THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a sharp response to the recent Supreme Court verdict against Tamil Nadu Governor, Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar said if Constitutional amendments are brought in by the Apex Court, then what are Parliament and legislatures for.
Terming the SC verdict a judicial overreaction, he said the SC should have referred the matter to a larger bench.
Arlekar made the remarks in an interview with a national daily.
The remarks have also come as a setback for the LDF government’s aspirations of a smooth sail after the two-member Supreme Court verdict against the Tamil Nadu Governor for withholding 10 bills.
"If Constitutional amendment is done by the SC, then why legislature and Parliament are needed," he asked. “If everything is decided by the honourable courts, then Parliament’s need is over. This is as an overreach by the judiciary, The SC should have referred the case to a larger bench,” he felt.
The Kerala governor further said, “The Constitution has not put any time limit for the Governor to give assent to the bill. But if SC today says there has to be a time limit, be it one or three months, it becomes a Constitutional amendment."
"It is the right of the Parliament to make amendments. You need to have a two-thirds majority in favour of the amendment. And two judges sitting there decide the fate of the constitutional provisions. I don’t understand this. The constitutional amendment is a prerogative of the Parliament. They could have suggested, there needs to be a time -limit,” he added.
The Kerala Governor’s response has also opened a door for debate over the power of the SC to interfere in powers vested with governors.
The opposition ruled states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, and Punjab had openly come out against their respective governor’s alleged interference in governance.
The Pinarayi Vijayan-led cabinet had also staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on the same issue, parading the other opposition-ruled states. The Stalin government has recently organized a conference against the proposed delimitation of parliamentary constituencies.
Commenting on the case filed by the LDF government in the SC raising the same issue, the governor said the matter before the SC in the case of Kerala is not of that sort as TN.
‘It’s a different matter. Whether the governor should have given assent or not is his/her prerogative. The matter before the SC is not of that nature. It’s a different issue. SC’s observation that governors cannot keep bills pending for a longer period is understandable. But the governor should do it within a certain time period is not something implied within the Constitution. It is different from what the Constitution says,” he added.
Arlekar also came down heavily on the judiciary and said that many judicial cases have been pending in different courts for years. High Courts and SC keep matters pending. There must be some reasons. If SC judges have some reasons, the governor also may have some reasons, he said.
Arlekar also said that at present there are no bills pending in the Kerala Raj Bhavan.
“Whichever bills were sent to the Raj Bhavan here, I have already addressed. Some bills were sent for Presidential assent. As of today, there are no such bills pending before the Raj Bhavan,” he said.