the Supreme Court set aside Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi’s action of reserving 10 Bills for the President’s consideration, deeming it “erroneous and illegal”. The court held that any subsequent steps taken by the President on those Bills also do not survive.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to declare the 10 Bills as having received assent, citing the Governor’s “scant respect” for judicial pronouncements and the “unduly long” delay in action. The court also issued a sharp rebuke, underlining the need for constitutional functionaries to uphold the conventions of parliamentary democracy.
“We are in no way undermining the office of the governor. All we say is that the governor must act with due deference to the settled conventions of parliamentary democracy, respecting the will of the people being expressed through the legislature as well as the elected government responsible to the people,” the bench observed.
“He must perform his role of a friend, philosopher and kind with dispassion guided not by considerations of political experience but by the sanctity of the constitutional oath he undertakes.”
In its detailed judgement, the court delineated the constitutional obligations of the Governor, describing his role as one of “a catalyst and not an inhibitor”.
“In times of conflict, he must be the harbinger of consensus and resolve issue, lubricating the functioning of the state machinery by his sagacity, wisdom and not run it into a standstill,” it said.
“All his actions must be held keeping in mind the dignity of the high constitutional office that he occupies. The Governor, before he assumes office, undertakes an oath to discharge his functions to the best of his ability in order to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the rule of law and to devote himself to the service and well-being of the people of the state,” the bench noted.
“It is imperative that all his actions be guided in true alliance to his oath and that he faithfully executes his functions that he is interested with by and under the Constitution.”
The judgement further emphasised that the Governor is duty-bound to work harmoniously with the elected government and must not obstruct the democratic will of the people for political gain.
“The Governor as the constitutional head of the state is reposed with the responsibility to accord primacy to the will and welfare of the people of the state and earnestly work in harmony with the state machinery,” the court said.
“Due to this, the Governor must be conscious to not create roadblocks or chokehold the state legislature in order to thwart and break the will of the people for political edge.”
The court concluded that any action contrary to the mandate of the state legislature “would be a renege of the constitutional oath.”
“Before we part with the matter, we find it apposite to observe that constitutional authorities occupying high office must be guided by the values of the Constitution,” the bench added.
The Tamil Nadu government had moved the apex court against Governor Ravi for withholding assent to 10 Bills, including some pending since January 2020.
The judgement marks a significant assertion of judicial oversight in preserving constitutional propriety and democratic processes.
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