Supreme Court notice to Center, Kerala Governor over ‘no approval’ to 8 bills by Pinarayi Vijayan govt

The Supreme Court, on November 20, called for answers from the Centre and the office of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on a plea of the state government charging him with not granting assent to several bills cleared by the legislative assembly.

Senior advocate K K Venugopal submitted submissions alleging delay on the part of the governor in granting assent to eight bills before a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

As part of the hearing, the top court also requested assistance from Attorney General R Venkataramani or Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Kerala's plea will now be heard on Friday by the court.

"This is an endemic situation. The governors do not realise that they are part of the legislature under Article 168 of the Constitution," Venugopal said.

Several bills passed by the Kerala Assembly have been delayed by Governor Khan, according to Kerala's complaint.

"Mr Venugopal submits that- 1. The governor is a part of legislature under Art 162; 2. The governor had promulgated three ordinances which were later converted into those passed by legislature; 3. As many as eight bills are pending consideration for assent ranging from 7 to 21 months," the bench said in its order.

As a result of the governor withholding his assent, the Kerala government claims the bill delays are "violating the rights of the people".

Similarly, the Tamil Nadu government has filed a plea with the apex court as well.