Law JusticeContemporary Tamil Nadu
Supreme Court rules against Governor's withholding of bills
The Supreme Court held that Governor R. N. Ravi acted illegally in withholding assent to ten re-passed bills and set timelines for Governors.
Governor R. N. Ravi had withheld assent to ten bills passed by the Assembly, including bills on the appointment of university vice-chancellors, and the Assembly re-passed them in November 2023. In State of Tamil Nadu v. Governor of Tamil Nadu, a bench of Justices J. B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan ruled on 8 April 2025 that the Governor has no absolute or pocket veto and must assent to re-passed bills. Using its powers under Article 142, the court treated the ten bills as having received assent and laid down time limits for Governors to act. In November 2025 a Constitution Bench, answering a presidential reference, held that courts cannot fix such timelines or deem assent, while leaving prolonged inaction open to judicial review.
