The Supreme Court on Monday requested responses from the Central government and the office of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan regarding a petition by the state government.
The top court issued a notice to Attorney General R Venkataramani, inviting either him or Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to assist in the upcoming hearing scheduled for Friday.
The Supreme Court on Monday requested responses from the Central government and the office of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan regarding a petition by the state government.
The plea accuses the governor of withholding assent to several bills that had been approved by the legislative assembly.
The bench, consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, acknowledged the arguments presented by senior advocate K K Venugopal, who asserted a delay on the governor's part in granting assent to eight bills.
The court also issued a notice to Attorney General R Venkataramani, inviting either him or Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to assist in the upcoming hearing scheduled for Friday.
"This is an endemic situation. The governors do not realise that they are part of the legislature under Article 168 of the Constitution," Venugopal said.
In its plea, the state of Kerala claimed that Governor Khan is delaying the consideration of eight bills that have been passed by the state assembly.
"Mr Venugopal submits that- 1. The governor is a part of legislature under Art 162; 2. The governor had promulgated three ordinances which were later converted into those passed by legislature; 3. As many as eight bills are pending consideration for assent ranging from 7 to 21 months," the bench said in its order.
The Kerala government has claimed that the governor is delaying the bills by withholding his assent and this is "defeating the rights of the people".
A similar plea has been filed by the Tamil Nadu government as well and is also being heard by the apex court.