Mr. Arif Mohammed Khan the Governor of Kerala has sought report from the left Democratic Front led State Government as to why the State Government without informing him went to the Supreme Court challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act. The Raj Bhavan has the sought the report from the Chief Secretary of the State, the Kerala Government move to the Supreme Court on 13th January 2020 challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Original Suit Challenging the Central Legislation
The Government of Kerala on 13th of January filed an original suit in the Supreme Court of India challenging the Centers Citizenship Amendment Act (hereinafter CAA). They filed the suit under Article 131 of the Constitution challenging the validity of the CAA. It is mentioned that because of the mandate of Article 256 of the Constitution the State Government will be compelled to ensure the compliance of the Act, which according to the Kerala Government is ultra virus, arbitrary, unreasonable and in violation of Article 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. Thus there exists a dispute between the State of Kerala and the Union of India involving questions of law and facts and hence this suit under Article 131 of the Constitution is being filed.
Key features
- Arif Mohammed Khan is unhappy with the fact that the State Government without informing his of the issue went to the Supreme Court directly for challenging the CAA.
- He states that it is a mandate that the State Government informs the Governor on matters that affects Center State relations.
- The Raj Bhavan as sought report from the Chief Secretary of the State about this matter.
CAA suit by Government, Report by Governor
The State Government moved to the Supreme Court challenging the controversial CAA under Article 131 of the Constitution, and in doing so it became the first state to challenge the said central act in the Supreme Court. The Kerala State Government also in December last year has passed a resolution in the State Assembly against the CAA. The Government is also said to have stayed all preparatory works in relation to the National Population Register.
Mr. Arif Mohammed Khan the Governor of Kerala has sought report from the Kerala State Government in regards to the suit filed by the State Government in the Supreme Court challenging the CAA. Mr. Khan put forward is displeasure saying that he was not informed of the matter by the State Government. He also referred to Rules of Business Section 34(2) Sub-Section 5, which mandates the State Government to inform the Governor in matters that affect the Center State relation. Attacking Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Mr. Khan said that public affairs and Government business cannot be run in accordance to the whims and wishes of particular individuals and political parties the rules are to be respected.
Responding to Mr. Khan’s comments the State Government has maintained its stand that it has made no deliberate attempt to challenge the authority of the Governor’s office and has not violated and rules as such. They stated that the Government will clear all the apprehensions raised by the Governor.
Edited by J. Madonna Jephi
Approved & Published – Sakshi Raje
Reference
1. Original suit of 2020, State of Kerala v. Union of India https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/pdf_upload-369068.pdf (last visited 20th January 2020 1:22 PM)
2. The Economic Times, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/caa-suit-in-supreme-court-kerala-governor-seeks-report-from-state-government/articleshow/73377632.cms?from=mdr (last visited 20th January 2020 1:22 PM)
3. The Quint, https://www.thequint.com/news/india/caa-suit-in-sc-kerala-governor-seeks-report-from-government (last visited 20th January 2020 1:22 PM)
