Supreme Court is contesting a High Court ruling that declined to establish a specific timeframe for the Governor’s approval of bills.

The Kerala Government has taken its case to the Supreme Court, challenging a High Court judgment that dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) brought by a lawyer. This PIL contested the actions of the Governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan, who was withholding bills passed by the State legislature indefinitely, without following the procedures outlined in Article 200 of the Constitution. In the initial plea before the High Court, the State of Kerala was named as a Respondent.

In a ruling issued in November 2022, the High Court determined that it couldn’t impose a specific timeframe on the Governor for granting assent to bills.

The Special Leave Petition, which questions the High Court’s decision, argues that the Governor’s withholding of numerous bills with significant public interest has resulted in depriving the State’s people of essential welfare measures. The petition states, “The Governor’s behavior, as we will demonstrate, poses a threat to the very core principles and foundations of our Constitution, including the rule of law and democratic governance, in addition to undermining the rights of the State’s residents to the welfare measures intended to be enacted through these bills.”

The State has highlighted that as many as 8 bills, presented by the State Legislature for the Governor’s approval under Article 200 of the Constitution, have seen no action. Three bills have been pending for more than two years, and three others have remained unresolved for over a year, according to the State’s submission to the Supreme Court.

The State is seeking a directive for the Governor to exercise his powers under Article 200 of the Constitution concerning each of the pending bills.

Notably, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, while reviewing a similar petition brought by the State of Punjab on Monday, stated that Governors cannot indefinitely delay bills. The bench has agreed to consider the petition filed by Kerala, as well as a similar petition filed by Tamil Nadu, alongside the case from Punjab, during the upcoming Friday session.