Kerala Governor signs a Bill, reserves seven for Presidential consideration
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan approved eight pending bills, including the significant public health bill, at a time when the Supreme Court is considering the government’s plea alleging inordinate delay by Raj Bhavan in clearing legislation.
However, he reserved seven bills, including the controversial University Amendment Bill, for presidential assent, the Raj Bhavan said on Tuesday.
On November 24, a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard the Kerala government’s plea accusing the Governor of not granting assent to several bills cleared by the state assembly.
Among the bills reserved for presidential assent are two University Amendment Bills.
The other bills include the Lok Ayukta Bill, University Bill 2022 (related to divesting the Governor of Chancellorship), the bill regarding the expansion of the University Search Committee, and the Cooperative (Milma) Bill, according to the communication from Raj Bhavan.
Last week, the Supreme Court asked the Kerala Governor’s additional chief secretary to refer to its recent verdict in Punjab’s case, where it held that Governors cannot “thwart the normal course of lawmaking”.