A file image of Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi (right) being greeted by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Credit: PTI Photo
The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared 10 bills which were stalled by Governor R N Ravi for President's consideration, a major win for the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government. The court also set a timeline for all governors to act on the bills passed by state assemblies.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan held that the Governor’s reservation of 10 bills for President’s assent is “illegal and liable to be set aside”.
The bench fixed a timeline between a month and three months for the governors to decide the fate of the bills cleared by the state assemblies. Any failure to comply with the timeline set by the court, would make the inaction of the governors subject to judicial review.
The state legislature had passed 12 bills which largely dealt with the appointment of vice-chancellors in the state-run universities. When Governor Ravi did not assent to the bills the Tamil Nadu government in November 2024 approached the Supreme Court. Ravi referred two of the bills to the President and did not give consent for the remaining 10 bills, which were readopted by the state assembly during a special session in November 2023.
Chief Minister M K Stalin welcomed the Supreme Court's verdict on the issue hailing it as "historic" and a victory for all state governments in the country.
Bills on vice-chancellor appointment
Madras University (Amendment) Bill, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University (Amendment) Bill and Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University (Amendment) Bill all passed in 2022 by the DMK government sought to empower the state government in appointing the vice-chancellor of the universities and reduced the authority of the governor. Anna University (Amendment) Bill, Tamil University (Amendment) Bill and Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Further Amendment) Bill also sought the same amendments as the aforementioned bills.
Siddha Medical University Bill
The bill which was passed in 2023 aimed to establish a university for Siddha Medicine near Chennai, with the state government seeking control over its governance structure.
Bills passed under AIADMK government
Two bills were passed in January 2020 under the AIADMK regime, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Amendment) Bill and Tamil Nadu Fisheries University (Amendment) Bill. As per a report by Indian Express, the former bill aimed to equip state government with powers of inquiry and inspection instead of the governor. The latter also proposed to shift administrative oversight to the state government.
Delays in remission orders, TNPSC appointments
In the petition by the DMK government to the Supreme Court, they referred to the delay in signing remission orders for over 50 prisoners, which led to major backlash for the ruling party. The opposition AIADMK accused the government of selective action, while they maintained that the files were sent to the Governor and had not received a response.
Important appointments to the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) were delayed. As per the report the commission must have a capacity of 14 members along with a chairperson but was operating with just four members. Ravi raised "dubious queries" in order to delay the appointment the petition claimed.
(With PTI inputs)