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The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Supreme Court to hear Presidential reference on President, Governor's powers on July 22
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a Presidential reference on July 22, questioning whether the court can 'impose' timelines and prescribe the manner of conduct of Governors and the President while dealing with State Bills sent to them for assent or reserved for consideration. A Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, P.S. Narasimha, and A.S. Chandurkar will hear the matter. Broadly, the Presidential reference has asked whether judicial orders can dictate by what time and in what manner the President and Governors should function under Articles 200 (which covers the process of grant of assent by Governors to State Bills), and 201 (when Bills are reserved by Governors for Presidential assent) of the Constitution. 'In the absence of any constitutionally prescribed time limit or manner of exercise of powers by a Governor, can time limits be imposed and manner of exercise of powers be prescribed through judicial orders? Can judicial orders impose timelines and manner of exercise of powers by the President under Article 201?' the Presidential reference has asked. Deemed assent in T.N. case The President's move to seek clarity under the top court's advisory jurisdiction arises from an April 8 judgment by a Supreme Court Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, in a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government challenging the State Governor's delay in clearing 10 re-passed Bills, and his subsequent action to reserve them for consideration by the President. The two-judge Bench had ruled that the Governor's action was illegal. This had led to the default cancellation of the President's decision to assent to one of the 10 Bills, while rejecting seven. and not considering two others. The verdict, authored by Justice Pardiwala, had invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to deem that all 10 Bills had got assent. The reference has now sought the court's opinion on the very 'contours and scope' of Article 142. Questions scope of Article 142 'Can the Constitutional powers of the President/Governors be substituted by a judicial order exercising Article 142? Is Article 142 limited to matters of procedural law or does it extend to issuing directions contrary to or inconsistent with existing substantive or procedural provisions of the Constitution?' it asked. Indirectly questioning the validity of the 'deemed' assent, the reference has asked whether a law made by a State Legislature could even 'be considered a law in force without the assent of the Governor'. 'Are decisions of the Governor and the President under Articles 200 and 201, respectively, justiciable at a stage prior to even the Bill in question becoming a law? Is it permissible for the courts to undertake judicial adjudication over the contents of a Bill, in any manner, before it becomes law?' the Presidential reference queried. It said that the 'concept of deemed assent' of the President and the Governor, introduced in the judgment, was alien to the constitutional scheme, and worked to fundamentally circumscribe the power of the President and Governors. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar had called Article 142 a 'nuclear missile against democratic forces'. 'Governor violated Constitution' In his judgment, Justice Pardiwala had explained that Article 142 was invoked only to do complete justice in public interest for the people of Tamil Nadu. 'We are not exercising our power under Article 142 in a casual manner or without giving a thought to it. On the contrary, it is only after deepest of deliberations, and having reached at the firm conclusion that the actions of the Governor — first in exhibiting prolonged inaction over the bills; secondly in declaring a simpliciter withholding of assent and returning the bills without a message; and thirdly in reserving the bills for the President in the second round — were all in clear violation of the procedure envisaged under the Constitution,' the judgment had reasoned. Questions two-judge Bench ruling The Presidential reference has also raised questions about a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court pronouncing judgments on substantial questions of law regarding the interpretation of the Constitution without referring it to a minimum five-judge Bench as prescribed under Article 145(3) of the Constitution. The reference has also touched on the basics of Article 200, asking the court to clarify the constitutional options before a Governor when a Bill is presented to him under Article 200. The April 8 judgment had clearly specified that a Governor has three choices in this situation: assent, withhold assent, or reserve a Bill for consideration by the President. The court had underscored that a Governor could not indefinitely delay a decision on a Bill as it represented the 'will of the people'. Again, the Presidential reference sought the court's opinion on whether a Governor was bound by the aid and advice tendered by the Council of Ministers under Article 200. The judgment had clearly stated that Governors, as a general rule, must abide by the aid and advice of the State Cabinet under Article 200 while deciding on Bills. 'Bar to judicial review' The reference has raised doubts as to whether the 'constitutional discretion' of Governors and the President under Articles 200 and 201, respectively, was even justiciable. It maintained that there were 'conflicting judgments' of the Supreme Court. 'Is Article 361 of the Constitution [immunity given to President and Governors from legal action while in office] an absolute bar to judicial review in relation to the actions of a Governor under Article 200?' the Presidential reference asked. Justice Pardiwala had dealt with this question while referring to the court's own past judgments. 'The immunity enshrined in Article 361 of the Constitution does not preclude or prohibit the courts in any manner from looking into the actions of the Governor which by necessary implication would include his actions under Article 200 as well,' the Supreme Court had held in its April 8 judgment. The Presidential reference is dated May 13, the last working day of Justice Sanjiv Khanna as Chief Justice of India. The responsibility has now fallen to the current Chief Justice Gavai to form a Constitution Bench to consider the Presidential reference.
