Tamil Nadu government takes Governor Ravi to Supreme Court over pending bills
New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu government has filed a case in the Supreme Court against Governor Ravi’s failure to approve several bills passed in the state’s Legislative Assembly. The petition was taken up for hearing on Monday, during which the Supreme Court heavily criticized the governor for withholding the bills for three years.
“These bills have been shelved since 2020. What was the Governor of Tamil Nadu doing for three years?” asked Supreme Court Chief Justice TY Chandrachud.
According to reports, Governor Ravi recently sent back ten bills without giving his assent, two of which were passed during the previous AIADMK regime. In response, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly convened urgently and passed the bills again, sending them back to the governor.
Senior advocates Mughal Rogatki and Wilson appeared for the Tamil Nadu government, arguing that the governor has no right to simply reject bills without providing a reason. They claimed that over 13 bills have been delayed without assent since 2020, affecting the lives of eight crore people in the state.
The Chief Justice expressed frustration, questioning what the governor had been doing for three years and demanding to know when he would give assent to the pending bills. He stated that if a bill is passed for the second time in the legislature, it should be treated as a Finance Bill and approved, adding that the governor does not have the power to suspend valid bills passed in the assembly.
The central government’s Chief Advocate Abhishek Singhvi clarified in response that the governor’s bills cannot be sent to the President and requested time for the bills to be considered.
The case has now been adjourned to December 1 as the Supreme Court waits to see how the governor will proceed.