Tamil Nadu CM vows to 'fix timelines for Governor' as university Bills, VC appointments remain stuck

Amid a prolonged deadlock over university Bills and vice-chancellor appointments, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said the Supreme Court’s advisory opinion “will have no impact” on the court’s April 8 judgement that restricted Governors from blocking state legislation.

Stalin said the Supreme Court’s advisory opinion has reaffirmed that the elected government should be in the “driver’s seat” and there cannot be two executive power centres in the state.

The chief minister’s remarks come at a time when the state has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Governor’s decision to reserve two key higher-education Bills for President – the Kalaignar University Bill, 2025, and the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

A five-judge bench headed by chief justice BR Gavai unanimously held that under the first proviso of Article 200, the governor at the first instance has three options – to assent, reserve the bill for the consideration of the president, or withhold and return the bill with a message for reconsideration of the state legislature.

The court said that the Governor is barred only from “withholding” assent the second time, but can either grant assent or reserve it.

Stalin said that “the Governor has no fourth option to kill a Bill or exercise a pocket veto”, adding that such “prolonged, unexplained, and deliberate delay in acting on Bills” has pushed the state to move courts to hold them accountable.

VC, University Bills on hold

The Kalaignar University Bill seeks to establish a new state university in Kumbakonam after bifurcating Bharathidasan University. The Bill also names the chief minister as the first vice-chancellor, a provision that Governor RN Ravi has flagged as a violation of UGC norms.

The petition stated that the Governor’s action is “illegal, patently unconstitutional , void-ab-initio", and violated Articles 163(1) and 200 of the Constitution, which mandates the Governor to act on the aid and advice of the state Cabinet except in matters where discretion is explicitly allowed.

A similar petition is pending, which aims to empower the state government to appoint and remove the vice-chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University.

Referring to the 1974 St Xavier’s College judgment, Stalin said Supreme Court’s advisory opinions “have no more effect than the opinion of law officers”. He said that Tamil Nadu will push for constitutional amendments mandating timelines for Governors to clear Bills.