Guv returns pending bills, TN govt calls for spl House session
Minutes after news emerged on Thursday that Governor RN Ravi has returned a set of bills that were pending with him for his assent to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Speaker M Appavu said a special session of the Assembly has been convened on Saturday (November 18) to readopt the bills.
As per the Constitution, when the Assembly passes a bill for the second time, the governor “shall not withhold his assent”.
Sources said the Tamil Nadu Assembly may pass the bills without any change for the second time at the special session. The development comes days after the Supreme Court expressed “serious concern” over inordinate delay by the governor in giving assent to the bills passed by the state legislature. A three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, made the observation while hearing a petition filed by the TN government asking the top court to fix a timeline for the governor to decide on bills.
Raj Bhavan and state law department sources are silent on the number of bills returned and whether the governor has made any recommendation regarding the bills for the reconsideration of the Tamil Nadu House.