Today, On 12th April, In a historic move, the Tamil Nadu Government has notified 10 bills as “deemed to have been assented” by the Governor, following a Supreme Court ruling that criticized the Governor’s prolonged delay in granting assent.
The Tamil Nadu Government has published 10 Acts in the Government Gazette in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling that the 10 Bills, which were re-adopted by the Assembly and previously sent by the Governor to the President, are considered to have received assent.
The notification was released today, following the Supreme Court’s judgment that was made public last night. This marks the first instance in Indian history where a State Government is enforcing laws based on a Court order rather than the Governor’s approval.
The Supreme Court of India criticized TN Governor RN Ravi‘s inaction in assenting to ten bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, calling it a violation of constitutional duty.
Following the Court’s direction, the Tamil Nadu Government officially published a Gazette notification declaring the bills as “deemed to have been assented” by the Governor as of November 18, 2023.
According to the notification, the Acts of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, deemed to have received the Governor’s assent on November 18, 2023, include The Tamil Nadu Fisheries University (Amendment) Act, 2020, which renames the University to The Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University.
Other Acts include The Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2022, The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University (Amendment) Act, 2022, The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, Chennai (Amendment) Act, 2022, The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (Amendment) Act, 2022, The Tamil University (Second Amendment) Act, 2022, The Tamil Nadu Fisheries University (Amendment) Act, 2023, The Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Amendment) Act, 2023, and The Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2022.
Most of these Acts focus on the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in state-run universities, transferring powers from the Governor-Chancellor to the government.
“History is made as these are the first Acts of any legislature in India to have taken effect without the signature of the Governor/President but on the strength of the judgement of the Supreme Court. Our universities will now be cleansed and taken to a new level under the chancellorship of the Government,”
DMK Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson stated in a post on X. In response to this topic, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin remarked in a post on X,
“DMK means creating history.”
Also Read: Supreme Court Rejects Plea to Remove Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi
The issue arises from the Governor’s delay in acting on multiple bills, including the Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022. Despite being passed on October 19, 2022, the bill was withheld by the Governor without any formal action or communication for over a year.
In a landmark judgment delivered in W.P.(C) No. 1239/2023 on April 8, 2025, the Supreme Court condemned the Governor’s conduct as being influenced by extraneous considerations and showing scant regard for constitutional obligations.
Referring to its precedent in the Punjab Governor Case (2023), the Court reiterated that Governors are constitutionally bound to act within a reasonable time frame on bills passed by elected legislatures.
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