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On July 26 last year, the Supreme Court agreed to consider Kerala’s plea alleging the denial of assent to bills passed by the legislative assembly.
The matter came up before the SC bench of CJI BR Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi. (Image: PTI/File)
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Kerala government to withdraw its pleas against the Governor for delaying the approval of bills passed by the state assembly.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar issued the order after senior advocate KK Venugopal, representing the Kerala government, requested the withdrawal, noting the issue had become infructuous following a recent judgment in the Tamil Nadu Governor case.
Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the withdrawal and urged the court to wait for the Supreme Court’s decision on the President’s reference under Article 143 of the Constitution concerning the granting of assent to bills.
On April 22, the Supreme Court agreed to examine whether the recent Tamil Nadu judgment, which set timelines for granting assent to bills, covered the issues raised by the Kerala government in its pleas.
The Supreme Court bench, on April 8, acting on Tamil Nadu’s plea, ruled that the reservation of 10 bills for the President’s consideration was illegal and erroneous in law. For the first time, the bench set a three-month deadline for the President to decide on bills reserved by the Governor.
Kerala sought similar directions in its petition.
In 2023, the Supreme Court expressed displeasure over then Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan “sitting” on bills passed by the state legislature for two years. Khan is currently the Governor of Bihar.
On July 26 last year, the Supreme Court agreed to consider Kerala’s plea alleging the denial of assent to bills passed by the legislative assembly.
The Kerala government alleged that Khan referred certain bills to President Droupadi Murmu, which were yet to be cleared. Noting the pleas, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the secretaries of the Kerala Governor.
Kerala argued that the Governor reserved seven bills for the President’s consideration, which he was required to handle himself. None of the seven bills pertained to Centre-state relations. The bills had been pending for two years, effectively subverting the state legislature’s functioning, the state claimed.
The state government highlighted that the bills included public interest measures that remained ineffective due to the Governor’s inaction. The home ministry informed Kerala that the President had withheld assent to four of the seven bills: University Laws (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2021; Kerala Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022; University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022; and University Laws (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill, 2022.
The Constitution does not specify how long the President can take to grant assent to a bill passed by a state legislature and referred for presidential consideration. Article 361 states the President or Governor is not answerable to any court for their duties and actions performed in office.
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
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Kerala, India, India
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