Tamil Nadu
'What Was The Governor Doing For 3 Years?', Supreme Court Asks While Hearing Tamil Nadu Plea On Pending Bills
The DMK government had approached the Supreme Court over Governor RN Ravi's delay in giving assent to Bills
Hearing a plea filed by the Tamil Nadu government asking the Supreme Court to instruct Governors to give assent to Bills in a specific time limit, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud today (20 November) asked why was the Governor keeping Bills pending for 3 years.
According to a report by LiveLaw, Chief Justice Chandrachud asked Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani, "Mr Attorney, the Governor says he has disposed of these bills on November 13. Our concern is that our order was passed on November 10. These bills have been pending since January 2020. It means that the Governor took the decision after the Court issued notice. What was the Governor doing for three years? Why should the Governor wait for the parties to approach the Supreme Court?"
When told that Governor RN Ravi had taken oath as Governor in November 2021, the bench also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said it was not specifically pointing to any particular Governor but questioning the delay in general.
Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Abhishek Manu Singhvi representing Tamil Nadu informed the Court that Governor Ravi notified that he had withheld his assent after notice was issued in the matter and the state Assembly had then passed the Bills once again in a special session on 18 November.
The number of Bills pending with the Governor is 15, including the Bills passed in the special session, said Singhvi.
Rohatgi stated that the Governor gave a single-line statement saying, "I withhold assent", while the law required him to provide a note with reasons.
Regarding the number of Bills sent to the Governor and action taken, the bench recorded that of the 181 Bills received, assent was granted to 152, nine were sent to the President, five were withdrawn by the government, assent had been withheld for 10 and five were under consideration.
On the request of the AG to wait for the decision of the Governor regarding the Bills pending before him, the bench adjourned the hearing to 1 December.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
