New Delhi: The Kerala government on Wednesday, November 8, moved the Supreme Court against governor Arif Mohammed Khan for the second time this month over pending Bills. This time around the state government appealed against a Kerala high court ruling that declined to fix a timeline for the governor to clear Bills.Earlier, the state government, on November 2, had approached the apex court accusing inaction on the part of Khan in relation to eight specific Bills passed by the state Assembly.This time around the state government challenged the high court order of November 30, 2022, which had said that “it may not be appropriate for the courts to issue any direction to the Governor of a State to exercise the discretion within a time frame to be fixed by the court”. The high court had said that governors have discretion as per Article 200 of the constitution, which provides the power to governors to grant assent/withhold assent or reserve a Bill for the President’s consideration.Challenging the high court order, the state government sought a declaration from the apex court “in relation to the inaction on the part of the… Governor of the State in relation to as many as 8 Bills passed by the State Legislature and presented to the Governor for his assent under Article 200 of the Constitution”, the Indian Express reported.The petition filed on November 2 too had accused the governor of “subverting” the constitution and acting in an “arbitrary” manner by sitting on the Bills for an “indefinite period”, The Hindu reported.There are three Bills passed by the state assembly that have been pending with Khan for more than two years, and three others for more than a year. While he cleared the Kerala Private Forest (Vesting and Assignment) Bill, 2023, presented to him on April 6 this year, he is yet to clear other Bills pending for years, indicating that the non-disposal of the earlier Bills was a “conscious act”, the Vijayan government had alleged.The petition had argued that the governor cannot claim absolute discretion with regard to Bills presented to him, and is in violation of Article 200 of the constitution.Over the past few years, opposition parties have repeatedly criticised governors appointed by the Narendra Modi government, accusing them of acting in violation of constitutional provisions and hindering governance. “They are wilfully undermining democratically elected state governments and choosing instead to obstruct governance as per their whims and fancies,” a letter signed by eight opposition parties and sent to Prime Minister Modi in March said.
