Editor's Pick: Kerala moves SC against Governor again

The Kerala government on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court for the second time in two weeks against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, accusing him of trying to “defeat the rights of the people” of the State by indefinitely sitting on several crucial Bills, especially those addressing post-COVID public health concerns. The State said the arbitrary show of lack of urgency by the Governor violated the fundamental right to life of the people of Kerala. “The conduct of the Governor in keeping Bills pending for long and indefinite periods of time is manifestly arbitrary and also violates Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. Additionally, it defeats the rights of the people of the State of Kerala under Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution, by denying them the benefits of welfare legislation enacted by the State Assembly,” the State said. The 461-page special leave petition appeals a Kerala HC judgment delivered on November 30 last year, which refused to fix a time limit for the Governor to deal with Bills presented to him under Article 200 of the Constitution. The State government submitted that the first proviso to Article 200, which governs the conduct of the Governor, mandates immediate consideration and action when a Bill is presented to him for assent. The Governor can either declare his assent to the Bill, return it with a message to the House or refer it to the President. However, the Article requires the Governor to act “as soon as possible”, that is within a reasonable time. The State said eight key Bills were pending with the Governor. Some of these Bills have been held back for over two years. Senior advocate K.K. Venugopal, appearing in the case for the State, recently informed the SC that the Governor continued to be unfazed even after it had moved the top court against him. Besides Kerala, other non-BJP-ruled States have also approached the SC against their Governors for “unreasonably” delaying the passing of crucial Bills into law. Their pending Bills too cover sectors such as public health, higher education, Lokayukta and cooperative societies. The Court had earlier expressed displeasure at Governors holding back key Bills. While hearing a petition filed by the Punjab government accusing the Governor of sitting on seven key Bills, the Chief Justice of India termed it a “serious issue”, as he asked Governors and CMs to do “a little bit of soul-searching”. “The Governors should not be oblivious of the fact that they are not elected by the people,” the Chief Justice noted. The Hindu’s Editorials Reviewing freedom: On the Kerala High Court case and negative reviews of films Poll timing: On the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which of the following groups is based in Yemen? Harakah al-Sabireen Houthi Hezbollah Jaysh al-Mahdi To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 09 November 2023 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Kerala moves SC against Governor again The Kerala government on Wednesday moved the [Supreme Court for the second time in two weeks against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan]( accusing him of trying to “defeat the rights of the people” of the State by indefinitely sitting on several crucial Bills, especially those addressing post-COVID public health concerns. The State said the arbitrary show of lack of urgency by the Governor violated the fundamental right to life of the people of Kerala. “The conduct of the Governor in keeping Bills pending for long and indefinite periods of time is manifestly arbitrary and also violates Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. Additionally, it defeats the rights of the people of the State of Kerala under Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution, by denying them the benefits of welfare legislation enacted by the State Assembly,” the State said. The 461-page special leave petition appeals a Kerala HC judgment delivered on November 30 last year, which [refused to fix a time limit for the Governor to deal with Bills presented to himÂ]( Article 200 of the Constitution. The State government submitted that the first proviso to Article 200, which governs the conduct of the Governor, mandates immediate consideration and action when a Bill is presented to him for assent. The Governor can either declare his assent to the Bill, return it with a message to the House or refer it to the President. However, the Article requires the Governor to act “as soon as possible”, that is within a reasonable time. The [State said eight key Bills were pending with the Governor](. Some of these [Bills have been held back for over two years](. Senior advocate K.K. Venugopal, appearing in the case for the State, recently informed the SC that the Governor continued to be unfazed even after it had moved the top court against him. Besides Kerala, other[ non-BJP-ruled States have also approached the SC against their Governors for “unreasonably” delaying the passing of crucial Bills]( into law. Their [pending Bills too cover sectors such as public health, higher education, Lokayukta]( and cooperative societies. The Court had earlier expressed displeasure at Governors holding back key Bills. While hearing a petition filed by the [Punjab government accusing the Governor of sitting on seven key Bills]( the Chief Justice of India termed it a “serious issue”, as he [asked Governors and CMs to do “a little bit of soul-searching”](. “The Governors should not be oblivious of the fact that they are not elected by the people,” the Chief Justice noted. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Reviewing freedom: On the Kerala High Court case and negative reviews of films]( [Arrow][Poll timing: On the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which of the following groups is based in Yemen? - Harakah al-Sabireen - Houthi - Hezbollah - Jaysh al-Mahdi To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here.]( [Sign up for free]( Today’s Best Reads [[Delhi to try out artificial rain over pollution woes] Delhi to try out artificial rain over pollution woes]( [[‘Loss and damage’ fund talks leave developing nations at new disadvantage | Explained] ‘Loss and damage’ fund talks leave developing nations at new disadvantage | Explained]( [[People of Madhya Pradesh looking for a change, says Kamal Nath] People of Madhya Pradesh looking for a change, says Kamal Nath]( [[An under-discussed facet of colonial history] An under-discussed facet of colonial history]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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