Tamil Nadu Governor case: Authorities occupying high offices must be guided by values of Constitution, says Supreme Court

Supreme Court declares Governor's delay in assenting Bills as non-est, emphasizing adherence to constitutional values.

The Supreme Court, close to midnight on Friday (April 11, 2025), published its much-anticipated judgment declaring Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi’s months’ long delay, withholding consent and subsequent reservation of the 10 re-passed Bills to President Droupadi Murmu for her consideration on November 28, 2023 “erroneous in law and non-est”.

The Court equally set aside consequential steps taken by President Murmu on the Bills as non-est.

Read the full judgement here

The Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan said the Governor’s inaction for an unduly long period of time for which these Bills were kept pending by him, his ultimate declaration of withholding of assent coupled with the scant respect shown by him to judgments of the Supreme Court for adherence to aid and advice of the State’s Council of Ministers showed “other extraneous considerations” writ large in the discharge of his functions.

“We are left with no other option but to exercise our inherent powers under Article 142 of the Constitution for the purpose of declaring these 10 Bills as deemed to have been assented on the date when they were presented to the Governor after being reconsidered by the State legislature i.e., on November 18, 2023,” the court declared..

The judgment had been pronounced in open court on April 8, but was not published until now.

Editorial | ​Legal milestone: The Supreme Court and the Tamil Nadu Governor