THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Governor, who is firm in his stand that he will not sign the university law amendment bill to remove the governor from the position of chancellor, sought legal advice on further action. He is considering two ways. One is to send the bill to the President as both the Centre and the state have equal powers on higher education. The second way is to withhold the bill in Raj Bhavan as the Constitution does not specify a time limit for signing the bill.

The governor had once said that he would send the bill to the President. However, he did not reiterate the statement after that. Notably, no governor has ever forwarded a bill to the President voluntarily. Governors have sent only those bills recommended by the state government to be sent to the President for his consideration.

Usually, the law department will send a recommendation along with the bill to send the bill to the President to check whether it is against the central law. However, the law department did not give any such recommendation with the bill this time. Moreover, the government has informed that the university laws passed earlier by the legislature were amended and that it falls under the authority of the state. Therefore, the governor asked the legal advisor whether there is a mistake in sending the bill to the President under Article 200 of the Constitution.

The government cannot do anything if the governor withholds the bill in the Raj Bhavan without signing it. The governor has already withheld four bills, including the controversial Lokayukta and Vice-Chancellor appointment amendment. Even if it goes to court, the government will not get a favourable verdict because the governor has no time limit to sign the bill. The governor has the power to send the bill back for reconsideration. However, he is unlikely to choose this path.

If bill is sent to President

• The President will seek the opinion of the Centre.
• The Centre will not take a stand against the Governor. The bill will get stuck in Delhi
• There will be no further action
• The government's moves to remove the governor from the post of chancellor may not succeed.

No bill became law

• Although Tamil Nadu, Bengal and Rajasthan have passed bills to remove the governor from the post of chancellor, the governors have not signed them.
• The Eknath Shinde government withdrew the bill passed by the Uddhav government in Maharashtra
• Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are preparing legislation to remove the governor from the post of chancellor