After SC win, TN enacts laws without guv's nod

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday notified 10 bills as law, predominantly related to university appointments, the first legislation in India to take effect without a governor's signature but through the strength of a Supreme Court judgment.

- Divya Chandrababu

The notification follows a landmark verdict on April 8 in which the Supreme Court declared governor RN Ravi's inaction on state bills "illegal" and laid down unprecedented timelines to curb gubernatorial overreach.

"History is made as these are the first Acts of any legislature in India to have taken effect without the signature of the governor/President," P Wilson, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP and one of the four senior counsel who argued the case, said on social media website X.

The government moved to notify the laws immediately after the court uploaded its 415 page judgment late on Friday.

Seven of the 10 newly notified laws transfer power from the governor to the state government for appointing and dismissing vice-chancellors at state-run universities. While the governor will remain the chancellor of these institutions, the substantive authority will now rest with the state government, effectively with chief minister MK Stalin.

"Ball will start rolling in appointments very soon," a senior government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The Acts have replaced the term governor and chancellor with government-which is the chief minister really-who will become the sole authority for the functioning of these universities." The laws will apply to 18 universities across Tamil Nadu, including prominent institutions such as Madurai Kamaraj University, Periyar University in Salem, and Bharathiar University in Coimbatore.

The verdict has been a significant victory for Stalin's DMK government, which has been locked in a prolonged standoff with governor Ravi since his appointment in September 2021.