NEW PANEL GRAPPLES WITH OLD CHALLENGES ON FEDERALISM

The office of the Governor has rarely generated as much heat across India as it has in Tamil Nadu.

- 

A prolonged standoff between Lok Bhavan and the elected government over legislations, especially the NEET Exemption Bill, public statements, and the boundaries of constitutional propriety eventually drew the Supreme Court into the picture.

While one bench prescribed timelines for assent on bills and ruled that Governors cannot indefinitely delay bills under Article 200, a bigger Constitution bench, responding to a presidential reference, held that the actions of the President and Governor are non-justiciable.

The divergence brought into focus sharp questions nagging Indian federalism: who, exactly, is the Governor accountable to, and what rules bind him? It is in this backdrop that the recommendations of the Justice Kurian Joseph Committee, tasked by the TN government to study constitutional provisions and suggest reforms to strengthen federalism, are important. The committee recommended "a single, fixed, nonrenewable five-year term" for the Governor and put limits on his discretionary powers, apart from recommending fixed timelines for gubernatorial assent to bills. The suggestions, however, cannot be actioned upon for obvious reasons.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin constituted the high-level committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph on April 15, 2025. Its members include former IAS officer K Ashok Vardhan Shetty and former TN Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Dr M Naganathan. The committee's terms of reference were in line with the DMK's long standing political demand for greater autonomy in the state.