What are the 10 Bills of Tamil Nadu withheld by Governor, now considered assented to after Supreme Court verdict?

Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, at the convocation of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore. File
| Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday (April 8, 2025), invoked its inherent powers and declared that 10 Bills, that were withheld assent by Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi for two to five years, have been deemed to have been assented to.

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A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan held that the Governor’s reservation of 10 bills for President’s assent is “illegal and liable to be set aside”.

Originally 12 Bills of Tamil Nadu, mostly dealing with appointments of Vice-Chancellors in state-run universities, were sent by the State Legislature for consent to the Governor between January 2020 and April 2023. The Governor sat on them indefinitely.

When the Tamil Nadu government approached the apex court in November 2023 against the Governor’s perceived inaction, the latter had quickly referred two of the Bills to the President and proceeded to withhold consent on the remaining 10.

Within days, Tamil Nadu Assembly re-passed the 10 Bills in a special session and had sent them to the Governor again for assent. The Governor, in turn, referred all the 10 Bills to the President for consideration. The President had subsequently assented to one Bill, rejected seven and not considered the remaining two.