Tamil Nadu Objects to President’s Reference on Bills’ Assent
Supreme Court to Hear Presidential Reference on Governor’s Powers Amidst tamil Nadu’s Challenge
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court is set to hear a crucial Presidential Reference concerning the powers and timelines for Governors to act on Bills passed by state legislatures. The hearing, scheduled for tomorrow, comes amidst a strong challenge from the Tamil Nadu government, which argues that the Reference is an attempt to overturn a previous Supreme Court judgment.
Tamil Nadu‘s Strong Opposition to the Reference
The Tamil Nadu government has filed a detailed request, asserting that the Presidential Reference is essentially an “appeal in disguise” and is legally impermissible. The state’s argument hinges on the principle that the Supreme Court cannot overrule its own prior judgments through an Article 143 advisory opinion.
The Reference was made just a month after the Supreme Court delivered its significant judgment in The state of Tamil Nadu v. The Governor of Tamil Nadu and Anr. Tamil Nadu contends that this Reference aims to nullify the findings of that judgment.
“Reference is nothing but an Appeal in disguise, which is impermissible in law as this Hon’ble Court has no power to overrule its own judgements by way of Article 143,” the State submitted in its application.
Furthermore, the State pointed to the supreme Court’s own pronouncement in Ahmedabad St. Xavier’s College Society v.State of Gujarat, (1974) 1 SCC 717 (para-51). This earlier judgment established that opinions rendered in Presidential References under Article 143 are advisory and not binding. Based on this precedent, Tamil Nadu argues that the current Reference is “headless and devoid of merit.”
The State’s application further elaborated, stating, ”it is prima-facie evident that the present Presidential Reference is nothing but an appeal in disguise to disturb the settled law and overrule the findings already pronounced by this Hon’ble Court due to which the present Presidential Reference ceases to raise any such legitimate substantial questions of law leading to an expediency in obtaining the opinion of this Hon’ble Court. Therefore, the Presidential Reference dated 13.05.2025 deserves to be unanswered as a whole and liable to be returned.”
Kerala Joins the Objection
Adding to the challenge, the State of Kerala, which has also faced similar issues with Governors delaying assent to Bills, has filed a comparable application. Kerala’s submission echoes Tamil Nadu’s concerns regarding the maintainability of the Presidential Reference.
Constitution Bench to Hear the Matter
A Constitution Bench, comprising chief Justice of India BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice AS Chandurkar, will preside over the hearing.The outcome of this case is expected to have significant implications for the legislative powers of states and the role of Governors in the federal structure of India.
The Tamil Nadu government’s application was meticulously prepared by advocates richardson Wilson and Apoorv Malhotra, with Senior Advocate P Wilson settling the arguments. The application was formally filed through Advocate T Harish Kumar.