Tamil Nadu Govt Felicitates Senior Advocates Who Represented State In Plea Against Governor Over Delay In Assenting Bills

In a first, the Tamil Nadu Government felicitated the four Senior Advocates who represented the State in its petition against the Governor before the Supreme Court, which led to the landmark decision on Governor's powers. 

In a ceremony held in Chennai on Sunday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin felicitated Senior Advocate and former ASGI Mukul Rohatgi, Senior Advocate and former ASGI Abhishek Singhvi, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, and Senior Advocate and former ASGI P Wilson. The Senior Advocates were also presented with a "Sengol", signifying righteousness. The Chief Minister also appreciated the junior advocates who were part of the hearing. 

Speaking at the event, Stalin said that it was more of a celebration of victory than a felicitation ceremony. He said that the judgment was not just a victory for the State of Tamil Nadu but a victory for all States in the country, upholding democratic rights. He added that the judgment was historic in protecting the rights of the State government in the power sharing between the Centre and the State. Appreciating the senior advocates for helping the government, the CM said that though the senior advocates have won many big cases in their legal career, the present judgment was even more important as it was a victory for all the States. He added that the Tamil Nadu government that filed the case, the senior advocates who argued the case, and the bench that delivered the judgment will always be remembered.

Senior Advocate P Wilson congratulated Stalin for making the bold decision of approaching the Supreme Court against the Governor. He said that, though initially he had advised the CM against the move, eventually Stalin moved forward, which resulted in a historic judgment, not just for Tamil Nadu, but for every state. He added that the trust on the rule of law pushed the State to file the petitions against the Governor's actions. On the recent criticisms against the decision, Wilson said that though one could criticize the judgment, it was improper to belittle the institution just because one was not in agreement with the decision.

Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi also added that there was no overreach in the judgment and the Supreme Court had only corrected the overreach of the Governor. He added that the judgment would be part of the constitutional law discussions, much like the Kesavananda Bharati's case and the SR Bommai's case. 

Refuting the allegations of the verdict being a rushed decision, Senior Advocate Abhishel Singhvi said that all the parties were heard in detail by the bench, which even prepared ancillary questions arising from the case. Singhvi added that though the word federalism does not find a place in the constitution, the country has become much more federal today than it was at the time of adopting the constitution in 1950. He said that this accidental or unintended federalism was a result of many historic events like the creation of linguistic states after independence, coalition government, fiscal devolution, and the Panchayati Raj.