The Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a scathing verdict against Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, calling his decision to withhold assent to ten Bills passed by the state legislature "illegal" and "arbitrary". A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ruled that the Governor acted beyond his constitutional authority and failed to follow the mandate of Article 200, which requires the Governor to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers.
"The action of the Governor to reserve the 10 Bills for the President is illegal and arbitrary. Thus, the action is set aside. All actions taken by the Governor thereto for the 10 Bills are set aside," the court stated, according to a report by NDTV. It further ruled that "these Bills shall be deemed to be cleared from the date it was re-presented to the Governor".
The court observed that the Governor did not act in "good faith" and that the Bills were sent to the President only after a significant delay. This delay occurred even after the Supreme Court had made it clear in the Punjab Governor’s case that such inaction was not constitutionally permissible. Under Article 200, the Governor does not have the discretion to withhold assent once a Bill is re-passed by the Assembly. The court ruled that the Governor cannot resort to an "absolute veto" or "pocket veto" and must choose one of the constitutionally permitted actions—assent, return, or reservation for Presidential consideration, and only in specific cases.
The verdict sparked an immediate response from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who welcomed the court’s judgment as a major win for federalism and democratic values. Speaking in the state assembly, Stalin said, "I would like to inform this House about good news. Our Tamil Nadu government has got one historical judgement. Governor returned various Bills, which were passed in this Assembly, without giving assent. Tamil Nadu government initiated a case against this before Supreme Court. Supreme Court has said that the Governor withholding Bill is illegal. Supreme Court has given a historical judgement. This is a big victory not only for Tamil Nadu but for all the States in India. This judgment is a victory for all the State governments."
