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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the state government has approached Supreme Court against Governor Arif Muhammad Khan's indefinite suspension of nine bills, the legal counsel said that the government could seek a deadline under the constitutional provision that the governor should sign the bills as soon as possible.

Under Articles 200 and 201 of the Constitution, the Governor has four powers in respect of bills passed by the Assembly. Accept as such, hold until he gets clarity, send back for reconsideration, and send to the President. If the bill sent back for re-examination is passed by the legislature again as it is, then the governor has to approve it no matter what. Therefore, the governor is keeping the government in the dark by using the power to withhold the bill until clarity comes.

Article 200 says that even if the bill is withheld until clarity comes, a decision should be taken as soon as possible and the government should be notified. The Governor should also explain the reason for it. The Governor is not informing anything to the government to avoid that.

The law secretary suggested that the government may request the Supreme Court through a special leave petition that the court should direct the governor to inform the information to the government within a specified time frame instead of 'as soon as possible'. The Governor has no discretion in this as per Article 163(2) of the Constitution.

Apart from this, it is known that the Chief Minister also took legal advice directly from former Attorney General KK Venugopal.

Court intervened in the Telangana case

When the government approached the Supreme Court against Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan's indefinite hold on the bills, the court directed the governor to take a decision and inform the government as soon as possible. In Tamil Nadu, the state government approached the Supreme Court but the governor approved the bill before the verdict.

9 Bills Blocked by Kerala Governor:

  1. Universities Amendment Bill 2021 (Appointment of Tribunal)
  2. Universities Second Amendment Bill, 2021.
  3. Kerala Lokayukta Amendment Bill 2022.
  4. Kerala Co-operative Societies Amendment Bill 2022.
  5. Kerala Forest (Appropriation and Acquisition) Bill 2022.
  6. Calicut University Senate and Syndicate (Ad Hoc Arrangement) Bill (with permission for English translation)
  7. Kerala Public Health Bill, 2021.
  8. The University of Kerala (No. 2) Amendment Bill, 2022. (To remove the Governor from the post of Chancellor).
  9. Universities Amendment Bill, 2022 (Extension of Search Committee for Appointment of VC).