SC ruling on T.N. Governor addresses constitutional silence

• The Supreme Court’s decision to set deadlines for Governors to decide the fate of Bills is a response to a “Constitutional silence” in the Constitution.

• The Constitution does not specify time limits for Governors, leading to Governors in non-BJP-ruled states sitting on Bills.

• Despite a November 2023 Supreme Court order stating that “real power vests with the elected representatives of the people in a parliamentary form of democracy,” the situation persists.

• The governments of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Kerala continue to accuse their Governors of behaving like “political rivals.”

• The court’s decision extends to Speakers delaying decisions in disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law.

• Justice Gavai stated that the court would fix “specific time periods” for Speakers to avoid disqualification petitions being discarded and the Tenth Schedule being reduced to a mockery.