Verdict May Impact Five Other Oppn-Ruled States

The Supreme Court's decision to strike down Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi's decision to reserve 10 re-enacted state bills for presidential assent will have an impact on similar disputes spanning across five other states, experts said on Tuesday.

- Vishnu Varma, Arun Dev and Tanmay Chatterjee

KOCHI/BENGALURU/KOLKATA:

In a significant step to ensure timely gubernatorial action, the court also laid down specific timelines. In case a governor decides to withhold assent or reserve a bill for presidential consideration "upon the aid and advice of the state's council of ministers", he must act within one month of the bill being sent to him. Where such decisions go against the advice of the state government, a maximum period of three months is permitted for the Governor to return the bill with a message or reserve it for consideration of the President, the court added. And if the assembly reconsiders and then sends the bill back to the Governor, it has to be approved within a month, the court added.

Five states approached the top court against the decisions of their respective governors — Tamil Nadu in 2023, West Bengal in 2024, Kerala in 2024, Punjab in 2023, and Telangana in 2023. Out of these, two are pending. All states are ruled by parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Kerala In Kerala, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan hailed the top court's ruling and said it upheld "the federal structure in the country and the democratic rights of the state assembly". ".The ruling is a warning against the trend of governors usurping the powers of the legislature. It is a victory for democracy," the CM said. The CM said that there was an unprecedented situation in Kerala where bills passed by the legislature were kept pending for up to 23 months. ".The verdict underscores the relevance and importance such issues raised by Kerala," he said.