7.5% quota: HC hopes not to question delay in governor’s decision

7.5% quota: HC hopes not to question delay in governor’s decision

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai:  30.10.2020

The Madras high court has expressed hope that an occasion would not arise for it to question the governor and seek an explanation for delay in taking decisions. The court was hearing the issue of the delay in governor’s assent to the bill ensuring 7.5% quota in MBBS seats for government school students in Tamil Nadu.

When Tamil Nadu advocategeneral Vijay Narayan told a division bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi that a governor is not answerable to any court for exercise of powers and duties, the judges said: “The protection under Article 361has been given by the framers of the Constitution with hope and trust in the appointees that they would perform their constitutional functioning promptly, and there would not be any situation, wherein they would be called for to give explanation or they will be questioned by the court of law.”

“When situation changes and a present kind of situation arises, a different approach has to be taken by the courts in the interest of the public. It is a well settled law that extraordinary situations require extraordinary remedies,” the judges said, adding that when public interest requires, the court has to do its constitutional duties. “However, this court is of the opinion that such a situation would not arise to pass any order in the matter.”

The judges pointed out that the Bill was passed by Tamil Nadu assembly unanimously on September 15 and sent to governor the same day for assent, and is pending since. Agreeing that Article 361 of the Constitution gives protection to the constitutional authority, they said, “However, in the given circumstances, a decision has to be taken as soon as possible as provided under Article 200 of the Constitution, by considering the future of the government school students, who are invariably from marginalized and poor sections.”