KOCHI
The Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s reported act of going public on the President withholding her assent to the three Bills passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly before communicating the decision to the State government has caught the government by surprise.
A Raj Bhavan press release on social media platform X stated that the President had withheld assent to Kerala University Laws (Amendment No. 2) Bill 2022, University Law Amendment Bill, 2022, and the University Law Amendment Bill, 2021. It also stated that seven Bills were referred to the President in November 2023 and assent was given only to one Bill, Kerala Lok Ayukta Amendment Bill, 2022 and decision was awaited on three others.
P. Rajeeve, the State Minister for Law, felt the Governor’s act was an insult to the Legislature, which had passed the Bill. Ideally, the decision should have been communicated to the government, which had submitted the Bills to the Governor for approval. The Governor violated the privileges of the House through the act, he felt.
He said the government was not informed about the Presidential assent for a bill and withholding it for three others. The absence of official communication on the fate of the bills passed by the Legislative Assembly has derailed the legislative process.
Ideally, the decision should have been communicated to the government, which had submitted the Bills to the Governor for approval. The Governor violated the privileges of the House by going public on the developments rather than informing the government. He should have first communicated the decision to the government, said Mr. Rajeeve.
According to P.D.T. Achary, former Secretary General to the Lok Sabha, the Governor’s act amounted to impropriety rather than a violation of the privileges of the State Legislature. It would be proper for the Governor to inform the government about the decision, though nothing prevents him from making the decision known to the public, he said.
The Secretariat of the Kerala Legislative Assembly was also kept in the dark about the decision. Any communication from the President will be routed through the Governor and Raj Bhavan will forward it to the Legislative Secretary through the State Law Secretary.
However, the decision on the Bills was not communicated to the Legislative Secretariat though it had first appeared in the public domain through a press release, said those at the Secretariat, who viewed the act as an unprecedented one.
However, Raj Bhavan sources said the government would have been informed about the decision.
