Supreme Court dismisses advocate’s petition to recall Tamil Nadu Governor

Supreme Court dismisses advocate’s petition to recall Tamil Nadu Governor

R.N. Ravi

The Hindu Bureau 04.02.2025

NEW DELHI

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Monday disagreed with a submission made by a petitioner-advocate that Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi had “insulted the entire people of Tamil Nadu”, saying, “Nobody does that…nobody can do that.”

Heading a Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar, the Chief Justice dismissed a petition filed by advocate C.R. Jaya Sukin alleging that the Governor had been criticising Tamil culture and humiliating the people of the State for following Dravidian concepts.

Walkout from Assembly

Mr. Sukin referred to the Governor’s walkout — the third in as many years — on January 6 over the singing of ‘Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu’ (invocation to Mother Tamil) and not the National Anthem before his customary address to the Legislative Assembly.

The petition urged the court to direct the President’s office, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Home Ministry, all arraigned as respondents to the petition, to immediately recall the Governor. The Bench dismissed the case as “misconceived”.

“We function within the Constitution. We are already examining matters which require our attention…we cannot entertain a petition like this, not like this,” Chief Justice Khanna said. In January, the top court had asked Attorney General of India R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Governor, to push for a resolution to the continuing stalemate with the State government over the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in major State universities.

The court is hearing multiple petitions filed by the Tamil Nadu government, represented by senior advocates A.M. Singhvi, Mukul Rohatgi and P. Wilson, and advocate Sabarish Subramanian, over the conduct of the Governor in relation to the grant of assent to key Bills on higher education, remission of prisoners, government orders and constitution of search committees for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors.

Mr. Wilson had compared the Governor’s conduct to that of a “political opponent”.