The Supreme Court's clarification Thursday - that it can't use special powers under Article 142 to declare bills as 'deemed to have passed' - has come as a setback for a Tamil Nadu government pushing to get 10 bills, which were cleared in that manner in April, to become law.
In May, after the top court deemed the bills passed, the Madras High Court issued an interim stay on their operation. In June the Tamil Nadu government returned to the Supreme Court.
Since then, the bills' status has been uncertain. Today's observation - in response to a Presidential Reference on the validity of the Supreme Court's April ruling - suggests that will continue, at least till the High Court's final decision or Governor RN Ravi picks them up again.
Crucially, the ball is now in Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi's court, meaning he can now point to the top court's opinion - that the President and Governors are not bound by timelines when clearing laws passed by states - to bring back the bills to his desk.
He can also point to the Chief Justice BR Gavai-led bench saying a Governor has discretion, i.e., s/he is not bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in assenting or returning bills.
The centre has not yet responded.
The Tamil Nadu government, though, has; the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's spokesperson, TKS Elangovan, told NDTV the 10 bills - each cleared twice over by the DMK administration - could return to Governor Ravi's desk. But the "timeline is different", he said, suggesting, "Governors will dispose off bills immediately... if they believe in democracy." This clarification is not a setback, Elangovan insisted.
Should the centre choose to challenge the April verdict, it will likely kick up a big political storm in the southern state, particularly with an Assembly election due by April next year.
Tamil Nadu Government vs Governor Case
In April 2025 the Tamil Nadu government approached the top court seeking directions to Governor Ravi to clear the 10 bills cleared by the state Assembly. This was amid controversy in other (non-BJP-ruled) states too, such as the Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Punjab and Kerala, where the Left is in power.
A majority of the Tamil Nadu bills, in fact, had been passed by the previous government, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam that is now an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan sided with the government, calling the Governor's actions "illegal" and "arbitrary", and used its special powers to pass the bills.
RECAP | Top Court's Landmark Verdict On Governor's Powers In Tamil Nadu Case
"We are in no way undermining the office of the Governor. All we say is the Governor must act with deference to settled conventions of parliamentary democracy; respecting will of the people expressed through the legislature, as well as elected government responsible to the people," the court said then.
The bench also prescribed timelines for the President and/or state Governors to clear bills, a move that triggered furious pushback with some critics calling it "judicial overreach".
Presidential Reference Filed
In May Pesident Droupadi Murmu filed a reference seeking advice on the correctness of the verdict.
Crucially, she asked if timelines could be imposed on the President and Governors, and if a Governor's exercise of constitutional discretion is justiciable, i.e., subject to a trial in court.
RECAP | "Can Timelines Be Imposed?" President's Big Question To Supreme Court
In response, the Tamil Nadu government urged the court to declare the presidential reference as "not maintainable," asserting it amounts to an "appeal in disguise" intended to overrule a top court verdict.
READ | "Won't Overturn, Advisory Role Only...": Court On Presidential Reference
The Chief Justice-led bench began hearing the reference in August, but made it clear it would act only in an advisory role since a Presidential reference does not challenge earlier verdicts.
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