THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three bills passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly remain in limbo as the Governor has not signed or referred them to the President, even after the three-month deadline stipulated by the Supreme Court. These include two university amendment bills and a private university bill. The three-month period for the private university bill expired on July 28, and for the university amendment bills on August 4.
The Supreme Court is currently considering a reference from President Droupadi Murmu regarding the time limit for Governors and the President to take decisions on bills passed by state assemblies. The Governor has stated that further action will be taken only after the court delivers its verdict. Meanwhile, the state government had already prepared rules for the private university bill, expecting the Governor’s approval.
Under the law, the Governor can either approve or reject bills passed by the Assembly, or forward them to the President for consideration. The Governor believes that the amendments curtail the powers of the Chancellor (Governor) and increase the powers of the Pro-Chancellor (Higher Education Minister). The bills include provisions allowing the Minister to directly intervene in university matters, even though current law permits this only in the Chancellor’s absence.
The amendments also give the Minister authority to seek any academic or administrative information from the universities. Powers such as declaring the results of Senate, Syndicate, Academic Council, and University Union elections, and forming committees, are proposed to be shifted from the Vice-Chancellor to the Registrar. The Governor argues that these provisions undermine the autonomy of universities. In the case of the private university bill, the Governor raised concerns that some provisions may conflict with UGC norms and therefore require review by the UGC and the central government.
Governor likely to forward bills to President