Supreme Court To Examine Kerala’s Plea On Governor’s Delay In Signing Bills

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will examine whether its recent judgment in a case involving Tamil Nadu, which set deadlines for Governors to act on bills passed by state legislatures, also applies to a similar case filed by the Kerala government.

A bench comprising Justice P S Narasimha and Justice Joymalya Bagchi agreed to hear Kerala’s petition on May 6. The petition challenges the delay by the state’s Governor in giving assent to bills passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly.

Court To Study

“We will look into that judgment and see whether the issues raised here are covered,” the bench observed, referring to a recent Supreme Court ruling involving Tamil Nadu, in which the court directed Governors to act on bills within a reasonable time.

The Tamil Nadu ruling was delivered by a bench led by Justice J B Pardiwala.

Centre Says Tamil Nadu Verdict

During Tuesday’s hearing, Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre and the Kerala Governor’s office respectively, argued that the Tamil Nadu judgment does not address the specific issues brought up by Kerala.

They requested the bench to treat Kerala’s case independently, highlighting that the nature of the issues might differ from those already ruled upon.

Kerala Challenges Governor’s Inaction

Kerala had approached the Supreme Court earlier, claiming that the Governor was deliberately delaying the approval of several bills passed by the state assembly, which was affecting the functioning of the government. The state sought a direction from the court to ensure timely action from the Governor’s office.

Court will now examine both the Tamil Nadu verdict and the details of Kerala’s plea to decide whether a fresh ruling is required or if the earlier judgment already covers the current situation.

The case will be taken up for detailed hearing on May 6.