Kerala Governor not discharging constitutional duties regarding bills, hence moved SC: LDF govt
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Kerala government on Thursday said it moved the Supreme Court against the action of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for not signing certain bills passed by the state legislature as he was not discharging his constitutional duties.
State Law Minister P Rajeev said that the state legislature passed bills after considerable deliberations and in accordance with the rules and therefore, to withhold them indefinitely was "unconstitutional and anti-democratic".
"As soon as a bill is passed, the Governor has to act in accordance with the provisions of Article 200 of the Constitution," he said, adding that the provision has not been followed by Khan in respect of some bills.
The bills to which Khan has withheld assent include the Lok Ayukta Amendment Bill and two different University Laws Amendment Bills.
Speaking to reporters here, Rajeev said that even the Supreme Court has observed that bills passed by the legislature should not be withheld indefinitely and a decision should be taken on them "as soon as maybe".
The Governor, however, has withheld assent to some bills for nearly two years now, he said.
The minister said that the Governor could have sent the bills back to the assembly pointing out his concerns and the assembly would have decided whether to make amendments to them or pass them again without any modifications.
"Since the Governor is not discharging his constitutional duties with regard to the bills passed by the legislature, the government decided to move the Supreme Court against it," the minister said.
At the same time, the minister also said that it was not government-Governor row.
He said that the plea in the Supreme Court concerns the constitutional relationship between the state legislature and the Governor.
Khan, on several occasions in the past, has contended that he has withheld assent to some bills as his queries regarding those pieces of legislation were yet to be addressed by the ruling Left government.
He had claimed that as the respective ministers who proposed the bills were unable to address his queries, he had asked Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to clarify the doubts.
As no clarification came from the CM, the bills remained unsigned, Khan had said.
He had claimed that it was the Constitutional duty of the chief minister to brief him on a regular basis.
On this aspect, Rajeev said that the CM was only required to inform the Governor about the state cabinet's proposals for legislation and not the laws.
If the Governor wanted to send it to the President, it could have been done by now as some bills are awaiting assent for nearly two years, the minister said.
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Gautam Adani replaces Ambani to become wealthiest Indian with networth of Rs 11.6 lakh cr
Mumbai: Recouping the dent caused by the Hindenburg Research report, Gautam Adani's networth shot up 95 per cent to Rs 11.6 lakh crore last year, which helped him replace Mukesh Ambani to become the richest Indian, a report said on Thursday.
Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Ambani's overall networth increased by 25 per cent to Rs 10.14 lakh crore, as per the 2024 Hurun India Rich List.
In 2023's report, Adani's wealth declined by 57 per cent to Rs 4.74 lakh crore, and Ambani was way ahead with a fortune of Rs 8.08 lakh crore.
It can be noted that Adani's networth declined sharply following various allegations levelled by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research. The conglomerate has denied all the allegations.
In the 2014 edition, Hurun had pegged Adani's fortunes at Rs 44,000 crore, which made him the tenth richest Indian then.
Shiv Nadar and family of HCL gained one spot to be the third richest with a networth of Rs 3.14 lakh crore, while Serum Institute of India's Cyrus Poonawalla slipped by one notch to the fourth position with a networth of Rs 2.89 lakh crore in 2024.
Sun Pharmaceuticals' Dilip Shanghvi continued his ascent on the list, securing the fifth richest tag against sixth last year with a networth of Rs 2.50 lakh crore.
Radha Vembu of Zoho was the wealthiest among self-made women with a fortune of Rs 47,500 crore, while Zepto's co-founders Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha, who are in their early 20s, were the youngest on the list with a networth of Rs 3,600 crore and Rs 4,300 crore, respectively.
The list, which captures Indians having a networth of over Rs 1,000 crore, grew by 220 individuals to 1,539 people in 2024. The cumulative wealth has seen a 46 per cent jump in the year.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan made his debut on the list with a fortune estimated at Rs 7,300 crore, which was much higher than business partner Juhi Chawla with Rs 4,600 crore networth secured second place among the entertainers.
Interestingly, 16 professionals also made it to the list with Arista Networks' chief executive Jayshree Ullal being the wealthiest at Rs 32,100 crore and followed by D-mart chief executive Ignatius Navil Noronha at Rs 6,900 crore, according to the list.
Gera Developments' Kumar Pritamdas Gera's wealth grew the fastest at 566 per cent in the 2024 list, while Ambani and Adani had the biggest growth by quantum, the list said.
