By The Sampadak Express
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider whether its recent landmark judgment curbing the discretionary powers of state governors over bills passed by legislative assemblies applies to a case filed by the Kerala government. The Centre, however, argued that the April 8 verdict, which arose from a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government, may not be relevant to Kerala due to differing facts.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi has posted Kerala’s plea for hearing on May 6. The state, represented by former Attorney General KK Venugopal, contends that the issues it raised — particularly the prolonged delay in the governor’s assent to bills — are directly addressed by the Tamil Nadu verdict.
In that April 8 ruling, a bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala came down strongly on Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi for withholding and then reserving ten bills for the President’s assent, despite them being re-passed by the state assembly. The court declared the governor’s actions “illegal,” reasserted the primacy of elected legislatures, and set a three-month timeline for governors to act on bills.
Kerala approached the top court in 2023, alleging that Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had delayed action on eight bills, some for nearly two years. In November 2023, the Supreme Court issued notice on the state’s plea. Subsequently, seven of the bills were referred to the President, and in February 2024, four of them were denied assent.
In response, Kerala filed a fresh petition in 2024 challenging both the reference to the President and the denial of assent. The Supreme Court issued notice on this new petition in July 2024.
On Tuesday, Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the governor’s office respectively, urged the court to treat the Kerala case separately. They maintained that the Tamil Nadu judgment did not cover the constitutional questions raised in the Kerala matter.“
The Kerala case is essentially different on facts,” said Venkataramani. “We are still examining the judgment and will need time to make our position clear.”
Mehta echoed this, stating, “The Kerala case is not covered by the April 8 judgment. On certain aspects, we will need the court’s assistance.”
However, Venugopal asserted that the Tamil Nadu ruling provided much-needed clarity on governors’ roles and timelines in processing state legislation. “The issue we have raised — the time limit for governors to act on bills — has now been addressed. The court must innovate based on that judgment,” he said.
The upcoming May 6 hearing will determine whether the principles laid down in the Tamil Nadu case will shape how governors interact with state legislatures in Kerala and potentially other states, marking another significant moment in India’s evolving federal framework.
