Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday hailed as “historic” the Supreme Court’s verdict that deemed governor R.N. Ravi’s pending assent to 10 bills re-enacted by the Assembly “illegal and erroneous in law”.

Speaking on the verdict in the Assembly, the DMK chief said it was a “huge victory” not just for Tamil Nadu but for all states as the apex court upheld the constitutional principle vis-a-vis the governor’s powers on bills passed by the Assembly.

Some bills have been awaiting the governor’s assent since January 2020.

“Tamil Nadu has obtained a historic verdict,” Stalin said to the thumping of desks in the House. “This verdict is a victory not just for Tamil Nadu but all state governments in India,” he added.

He recalled how the governor procrastinated when the bills were sent back to him after being passed by the Assembly for thesecond time. Stalin alleged that Ravi had then asserted that he was well within his rights to refuse assent to the bills even when the Constitution made it clear that the governor had no option but to give his consent to bills that had been sent back to him.

“It was against these actions of the governor that our government filed a case in the Supreme Court,” Stalin said.

“Tamil Nadu has waged a legal battle to uphold the DMK’s core philosophy of autonomy for the state and federalism at the Centre. We will continue this fight and Tamil Nadu will win,” he added.

In a post on X, Stalin wrote: “We thank and welcome today’s historic judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, reaffirming the legislative rights of State Legislatures and putting an end to the trend of Union government-nominated Governors stalling progressive legislative reforms in Opposition-ruled States. This is another crucial step in restoring balance in Union-State relations and a landmark victory in Tamil Nadu’s continuous struggle to usher in a truly federal India.”

Governor Ravi had on November 16, 2023, returned the 10 bills for reconsideration of the state government. Official sources said the bills returned by the governor pertained mainly to the amendments passed by the Assembly to the various state university laws. They sought to empower the state government, rather than the governor, to appoint vice-chancellors.

Bills to amend the Chennai University Act, 2023, to enable the state government to appoint the VC of the University of Madras and add the finance secretary to the syndicate of all universities were returned by the governor.