Apex court pulls up TN governor for stalling Bills

Specifies how long governors can hold on to Bills passed by state Cabinet

- ARCHIS MOHAN & PTI

In a verdict that puts clear limits to gubernatorial powers, the Supreme Court on Tuesday set a timeline for governors to act on Bills passed by state Assemblies and criticised Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi for reserving 10 Bills for President's consideration, saying it was "illegal" and "erroneous".

The judgment, by a Bench of judges J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, will be a shot in the arm for states, especially Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Punjab, which had flagged the issue of their governors holding on for presidential assent to several Bills passed by the legislatures.

In the case of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court deemed the 10 Bills, one of which was pending since 2020, passed.

"The action of the governor to reserve the 10 Bills is illegal and arbitrary and thus the action is set aside," the court said.

The court added: "The 10 Bills shall be deemed to be clear from the date it was re-presented to the governor."

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin hailed the Supreme Court's judgment as historic.