Supreme Court Seeks Centre's Response To Tamil Nadu Govt's Plea Seeking Specific Time Frame For Governors To Grant Assent To Bills

Hearing a plea filed by the Tamil Nadu government requesting a specific time frame for Governors to give assent to Bills, the Supreme Court said that it was a "matter of serious concern."

The state government stated that in addition to withholding assent to 12 Bills submitted to him between 2020 and 2023, Governor RN Ravi was also not taking action on files for prosecution of public servants accused of corruption and early release of prisoners.

The files for sanction of prosecution were submitted between April 2022 and May 2023 and those for early release of prisoners were submitted between June and August of 2023, stated a report by LiveLaw.

The petition by the government had also sought that the inaction of the Governor be declared unconstitutional and a malafide exercise of power.

In similar cases filed by other states, the Court had held that Governors must act on Bills "as soon as possible."

According to a report by The New Indian Express, the government submitted, "The Governor by not signing remission orders, day to day files, appointment orders, approving recruitment orders, granting approval to prosecute ministers, MLAs involved in corruption, including transfer of investigation to CBI by Supreme Court, Bills passed by Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is bringing the entire administration to a grinding halt and creating adversarial attitude by not cooperating with the state administration."

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K Annamalai had earlier stated that except for one Bill, which dealt with the Siddha University, all others were to make the Chief Minister as the Chancellor of state universities instead of the Governor.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu Government Approaches Supreme Court Against Governor RN Ravi Over Appointment Of Vice Chancellors