SC raps Tamil Nadu Governor for sitting on bills, lays down timeline for Governor assent
PTC News Desk: In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on Tamil Nau governor for sitting on bills and cited the move as 'illegal' and 'arbitrary'. The top court also laid down framework and timeline to clear the bills.
The Supreme Court's ruling came while hearing Tamil Nadu government's petition against the state Governor for sitting on the 10 bills by state legislation.
The top court in its ruling declares that the governor is not authorised to withhold assent to the Bill for indefinite time period and must act within framework laid out in Article 200 of the constitution. The top court said that the Governor must take a decision within three months, either to assent to a bill, return it to the House, or refer it to the President.
In the case of Tamil Nadu, where 10 bills had been pending, the Court observed they could be deemed to have been assented, given the unconstitutional delay.
“The Constitution expects the Governor to act expeditiously. Undue delay violates the very spirit of democratic governance,” the Court said, adding that this move was necessary to “calm waters stirred by a high constitutional functionary.”
The top court further ruled that any exercise of discretion by the Governor under Article 200 of the Constitution is amenable to judicial review.
- With inputs from agencies
