On Saturday, the Kerala government filed a plea in the Supreme Court against President Droupadi Murmu withholding assent to bills passed by the state assembly. The state challenged the Governor, arguing that none of the bills related to Centre-State relations require Presidential assent.
The Four Bills
The four bills assent by the President are –
1) the University Laws (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2021,
2) the Kerala Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022,
3) the University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and
4) the University Laws (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill, 2022.
The bills are related to concerning State Universities and Co-operative Societies. The Kerala government argued that no reason was given for the rejection of the bills by the President.
Kerala Government’s Petition
Advocate CK Sasi has filed a petition of the state government against the President. Union government the Secretary to the President of India, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, and his additional secretary have been made parties to the case.
“It has to be pointed out that the President, which would effectively mean the Council of Ministers, aiding and advising the President, has not given any reason whatsoever for withholding assent for four out of the seven Bills reserved by the Governor. This is a highly arbitrary action, violating Article 14 of the Constitution, as well as Article 200 and 201 thereof,” the State government said in the writ petition.
Earlier also, on November 20th, the state government had accused the Governor of not granting assent to several bills cleared by the assembly and court. While hearing, the Supreme Court criticized the Governor for his inaction.
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