SC declines to consider plea for direction to recall Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a plea filed by a lawyer seeking a direction to the Secretary of the President of India and others to immediately recall Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar rejected the petition filed by advocate from Tamil Nadu, C R Jaya Sukin, saying there was no merit in the plea.

"We cannot grant such prayers. Plea dismissed. Prayers are ill conceived," the bench said.

Sukin, in his petition, said the Governor walked out without delivering his customary address in the Legislative Assembly on January 6.

He claimed the Governor by his act has completed a hat trick of walkouts from the Legislative Assembly.

"The Governor claimed that the national anthem was not played, as per his request, at the beginning of his official address. Instead, the Tamil Nadu State anthem, 'Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu' (Invocation to Mother Tamil), was sung," the plea said.

"Since taking over as Tamil Nadu Governor, Ravi has made political comments, ignoring the rules of conduct of the Chair. He has termed the Dravidian model of governance as an expired ideology. Не has held up legislation by refusing to give his assent to Bills. On occasion, he has sent back Bills or withheld the Bills," the plea said.

He has been openly criticising very often the Dravidian culture and Dravidian model of governance and, the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court stated that the Governor cannot enter the political arena and can discharge only those functions which are specified in the Constitution, the plea said.

"The Governor is a constitutional functionary who derives his authority from the Constitution. This being the case, the Governor must be cognisant of the constitutional bounds of the power vested in him. He cannot exercise a power that is not conferred on him by the Constitution or a law made under it," the plea filed in the apex court said.