
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday in its order rejected a plea filed by a lawyer seeking a direction to the Secretary of the President of India and others to immediately recall Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, after finding "no merit" and noting that the prayer was "ill-conceived."
The two-judge bench of the apex court, led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, rejected the petition filed by Tamil Nadu-based lawyer, C R Jaya Sukin, after noting that there was no merit in the plea.
"We cannot grant such prayers. Plea dismissed. Prayers ill-conceived," the CJI said, in the order on Monday.
The lawyer-cum- petitioner, Sukin, in his petition, said the Governor walked out without delivering his customary address in the Legislative Assembly on January 6, marking a hat trick of walkouts by the governor.
The Governor claimed that the national anthem was not played, as per his request, at the beginning of his official address. Instead, the Tamil Nadu State anthem, "Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu" (Invocation to Mother Tamil), was sung, the plea said.
"Since taking over as Tamil Nadu Governor, Mr Ravi has made charged political comments, ignoring the rules of conduct of the Governor's chair. He has termed the Dravidian model of governance an expired ideology. Не has held up legislation by refusing to give his assent to Bills. On occasion, he has sent back Bills or withheld the Bills," the plea, of Sukin filed before the Supreme Court, said.
The Governor has often been openly criticizing the Dravidian culture and Dravidian model of governance, that the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court stated that the Governor cannot enter the political arena and can discharge only those functions which are specified in the Constitution, the plea said.
The plea stated that the Governor's open criticism of Dravidian culture and governance contradicts the Constitution, as the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench has stated that the Governor cannot engage in political matters and may only perform the functions specified in the Constitution.
"The Governor is a constitutional functionary who derives his authority from the Constitution. This being the case, the Governor must be cognizant of the constitutional bounds of the power vested in him. He cannot exercise a power that is not conferred on him by the Constitution or a law made under it," the plea filed in the apex court said.