NEW DELHI: Kerala has filed a revised plea in Supreme Court seeking a directive to lay down guidelines under which the governor may reserve Bills presented to him for the consideration of the President and or any appropriate directions or order the SC deemed fit to pass.
Earlier in one of the hearings, senior advocate and former Attorney General of India (AG) K K Venugopal, appearing for the State of Kerala, had told the Supreme Court that some of the Bills were originally ordinances promulgated by the governor under Article 213 of the Constitution, and there was no reason for the governor to now refer them to the President.
The Supreme Court then in its order had allowed the state government’s plea to include this point in the amended application. On Friday, the government, adhering to the Apex Court’s earlier order, filed the amended petition and sought appropriate orders in the ongoing tussle between Kerala government and the governor. According to the SC registry, the matter is likely to come up for hearing after January first week when the courts would open after the winter vacation.
The government in its revised plea said that the top court should interpret the phrase as soon as possible in the first proviso to Article 200 of the Constitution on the timeline applicable to the disposal of the Bills presented to the governor.
The petition contended that the governor’s actions were wrong and threaten the “basic foundations of our Constitution.” In the revised plea, Kerala stated that the governor has kept eight Bills pending. These Bills have been passed by the State Legislature and had been presented to the governor for his assent under Article 200.
It pointed out that governor sat on the Bills that were passed by the State Legislature even up to three years. So the SC should pass directions in this regard. It also said in its plea that the SC should declare that the governor failed to exercise his powers and duties under the Constitution through his inaction on the Bills that were presented for his consideration.