SC slams TN Governor, says withholding 10 Bills for President’s nod is ‘illegal’
Top court rules that the Bills shall be deemed to be cleared from the date they were re-presented to the Governor
In a big win for the Tamil Nadu government, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (April 8) ruled that Governor RN Ravi's action in withholding assent for 10 Bills and reserving them to the President after they were re-enacted by the state Legislature was “illegal and arbitrary” in law and liable to be set aside.
The court ruled that the governor cannot reserve Bills for the President after withholding assent.
The court further ruled that any consequential steps taken by the President on the 10 bills in question were also “non-est” in law.
Also Read: SC pulls up TN governor for sitting over bills, seeks answer
'Illegal, arbitrary move'
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said that the Governor “did not act with bona fides, since the Bills were sent to the President after he sat over them for a long time".
“The action of the Governor to reserve the 10 bills for the President is illegal and arbitrary. Thus, the action is set aside. All actions taken by the Governor thereto for the 10 bills are set aside. These Bills shall be deemed to be cleared from the date it was re-presented to the Governor,” ruled the court.
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- 8 April 2025 7:14 AM GMT
Stalin hails SC verdict on Governor's assent to bills as 'historic'
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has welcomed the Supreme Court's verdict, hailing it as 'historic,' and a victory for all state governments in the country.
The chief minister told the House that many Bills that had been sent to the Governor after the Assembly adopted them were returned by Ravi. They were re-adopted and again sent to him.
"The Constitution mandates Governor to approve the bills once adopted for the second time but he didn't...he was also delaying..." Stalin said, adding the state government moved the Supreme Court against this.
The Supreme Court accepted the state government's just arguments and ruled "it has to be considered as the Governor having given his assent and gave the historic verdict," he said.
"This verdict is a victory not just for Tamil Nadu but all state governments in India," Stalin said.
