In a landmark assertion of legislative autonomy, Tamil Nadu has become the first Indian state to operationalise laws without gubernatorial or presidential assent, acting instead on a Supreme Court directive invoking Article 142.
On April 13, 2025, the Tamil Nadu government formally notified ten State Acts in the official gazette, implementing laws that had been pending assent for years. The move follows the Supreme Court’s April 8 judgment that declared these Bills as “deemed to have been assented” by Governor RN Ravi, after his prolonged and unconstitutional delay.
The ruling by the bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan came after the Governor returned the Bills, which were then re-enacted by the State legislature. Under Article 200 of the Constitution, once a Bill is re-passed, the Governor is constitutionally bound to give assent and cannot withhold it or refer it to the President. The Court criticised the Governor’s conduct in no uncertain terms.
“We are left with no other option but to exercise our inherent powers under Article 142… in view of the scant respect shown by the Governor to the decision of this Court in State of Punjab and other extraneous considerations that appear to be writ large in the discharge of his functions,” the bench observed.
The Court declared that the Governor’s act of reserving the re-enacted Bills for Presidential consideration was “unconstitutional and void,” holding that all actions taken by the President thereafter were “non-est in law.”
The Supreme Court thus fixed November 18, 2023—the date on which the re-enacted Bills were presented to the Governor—as the effective date of assent. The Tamil Nadu government’s notification stated:
“All actions of the Hon’ble President after date of reserving the above said Bill is non-est in law and shall be deemed to have been assented to by the Hon’ble Governor on the date on which the said Bill was presented to him for assent.”
Of the ten Acts notified, nine pertain to State control over universities, many of which alter the composition of governance in higher education institutions by replacing the Governor as Chancellor. Institutions affected include the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University, MGR Medical University, and Tamil Nadu Fisheries University.
Senior Advocate and DMK MP P. Wilson called the move “historic,” noting on X:
“History is made as these are the first Acts of any legislature in India to have taken effect without the signature of the Governor / President but on the strength of the judgment of the Supreme Court.”
This unprecedented use of Article 142 by the judiciary, coupled with swift executive action by the Tamil Nadu government, has sparked a new federal precedent in Centre-State relations, underlining the autonomy of elected legislatures in the face of gubernatorial inertia.
The original Bills were passed between 2020 and 2023, but were stalled due to the Governor’s prolonged inaction. With this move, Tamil Nadu has opened a new chapter in constitutional governance, reinforcing the principle that the Governor’s office cannot be used to obstruct the democratic will of an elected legislature.
