Opinion Governor R N Ravi’s overreach is unabashed and striking

In 1974, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court, in Shamsher Singh v State of Punjab, ruled that the governor of a state can act “only upon and in accordance with the aid and advice of their ministers, save in a few well-known exceptional situations”. Earlier this month, while hearing a petition from states including Tamil Nadu about governors neglecting their duties, the SC reiterated that “governors also cannot be oblivious to the fact that they are not elected representatives” and that their withholding assent to Bills passed by the Assembly is “a serious concern”. Only days later, Governor R N Ravi’s actions — he has withheld assent to 11 Bills passed by the state legislature — threaten to precipitate a constitutional crisis in Tamil Nadu. Ravi’s actions are part of a dismal pattern of blatant politicisation of the high constitutional office.

There are other instances as well of governors appointed by the BJP-led Centre over-reaching and interfering in the work of elected governments in states ruled by non-BJP parties. But Ravi has invited particularly unflattering attention to himself. Among the Bills, passed between January and April, stuck in the limbo of legal loopholes invoked by Ravi are those concerning the power of the state government to appoint university vice-chancellors, prohibition of online gambling, anti-corruption measures and legislation on the NEET. The Assembly has called a special session on Saturday to pass these Bills again, even as the larger questions sparked by Ravi’s actions are pending before the SC. He has courted controversy earlier by refusing to read out parts of the speech outlining the government’s view in the House. He has made statements denigrating the politics of the ruling DMK. He crossed the line again in July when he dismissed minister V Senthil Balaji — a decision he took back later. Even the state BJP unit has acknowledged that Ravi is wading into issues beyond his remit: “A Governor should not speak politics, it will set a wrong precedent,” state president K Annamalai said in July.

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It could be argued that the office of governor has been denuded of independence and credibility over decades, and several governments at the Centre bear responsibility for that. Yet, even given this scarred record, Ravi’s conduct is striking for the manner in which it flies in the face of convention and propriety, court verdicts and the Constitution’s letter and spirit. It also calls for a course correction. First, he must give his assent to the Bills that are almost certain to be passed, once more, by the legislature. For its part, the Centre must step in, at the very least, to counsel and restrain.