Tamil Nadu Challenges Governor's Bill Referral In Supreme Court

In a fresh escalation of the standoff between the Tamil Nadu government and Governor RN Ravi, the State on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court challenging what it described as the Governor's "illegal and unconstitutional" decision to refer the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University (Amendment) Bill, 2025 to the President instead of granting his assent.

The State's writ petition, filed through its Chief Secretary, names the Governor, the Union of India, and the University Grants Commission (UGC) as respondents. It seeks a declaration that the Governor's act of reserving the Bill for the President's consideration is "patently unconstitutional, violative of Articles 163(1) and 200 of the Constitution, and void ab initio."

The Bill, unanimously passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on April 29, 2025, empowers the State Government to appoint and remove the Vice-Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University - powers currently vested with the Governor as Chancellor. The government argues that the legislation falls squarely within the Concurrent List (Entry 25), making it intra vires of the State Legislature.

According to the petition, the Bill was sent to the Governor for assent on May 6, 2025, along with the Chief Minister's advice to approve it. However, on July 14, the Governor referred the Bill to the President, citing alleged conflicts with Clause 7.3 of the UGC Regulations, 2018 - a move the State says exceeds his constitutional authority.

The plea contends that the Governor "converted Raj Bhavan into a constitutional court" by questioning the Bill's legality and usurped powers reserved for the judiciary. It argues that under Article 200, the Governor has no discretionary powers except in cases expressly requiring Presidential assent.

The petition also challenges Clause 7.3 of the UGC Regulations, calling it "ultra vires of the UGC Act, 1956 and beyond the Union's legislative competence." The State has sought an interim injunction restraining the Union and UGC from processing the Bill and an order directing them to return it to the Governor for assent.

This development comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court's landmark judgment on April 8, 2025, which held that Governors ought to dispose bills within a maximum period of three months and that  the Tamil Nadu Governor had no discretionary power to indefinitely delay or reserve Bills passed by the State Legislature. 

The Court ruled that ten such Bills, which had been pending with Governor RN Ravi for long periods and were later re-enacted by the Assembly, would be deemed to have received assent from the date of their re-passage. 

Soon after the State notified these laws - several of which curtailed the Governor's role in appointing Vice-Chancellors - the Madras High Court stayed their operation, citing potential conflict with UGC Regulation 7.3 (2018). 

The High Court observed that the issue required detailed constitutional examination, setting up yet another round of litigation between the Raj Bhavan and the State over control of State universities.

The Raj Bhavan in Chennai is yet to respond. 

This comes amid larger allegations by opposition ruled states that the BJP at the centre uses Governors to create obstacles, undermining elected governments and acting like a parallel administration. 

The BJP has, however, denied these allegations.