Reserving 10 bills for President illegal, arbitrary: SC slams TN Governor

New Delhi: 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 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 not to create "roadblocks or chokehold" the state legislature to "thwart and break the will of the people".

The bench went on, "The members of the state legislature, having been elected by the people of the state as an outcome of the democratic expression, are better attuned to ensure the well-being of the people of the state."

Under Article 200 of the Constitution, 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.

Article 200 of the Constitution deals with assent to bills.

Saying 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 for the President's consideration after it was presented to him for the second time.

The Governor must assent to the bills produced before him in the second round and the only exception is in case the bill in the second round is different from the first one, it said.

The apex court further said there was no expressly specified time limit for the discharge of functions by the Governor under Article 200 of the Constitution.

"Despite there being no prescribed time limits, Article 200 cannot be read in a manner which allows the Governor to not take action upon these, which are presented to him for assent and thereby delay, and essentially roadblock law-making machinery in the state," it added.

The apex court had previously framed questions to answer in a dispute between the Tamil Nadu government and the Governor over the delay in assent to bills passed by the legislative assembly.

The bench framed 12 questions largely on the power of the Governor under Article 200 of the Constitution in giving assent to bills, withholding assent and reserving for the consideration of the President.

The top court reserved its verdict in the matter on February 10.

The apex court had also questioned the Governor's "silence" before withholding assent to the bills passed by the legislative assembly and wondered how he could refer the "re-passed bills" to the President.

The delay in giving assent by the Governor prompted the state government to move the top court in 2023, claiming 12 bills, including one from 2020, were pending with him.