Guv Vs Govt

The Supreme Court ruling on April 8 declaring as erroneous and illegal the action of Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, a former Intelligence Bureau and Central Bureau of Investigation officer, in reserving 10 Bills for the consideration of the President in November last year after their due reconsideration by the State Assembly, is a watershed moment in the tug of war that has become a startlingly regular between Governors and some non-BJP state governments.

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A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan also laid down the timeline for Governors to decide on Bills presented to them. The Bench said a course-squarely any subversion-steps taken by the President, too, do not survive. In an extraordinary move, the court exercising powers under Article 142 of the Constitution also declared the 10 Bills as having received assent, “having regard to the unduly long period of time for which these Bills were kept pending by the Governor, be-fore the ultimate decision of withholding the assent, in view of the scant respect shown by the Governor” to the court’s decision in similar matters before. This is a most welcome step to stop the vicious trend of parties ruling at the Centre using the Governor’s post in Opposition-ruled states as a tool for political vendetta. The decision is expected to have a far-reaching impact on the contours of the Governor’s powers, often abused, for settling political scores. This ruling will also impact Governors in other Opposition-ruled states, including Kerala, West Bengal and Punjab.