the court said, the bill should have been cleaned when he was re -presented after he was re -passed by the Legislative Assembly.
Article 200 of the Constitution reduces options before the Governor when the bill passed by the State House is presented to them. The governor can give his consent, prevent consent, or reserve the bill for the President’s view. The governor may send bills or homes back to reconsider some provisions. If the House passes it again, the Governor will not withdraw the acceptance. The Governor can reserve a bill for the idea of the President, which he/he realizes that he is with the directions of the Constitution, the State Policy, or a matter of national importance.
The court today set a deadline to use these options and said that remembering these deadlines, the judicial inquiry of the governor’s action would be invited. The court has set a month limit of one month to reserve it for the withdrawal of consent for a bill for the governors and to review the President with the assistance and advice of the Council of Ministers. When a bill is reserved without the help and advice of the Council of Ministers, this time limit will be three months. If the bill is presented to a governor after reconsideration by the state assembly, he must clean it within a month. Any practice of the Governor under Article 200, the court said, is responsible for judicial review.
The court clarified that it “does not reduce the powers of the Governor in any way”. “All the works of the Governor should align with the principle of parliamentary democracy.”
A former IPS officer who has also worked in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), RN Ravi has taken over as the Governor of Tamil Nadu in 2021. Since then, he has formed frosty relations with the state government led by MK Stalin. The DMK government has accused him of acting like a BJP spokesperson and blocking bills and appointments. The Governor has said that the Constitution empowered him to withdraw his consent for the law.
The state government and Raj Bhavan have also clashed in the assembly during the customary address of the Governor. Last year, the Governor went out against the national anthem, which was not sung at the beginning of the address. According to tradition, the state anthem is sung to Tamil Thai Valthu when the house is found and finally the national anthem. But Governor Ravi took exception and said that the national anthem should be sung both times. In 2023, Governor Ravi refused to give the assembly a customary address and said that the draft had “many routes with misleading claims away from the truth”. A year earlier, he refused to read parts of the speech, including BR Ambedkar, Periyar, CN Annadurai, the phrase ‘Dravidian Model’ and some reference to law and order in Tamil Nadu.
