Increasing cases of tussle between Governors and State governments
The Supreme Court on Friday termed the deadlock between the Punjab government and its Governor over assent to bills passed by the Assembly a matter of “serious concern” and said it is not happy with what is happening in the state. Meanwhile, the apex court also issued notice to the Centre on the Tamil Nadu government’s petition against the Governor for withholding 12 bills. The Kerala government also approached the top court against the Governor on a similar matter. Earlier, the Telangana Governor signed many bills after the State approached the apex court. This is the second time the Punjab government and Governor tussle enter the legal forum.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra told both the Punjab government and the Governor, “Our country has been running on established traditions and conventions and they need to be followed.” The bench pulled up the Punjab Governor for not giving assent to bills passed by the State Assembly saying “You are playing by fire” and questioned his power to term the Assembly session as unconstitutional.
The bench also questioned the Punjab government on why it adjourned and did not prorogue the budget session of its Assembly. Democracy has to work in the hands of the Chief Minister and in the hands of the governor, it said, adding that it will pass a short order to settle the law on the issue of the Governor’s power to give assent to bills. The Punjab Governor is involved in a long-running feud with the Aam Aadmi Party government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
In the Tamil Nadu government’s case, the Bench issued notice to the Centre and sought the assistance of the Attorney General or Solicitor General in the matter. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on November 20. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, pointed out that 12 bills passed by the Assembly were pending with the office of Governor R N Ravi.
The Tamil Nadu government urged the top court to intervene, alleging that “a constitutional authority” was consistently acting in an “unconstitutional manner impeding and obstructing” the functioning of the state government for “extraneous reasons”. 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,” said DMK led Tamil Nadu government. Chief Minister M K Stalin also came out in public against the Governor for non-cooperation.
Meanwhile, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan asserted on Friday that he was acting in accordance with the Constitution and questioned whether there was any evidence suggesting that he had caused a crisis in the state. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Khan said that the State government had, however, “crossed the line” on numerous occasions. His statement comes amid a growing tussle between the Left government and the Raj Bhavan on the issue of not signing certain bills. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on November 8 said that Khan was bound to act according to the Constitution.
For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.
- Supreme Court rejects plea to tally all VVPAT slips with EVM votes; says ‘no going back to paper ballot’ - April 26, 2024
- US report citing human rights violations is deeply biased: India - April 25, 2024
- Kotak Mahindra Bank shares tank 13%. Market Cap erodes by Rs.37,721 cr post-RBI action - April 25, 2024
