The Tamil Nadu Government has approached the Supreme Court, alleging that the state’s Governor, Dr. RN Ravi, is acting as a “political rival” and is obstructing the State Legislative Assembly’s duties by excessively delaying the consideration of bills passed by the Assembly. The state’s plea contends that the Governor’s inaction has led to a
“constitutional deadlock between the Constitutional Head of the State and the Elected Government of the State.”
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The petition highlights that the Governor has not only kept multiple bills pending but has also failed to sanction prosecution and investigation into various corruption cases. Furthermore, several applications for appointments to the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission remain pending with the Governor. As a result, the Commission, which should have a Chairman and 14 Members, is currently operating with just four Members, with one of them holding an additional charge as Chairman.
The state government’s plea states,
“The Governor by not “signing remission orders, day to day files, appointment orders, approving recruitment orders, granting approval to prosecute Ministers, MLAs involved in corruption including transfer of investigation to CBI by Supreme Court, Bills passed by Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly” is bringing the entire administration to a grinding halt and creating adversarial attitude by not cooperating with the State administration.”
The Tamil Nadu Government has also urged the Supreme Court to set an outer time limit for the Governor to consider Bills passed by the Legislature under Article 200 of the Constitution, in light of the Sarkaria Commission’s recommendations. The petition argues that the Governor’s assent should be based solely on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, without any discretionary element. It emphasizes that while Article 200 does not explicitly set a time limit, the phrases “shall declare” and “as soon as possible” indicate the urgency required.
The petition further asserts,
“the refusal to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers or deliberate inaction in acting on the Bills or on the files on the part of the Governor including any delay, will defeat the parliamentary democracy and the will of the people and consequently violates the basic structure of the Constitution.”
In conclusion, the Tamil Nadu Government’s plea underscores that even though the Governor is the head of the state’s executive, he is essentially a “titular head.” The real executive government is carried out by the Council of Ministers in each state. Thus, the Governor’s inaction is seen as usurping the functions of the state’s “true Legislature.”
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