Article 200 of the Constitution of India and the powers of the governor: The Kerala context
Prameela K
Published on: 26 December 2023, 07:53 am
The Kerala governor has sent a bunch of Bills for the President's assent. The state government has approached the Supreme Court against this decision. This piece examines the merits of the claims and counter-claims.
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ON November 10, 2023, the Supreme Court in the State of Punjab versus Principal Secretary to the Governor of Punjab and Another stated that governors cannot veto the functioning of the legislature or keep Bills placed before them for assent pending indefinitely.
In its judgment, a Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud said that the expression "as soon as possible" in Article 200 of the Constitution of India conveys a "constitutional imperative of expedition".
On November 1, 2023, the Kerala government had also filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging the inaction of the governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammad Khan, on various Bills pending before him for assent.
The petition had contended that the governor's actions were threatening the "basic foundations of our Constitution". The state government had stated that the governor had kept eight Bills pending.
