Kerala seeks to withdraw case in apex court against Governor withholding assent
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New Delhi: The Kerala government on Tuesday informed the apex court that it was willing to withdraw its petitions challenging the Governor’s delay and refusal to assent Bills passed by the Assembly, India Today reported.
The senior advocate and former Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for Kerala, informed a Bench of justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi about the state’s decision citing that the petitions had become infructuous.
However, Kerala’s move was thwarted by the Centre prompting the court to post the matter to May 13.
Signaling closure, Venugopal told the court that ‘Both the petitions are infructuous. We will be withdrawing both of them.’
Representing the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the move pointing to the fact that one was a special leave petition and the other one a writ petition, arguing further that issues raised, involving constitutional questions, could not be casually withdrawn.
Mehta pointed out that ‘These are constitutional issues. It cannot be filed lightly and withdrawn lightly. We are working on the issues involved.’
When Venugopal questioned the stance of the top law officers, Mehta reportedly responded: ‘When a person of your stature withdraws, even withdrawal has to be taken seriously.’
Acknowledging the state’s right to withdraw its petitions, alongside noting the Solicitor General’s request for time, the court adjourned the matter to May 13.
The Kerala government filed the two petitions in 2023 and 2024, respectively with the first challenging Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s prolonged delay in granting assent to eight Bills, some of them pending as long as 23 months while the second petition followed as President Droupadi Murmu withheld assent to four of the seven Bills referred to her by the Governor.