SC judgement stern rebuke to not only Punjab Governor but to all governors: Chidambaram

PTI, Nov 24, 2023, 11:50 AM IST

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday said the Supreme Court’s judgment asking Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit to decide on granting assent to bills passed by the state assembly was a stern “rebuke” to not only him but to all governors and called on Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi to read every line of the ruling.

His remarks come after Tamil Nadu Governor Ravi returned 10 Bills passed by the State Assembly. The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Saturday met for a special sitting and re-adopted all of them, even as Chief Minister M K Stalin slammed the governor for withholding the Bills due to his “whims and fancies.” In a post on X, Chidambaram said, “The judgement of the Supreme Court on the Governor’s powers is a stern rebuke to not only the Governor of Punjab but to all Governors.” “Mr R N Ravi, Governor of TN, should read every line of the judgement and, if he thinks it necessary, call a competent senior advocate to explain the judgement to him,” the former Union minister said.

The Supreme Court has directed Punjab Governor Purohit to decide on the Bills passed by the legislative assembly during its “constitutionally valid” session held on June 19 and 20, saying the governor’s power cannot be used to “thwart the normal course of lawmaking”.

The top court, in its November 10 judgement which was uploaded on Thursday night, decided on the plea of the AAP government in Punjab which alleged the governor was not granting his assent to four bills which were passed by the assembly.