After the 10 bills come into effect, state’s nominee would become the Chancellor of universities
Supreme Court of India. File pic
The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi and said his reserving 10 bills for the consideration of the President was against constitutional provisions. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said, “Action of the governor to reserve the 10 bills for President is illegal and arbitrary and thus the action is set aside.” Setting aside all his actions, it added, “The 10 bills shall be deemed to be clear from the date it was re-presented to the governor.”
The governor, the top court said, must be conscious to not create ‘roadblocks or chokehold’ the state legislature to “thwart and break the will of the people”. Under Article 200 of the Constitution, which deals with assent to bills, the governor does not possess any discretion and has to mandatorily act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers, the court added.
Stating the governor couldn’t withhold assent and adopt the concept of absolute veto or pocket veto, the bench noted he was “obligated to adopt” one course of action—give assent to the bills. The bench said it was not open for the governor to reserve the bills after it was presented to him for the second time.
Stalin hails verdict
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict, hailing it as ‘historic’, and a victory for all state governments in the country. The SC ruled the bills are now considered having been given the governor’s assent, Stalin told the Assembly, shortly after the apex court's order.
Hailing the Supreme Court’s ‘historic’ judgment, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said “Tamil Nadu’s legal battle has once again shone light on the entire nation.” “Our Hon’ble Chief Minister MK Stalin has once again registered a significant victory in his steadfast commitment to protect state rights and resist attempts to impose a unitary structure on the country,” Udhayanidhi said in a post on X.
Tamil Nadu would continue to fight and will continue to win. “Our spirit and our resolve remain unshakable. #StateRights #Federalism #TamilnaduLeads,” he added.
Next varsity Chancellor?
Senior advocate and DMK’s Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson claimed that with the 10 bills coming into effect, the state government’s nominee would become the Chancellor of state-run universities.
“It’s a landmark judgment. The Supreme Court has directed that the 10 bills will come into effect. Through this, the chief minister has ensured the autonomy of all states,” Wilson, who earlier called on Stalin, told reporters at the Secretariat here. In November 2023, the Tamil Nadu Assembly re adopted 10 bills returned by governor Ravi including with the CM as the Chancellor.
The DMK leader said that Governor Ravi ceases to be the Chancellor of state-run universities as per the court verdict. In the wake of the SC judgment, when reporters asked if the chief minister will be the Chancellor of state-run universities or if the government will appoint Chancellors, Wilson said the 10 bills include those for removal of the governor from varsities where he held the office of Chancellor.
“As per the apex court judgment, the governor is deemed to have granted assent (to the bills) and hence, governor is relieved from that (Chancellor) post effective today,” he said.
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