Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 21: The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi for his refusal to re-induct a DMK leader as minister despite a pause on his conviction ordered by the apex court.
In strong remarks, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said the Governor was “defying the Supreme Court” and asked the Centre, “If the Governor does not follow the Constitution, what does the government do?” The bench, also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, has now given the Governor a day’s time till Friday to appoint DMK’s K Ponmudy as Higher Education minister.
The MK Stalin government has approached the Supreme Court after Mr Ravi refused to re-induct Mr Ponmudi into the state cabinet, saying it would be against Constitutional morality. Mr Ponmudi was disqualified as an MLA after the Madras High Court recently reversed his acquittal in an assets case. Thereafter, the Supreme Court paused his conviction and the sentence of a two-year jail term. The state government had then moved to reinstate him as minister, but the Governor stressed that his conviction has only been suspended and not set aside.
The Supreme Court Mr Ravi overnight to take a call on reinstating the minister and said it would pass a judgment on Friday on his conduct in the matter. In a letter to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Mr Ravi had said it was “pertinent to note that the Supreme Court had suspended the conviction by way of interim relief to Mr Ponmudy. It only meant that the conviction, though existent, had been made non-operative and not set aside.”
“If we do not hear from your person tomorrow, we will pass an order directing the Governor to act according to the constitution. We are seriously concerned about the Tamil Nadu Governor and his behaviour. He has no business to do this. He is taking on the Supreme Court,” the Chief Justice said. “We are keeping eyes open and tomorrow we will decide. We are seriously concerned,” he doubled down.
The Chief Justice said the Governor was “defying the Supreme Court.” “Those who have advised him have not advised him properly,” he said. “I may have a different perspective of the man/ minister, but we have to go by the constitutional law. The Chief Minister says we want to appoint this person, the Governor should do so as part of the parliamentary democracy. He’s a ceremonial head of the state.” Justice Pardiwala said once a conviction was stayed, “you cannot say that you are tainted, there is no blemish.”
Appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi questioned if there was a “diarchy” in the state “so that two swords have to be kept together?” “Why do we have to come to the Supreme court each time? That is the question. He (Ponmudi) is an eight-time MLA and if he is let off tomorrow, can this term of assembly session come back? How can the Governor write such letters?”
The State government argued that the Governor had stepped out of bounds to opine that Mr Ponmudy was “tainted by corruption” and that his appointment would be against “constitutional morality.” Its application contended that when the Supreme Court has suspended the conviction, a legal fiction is created that the earlier finding of guilt by a lower court against Mr Ponmudy never existed in the eyes of law.
“The Governor is attempting to run a parallel government or diarchy. The Governor is attempting to choose a Minister as per his subjective assessment of suitability, which is impermissible… The letter (of the Governor) has to be stayed and a direction issued to the Governor to appoint Mr Ponmudy as a Minister of the Government of Tamil Nadu and to allot him the portfolios as per the letter of the Chief Minister on March 13 to prevent grave and irreparable harm and hardships,” the State’s application sought.
Mr Ravi’s refusal to appoint Mr Ponmudi as minister is the latest in a series of face-offs between his office and the MK Stalin government after he took over Tamil Nadu Governor in 2021. The DMK government has repeatedly accused him of creating hurdles in its work. Earlier, the state government had approached the Supreme Court over the delay in the Raj Bhavan clearing Bills. The court had then said the Governor must act on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
Tamil Nadu took the court back to a run-in between the Governor and the State over the pendency of 10 crucial Bills in 2023. The State had blamed the Governor for sitting on the Bills which had been cleared by the Legislative Assembly. Though the State had resent the Bills to the Governor for approval on November 18 last year, they were reserved by the latter for the consideration of the President. The tussle had also reached the Rashtrapati Bhavan, when Chief Minister Stalin wrote to President Droupadi Murmu last year, seeking Mr Ravi’s removal from the top post.
