Is there Guv-govt harmony, asks Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked whether the country has lived up to the expectations of the Constitution framers that there would be harmony between the Governor and the State government, besides the consultation on various issues between the two power centres.

The observation of a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai came when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta referred to the Constituent Assembly debates on appointment and powers of the Governor.

Mehta told the bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha, and AS Chandurkar, that unlike criticism made in different quarters, the post of Governor was not for political asylum seekers but has certain powers and responsibilities under the Constitution.

Continuing his submissions on the Presidential Reference, which raised constitutional questions on whether the court can impose timelines for Governors and the President to deal with Bills passed by State assemblies, Mehta said that elaborate debates on the role and appointment of Governors have taken place in the Constituent Assembly keeping in view the federal scheme of the Constitution.

On Tuesday, the top court questioned the Centre and the Attorney General over the long pendency of Bills passed by Assemblies with Governors, underscoring the limitations of Constitutional courts in situations where legislation has been pending since 2020.

The top court has said it would be expressing its views only on the law and not on the April 8 decision in the Tamil Nadu case, fixing a timeline for governors and the president for acting on Bills passed by state legislatures.

The top court, while responding to the preliminary objections raised by Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments on maintainability of the Presidential Reference, said it would exercise its advisory jurisdiction as it was not sitting in the appellate jurisdiction.

In May, President Droupadi Murmu exercised powers under Article 143(1) to know from the top court whether judicial orders could impose timelines for the exercise of discretion by the president while dealing with Bills passed by State assemblies.

The Centre said in its written submission that imposing fixed timelines on Governors and the President to act on Bills passed by a State Assembly would amount to one organ of the government assuming powers not vested in it by the Constitution, and lead to "constitutional disorder".

While dealing with the powers of the Governor with respect to Bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, on April 8, the apex court, for the first time, prescribed that the President should decide on the Bills reserved for her consideration by the Governor within three months from the date on which such a reference is received.

In a five-page reference, President Murmu posed 14 questions to the Supreme Court and sought to know its opinion on the powers of the Governor and President under Articles 200 and 201 in dealing with Bills passed by the State legislature.