The Tamil Nadu Government has taken legal action by approaching the Supreme Court due to Governor RN Ravi’s refusal to reappoint MLA K Ponmudi as a Minister in the State Government. In their filing, the State has requested a halt to the Governor’s decision made on March 17th and has asked for a directive for the Governor to follow the Chief Minister’s recommendation to appoint Ponmudi as a Minister. Senior Advocates AM Singhvi and P. Wilson raised the issue with the Chief Justice of India for urgent consideration. Singhvi highlighted the previous actions of the Governor, stating that despite the Court’s previous intervention to stay Ponmudi’s conviction and the Chief Minister’s recommendation for his appointment, the Governor deemed it constitutionally inappropriate to proceed. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud requested Singhvi to circulate an email regarding the matter for prompt attention.
The State contended that the Governor is obligated to abide by the Chief Minister’s recommendation under Article 164(1) of the Constitution. It accused the Governor of attempting to establish a parallel administration by selecting ministers based on his subjective judgment of suitability, which the State deems impermissible. Furthermore, the State referenced the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Lok Prahari case, which stipulates that if a conviction is suspended, disqualification ceases to apply. Therefore, the State argued that the Governor’s actions contravene this judgment, amounting to contempt of court.
Last week, the Supreme Court suspended Ponmudi’s conviction in a Disproportionate Assets case. Previously, after the Madras High Court overturned his acquittal in the same case, Ponmudi became disqualified under the Representation of the Peoples Act 1951 and consequently resigned as a Minister.
The Supreme Court, while suspending K Ponmudi’s conviction and sentence, noted that according to Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, an MLA sentenced to more than 2 years of imprisonment would face disqualification due to the conviction. However, the High Court did not appear to have addressed the fundamental question of whether the Special Court’s acquittal verdict was a plausible interpretation.
Yesterday, Governor RN Ravi communicated to Chief Minister MK Stalin, expressing his viewpoint that since Ponmudi had been found guilty by the Madras High Court of a serious offense involving moral turpitude and corruption, his reappointment to the Council of Ministers while still tainted by corruption would go against constitutional morality. The Governor pointed out that while the Supreme Court had only suspended the conviction, it had not overturned it.
