‘Victory for all state governments’: Tamil Nadu CM Stalin reacts to SC's ruling on Governors
After receiving relief in the case against the Governor, chief minister MK Stalin addressed the Tamil Nadu assembly and called the verdict ‘historic’
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Tuesday called the Supreme Court’s ruling on the role of Governors in state bills a “historic” decision and a victory for all state governments in India.
The court reprimanded Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi for withholding assent to bills passed by the state government and referring them to the President, despite being presented twice. The court said that this action violated Article 200.
After receiving relief from the Supreme Court, Stalin addresses the assembly, saying the ruling means all the bills withheld by the Governor are now considered to have received his assent and have become Acts.
“The Constitution mandates the Governor to approve the bills once adopted for the second time, but he didn’t...he was also delaying,” PTI quoted Stalin as saying.
“This verdict is a victory not just for Tamil Nadu but all state governments in India,” the chief minister added.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), MK Stalin said that the judgment reaffirms the legislative rights of state legislatures.
Also read: Tamil Nadu government vs Governor case: Supreme Court's key ruling in 5 points
“We thank and welcome today’s historic judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, reaffirming the legislative rights of State Legislatures and putting an end to the trend of Union government-nominated Governors stalling progressive legislative reforms in Opposition-ruled states," Stalin wrote.
"This is another crucial step in restoring balance in Union–State relations and a landmark victory in Tamil Nadu’s continuous struggle to usher in a truly federal India. My congratulations to the people of Tamil Nadu and our legal team!” he added in the post.
The ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu and the state’s Governor RN Ravi have been at loggerheads over a number of issues, particularly over the latter not giving assent to multiple bills passed by the state assembly and presented to him twice. The state government approached the top court over this.
Supreme Court’s verdict
The Supreme Court verdict is a landmark ruling on the role of Governors regarding the bills passed by state assemblies under Article 200 of the Constitution.
To Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, who had reserved 10 bills passed by the state assembly for the President’s consideration, the top court said that he does not have the discretion to do so after the bills are presented to him for the second time.
The bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan strengthened the state government’s powers and said that the Governors must align with the council of ministers' advice and the constitutional framework.
“As a general rule, it is not open for the Governor to reserve a Bill for the President after the bills have been re-presented by the Government after being passed again by the Assembly. The only exception is when the bill presented in the second round is different from the first version,” Justice Pardiwala said in his judgement.
With PTI inputs.
