Governor’s Power over State Bills

Governor’s Power over State Bills

• The Supreme Court (SC) have observed that bills sent to the governor for assent must be returned “as soon as possible” and not sit over them, causing Gubernatorial Procrastination and making state Legislative Assemblies wait indefinitely.
• A petition filed by the State of Telangana complaining that the Governor has kept pending several important Bills sent.

Governor’s Powers over State Bills :

• Article 200:
  • Article 200 : A Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly of a State to be presented to the Governor for assent, who may either assent, withhold assent or reserve the Bill for consideration by the President.
  • The Governor may also return the Bill with a message requesting reconsideration by the House or Houses.
• Article 201:
  • It states that when a Bill is reserved for the consideration of the President, the President may assent to or withhold assent from the Bill.
  • The President may also direct the Governor to return the Bill to the House or Houses of the Legislature of the State for reconsideration.

Compulsory Reservation :

• Against the provisions of the Constitution
• Opposed to the DPSP
• Against the larger interest of the country
• Of grave national importance
• Deals with compulsory acquisition of property under Article 31A of the Constitution.

Recent Instances of delays :

• For instance, in the TN Governor forwarded the Bill for exemption from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) to the President after considerable delay.
• In Kerala, the situation has become a bit curious with the Governor publicly announcing that he would not give assent to the Lokayukta Amendment Bill and the Kerala University Amendment Bill.

SC Ruling:

• Under Article 361 of the Constitution, the Governor has complete immunity from court proceedings for any act done in the exercise of their powers.
• In Rameshwar Prasad and Ors. vs Union Of India and Anr.

Practice Questions for Prelims

Consider the following statement regarding Governor:
1. Governor is elected by state legislative assembly
2. He can be removed from the office by the President
3. Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) All of the above

Ans. b)

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