Overstepped; there is Parliament: Kerala guv criticises Supreme Court
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New Delhi: Following the Supreme Court ruling that the President must decide on Bills within three months, Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar came down at the court, saying that it overstepped constitutional boundaries. The governor asserted that amendments to the Constitution fall under the purview of the Parliament, as per an interview he gave to the Hindustan Times.
Arlekar questioned the court’s ruling, saying that a two-judge bench must not have the authority to impose such a ruling. He reminded that there is no timeframe stipulated in the Constitution for a governor to act, and therefore, two judges alone could not decide on such a time limit.
If that is so, “.. what need is there for Parliament at all?” he wondered.
The apex court clearly stated that the President must not take more than 3 months to decide on bills passed by the state legislatures so that the practice of indefinite delays to undermine the state governments be stopped.
The Kerala governor further claimed that the Supreme Court’s judgement will not be universally applicable, particularly not in the context of Kerala. He argued that the bench hearing the case must have referred the matter to a larger constitutional bench.
In a first, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the President must take a decision on the Bills reserved for consideration by governors within a period of three months from the date on which a reference is received.
On April 8, the Court declared that Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, reserving 10 Bills for consideration of the President in November 2023, which had already been reconsidered by the state Assembly, was illegal and erroneous.