New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre's response on a plea filed by the Telangana government seeking directions to the state governor to clear 10 pending Bills which have been passed by the legislative assembly but are awaiting gubernatorial assent. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala clarified that it will not issue notice to the office of governor but would like to see the reply of the Union of India on the state government's plea.
During the hearing, the bench said that it was inclined to issue notice to the Centre but Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India urged the court not to issue the notice and he would obtain instructions. The bench did not issue notice and posted the matter for further hearing on March 27.
On March 14, the top court agreed to hear a petition filed by the Telangana government seeking directions to the state governor to clear 10 pending Bills passed by legislative assembly but are awaiting gubernatorial assent. The apex court had agreed to hear the plea, after senior advocate Dushyant Dave mentioned it for urgent listing, saying several Bills of public importance are stuck. The bench had said it would hear the plea on March 20.
The state government has said in its petition it is constrained to move the apex court under Article 32 of the Constitution in view of a "constitutional impasse" created on account of refusal of the governor to act on several Bills passed by the state legislature. It said Article 200 of the Constitution empowers the governor to either give assent to a Bill passed by the state assembly, or to withhold the assent, or reserve the Bill for consideration of the President.
"This power has to be exercised as soon as possible," it said. The state government said several Bills passed by the assembly, including the Telangana Municipal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022, Telangana Public Employment (Regulation of Age of Superannuation) Amendment Bill, 2022 and Telangana Universities Common Recruitment Board Bill, 2022 are awaiting Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan's nod. Soundararajan, a former chief of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, is locked in a running feud with the BRS government in Telangana. (PTI)
