In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has declared that 10 bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly have now become law—without needing the Governor or President’s approval. The verdict comes as a major win for the DMK-led government, which had been in a long-standing face-off with Governor R N Ravi over the stalled bills.
Since 2020, Governor Ravi had refused to give his assent to these bills, despite the Assembly clearing them twice. Instead, he had reserved them for the President’s consideration. But on Tuesday, the top court ruled that this action was ‘illegal’ and said the Governor had no power to reserve bills for the President after denying assent.
“The reservation of 10 bills by the Governor for the President’s assent was illegal and, therefore, liable to be set aside,” said a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan. The court made it clear that if a state Assembly passes a bill again without major changes, the Governor cannot block or delay it further.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin welcomed the verdict, calling it ‘historic.’ Speaking in the Assembly, he said the bills are now considered cleared. In a social media post, he added, “We thank and welcome today’s historic judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, reaffirming the legislative rights of State Legislatures and putting an end to the trend of Union government-nominated Governors stalling progressive legislative reforms in Opposition-ruled states.”
The 10 bills officially became law on November 18, 2023, after the Tamil Nadu government issued gazette notifications. These include key amendments that shift powers from the Governor to the state government, such as changes to university rules that reduce the Governor’s authority in appointing Vice Chancellors.
Out of the 10 bills, two were originally passed during the AIADMK government’s term (2016-2021), and the rest by the current DMK government. One such bill, passed earlier by AIADMK, renames the Tamil Nadu Fisheries University as Dr J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, according to Assembly Speaker M Appavu.
The court also issued a reminder that Governors must act within the framework of Article 200 of the Constitution, which allows only three choices: approve the bill, withhold assent, or refer it to the President. These actions must now be taken within a month, the court said, warning that delays could be legally questioned.
At the same time, the judges stressed that their ruling does not limit the Governor’s powers but emphasized that “all actions of the Governor must align with the principle of parliamentary democracy.”
(With agency inputs)
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