Days After Tamil Nadu, Kerala Govt Also Moves Supreme Court Seeking Directions To Governor To Act On Bills In Reasonable Timeframe

The Kerala government today (2 November) moved the Supreme Court asking it to pass directions to the Governor to act on Bills passed by the State Assembly within a reasonable timeframe.

This comes a few days after a similar petition moved by the Tamil Nadu government.

According to a report by LiveLaw, the petition states that of the eight Bills pending with Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, three have been pending for over one year and another three have been pending for over two years.

"The conduct of the Governor in keeping Bills pending for long and indefinite periods of time is also manifestly arbitrary and violates Article 14 of the Constitution. Additionally, it also defeats the rights of the people of the State of Kerala under Article 21 of the Constitution, by denying them the benefits of welfare legislation enacted by the State Assembly," the petition stated.

Some of the pending Bills are regarding making the Chief Minister as the Chancellor of state universities instead of the Governor.

In April 2023, commenting on a similar case filed by Telangana, the Supreme Court had stated that Governors should keep in mind the expression, "as soon as possible", mentioned in Article 200, which deals with assent to Bills.