New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed concern that the Tamil Nadu governor has not acted upon 12 Bills, 54 proposals of premature release, 10 appointments in the public service commission and also proposals for sanctions for prosecution of public servants.
Senior advocates A M Singhvi, P Wilson, and Mukul Rohatgi, appeared for the Tamil Nadu government before the apex court. A bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, after hearing submissions from Tamil Nadu government counsel on pending bills and proposals, said “It is a matter of serious concern…”.
Singhvi submitted that 12 bills, passed between January 13, 2020 and April 28, 2023, are pending for the assent of the governor. The apex court was informed that among other categories of pending matters there are 54 files related to premature release of life terms.
The state government counsel contended that out of 14 posts of the TN Public Service Commission, 10 posts are lying vacant due to absence of governor's nod. The counsel further argued that some proposals for sanctions for prosecution have also been not acceded to. The state government counsel stressed on Article 200 of the Constitution which stated the governor has to take the decision on pending Bills "as soon as possible".
After hearing submissions, the bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued notice to Centre on a plea filed by the Tamil Nadu government and scheduled the matter for further hearing on November 20. The bench also sought assistance of Attorney General R Venkataramani or Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in the matter.
The Tamil Nadu government moved the Supreme Court against delay by governor RN Ravi in assenting bills passed by the state legislature saying it has brought the entire administration to a grinding halt and claimed that he has positioned himself as a “political rival” to the legitimately elected government.
The state’s plea contended that 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.
The plea said the governor “has positioned himself as a political rival to the legitimately elected government by hindering and obstructing the legislative assembly's ability to carry out its legislative duties by unjustly and excessively delaying the consideration of bills that the assembly has passed”.
