Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday hailed as historic the Supreme Court’s judgment declaring the Governor’s prolonged inaction on Bills passed by the legislature erroneous and illegal. “A few moments ago, our government received a historic judgment from the Supreme Court,” Stalin said in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday.

“This order is not only for Tamil Nadu, but a huge victory for all states in India,” he said, calling it a vindication of federalism, state autonomy and Dravidian politics. The Supreme Court, in a case filed by the Tamil Nadu government against Governor R N Ravi’s repeated delays and refusals to assent to state legislation, set clear limits on gubernatorial discretion.

The Bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ruled that Governors are constitutionally bound to act “expeditiously” on Bills and cannot withhold assent or reserve Bills for the President’s consideration after sending them back once.