SC to consider pleas of Kerala against Guv over delay in approving bills passed by House
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on May 6 the pleas of the Kerala government against the governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly.
A bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi took note of the submissions of senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the state government, that the verdict of another bench on the plea of Tamil Nadu covered the issues raised in the present petition.
Venugopal said the judgement delivered by a bench headed by Justice J B Pardiwala framed guidelines and set timelines for governors and the President on granting assent to bills.
“What is the timeline for making a reference to the President by the governor and this issue is dealt with by that judgement,” the senior lawyer said.
“We will look into that judgement and see whether issues raised here are covered,” the bench said and fixed the pleas for further hearing on May 6.
Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the office of the Kerala governor, differed with Venugopal and said that certain issues were different.
A bench comprising Justices Pardiwala and R Mahadevan on April 8 delivered a significant verdict on the plea of Tamil Nadu and set aside the reservation of the 10 bills for the president's consideration in the second round holding it as illegal, erroneous in law.
The bench, for the first time, prescribed that the president should decide on the bills reserved for her consideration by the governor within a period of three months from the date on which such reference is received.
Kerala seeks similar directions in its case.
The top court on July 26 last year agreed to consider the plea of Kerala alleging the denial of assent to bills passed by the legislative assembly.
The Kerala government alleged that the then Governor Arif Mohammed Khan referred certain bills to President Droupadi Murmu and those were yet to be cleared.
Taking note of the pleas, the top court issued notices to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the secretaries of Kerala Governor.
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IAF to hold 2-day wargame along frontier with Pakistan: NOTAM issued
New Delhi, May 6 (PTI): The Indian Air Force will carry out a two-day mega military exercise along the border with Pakistan from Wednesday that will involve all the frontline fighter jets including Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar aircraft, sources in the defence establishment said on Tuesday.
The exercise is taking place amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
India's civil aviation authorities have already issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for the major air exercise that will largely take place along the southern and western section of the Indo-Pakistan border.
India's frontline fighter jets including the Rafale, Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft are set to feature in the exercise, the sources said.
In the course of the exercise, the IAF will simulate enemy targets on ground and in the air with deadly precision, they said.
The militaries of both India and Pakistan are on a high alert following rising tensions between the two nations.
Soon after the Pahalgam terror attack, India, citing "cross-border linkages" to the strike, promised severe punishment to those involved in it.
In a high-level meeting with the top defence brass on April 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the armed forces have "complete operational freedom" to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India's response to the terror attack.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met Prime Minister Modi on Sunday and the Chief of Air Staff briefed him about the IAF's operational readiness.
On Saturday, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi apprised the prime minister on the overall situation in the critical sea lanes in the Arabian Sea.
