Governor’s stand in Tamil Nadu case may pose new legal challenges to Kerala

Kerala Governor's criticism of Supreme Court order on Governor's timeline for Bills could lead to legal challenges.

Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s stand that the Supreme Court order fixing a timeline for Governors to act on Bills cleared by the State legislature in the Tamil Nadu case was an “overreach” could open new legal challenges for the Kerala government before the apex court.

The possibility of the demand for referring Kerala’s petition seeking to set a guideline for the Governor to act on Bills passed by the State legislature and the challenge to President Droupadi Murmu withholding the assent for four of seven Bills of the State to a larger bench of the Supreme Court has become live considering the views of the Governor, according to State law officers.

Mr. Arlekar noted in a media interview that the Tamil Nadu case should have been referred to a Constitution Bench. The Governor’s response has come ahead of the court considering Kerala’s petition in May.

It is to be seen whether the Attorney General of India, who represents the Union of India as well as the Governor, will raise the demand for sending the case to a larger Bench when the apex court considers the case, they say.

Mr. Arlekar felt that the Supreme Court fixing a time limit for the Governor to give assent to the Bills amounted to a constitutional amendment, which was the prerogative of Parliament. He also noted that anyone asking the Governor to act within a certain time period was not implied in the Constitution.

The Governor wondered how two judges sitting at the Supreme Court could decide on the fate of the constitutional provisions.

Raj Bhavan sources, when contacted, maintained that the Governor stood by the contentions raised in the interview.