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
T.N.'s health sector: feats and challenges
The story so far: Tamil Nadu has consistently ranked high in the health sector. A robust public health system, 11,000+ institutions at the primary, secondary and tertiary care levels and scores of pioneering schemes have enabled the State to stay ahead in many of its key health indicators. Despite such achievements, the State's health sector is in the midst of a brewing crisis — a crisis fueled by a high number of vacancies, a strained workforce, and a lackadaisical attitude towards long-pending demands of doctors. How has T.N. healthcare fared so far? Over the years, the State has made significant strides in expanding its health infrastructure and improving health outcomes through focussed initiatives and innovative programmes, while prioritising core areas of maternal and child health, and prevention and control of infectious diseases. In particular, it has scaled up interventions targeting non-communicable diseases. Its flagship scheme, 'Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam' (MTM), has taken screening and drug delivery for conditions such as diabetes and hypertension to people's doorsteps, while community-based cancer screening programmes have also taken off. Moreover, the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation streamlines drug procurement and supply for government hospitals; the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (formerly Cadaver Transplant Programme) regulates the process of organ allocation and maintenance of wait lists; and the Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme provides financial assistance and nutritional support to pregnant women belonging to economically and socially disadvantaged sections. Schemes such as the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme have enabled better access to healthcare, especially for advanced procedures and surgeries such as organ transplants for the poor. What gains have been made? Such focussed measures have enabled the State to steadily bring down its maternal and infant mortality numbers. As per the State's Health Management Information System, the Maternal Mortality Ratio stands at 39.4 per 1,00,000 live births (2024-2025), a dip from 45.5 in 2023-2024, while the Infant Mortality Rate fell from 8.2 per 1,000 live births (2023-2024) to 7.7 in 2024-2025. The under-five mortality rate has also declined from 8.9 (2023-2024) to 8.2 during 2024-2025. On its part, the MTM has demonstrated an improvement in the management of hypertension and diabetes in the State. Among adults with hypertension, the proportion with blood pressure control rose to 17% (previously 7.3%), while among those with diabetes, the proportion with blood sugar control rose to 16.7% (previously 10.8%) respectively. These achievements are the outcomes of a resilient healthcare system that was built brick by brick over decades and stood the test of time during the COVID-19 pandemic. But certain deficiencies have surfaced in the State's public health sector, stemming from failures in addressing the needs of its workforce. What are the unmet needs and gaps? Despite exponential growth in terms of health infrastructure, there has been no proportionate expansion in the workforce. Delay in filling up vacant posts (across different levels) and lack of new posts' creation have left a dent in the sector. The health sector, including at the primary care level, is running the show by redeploying/diverting doctors and staff nurses to various facilities. A crucial cadre of T.N.'s public health system are its Village Health Nurses (VHN), who play a vital role in maternal and child healthcare. As per the latest official data, 2,013 posts of VHNs (of the 8,713 sanctioned) and 1,251 posts of Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (of the 2,057 sanctioned) are lying vacant. There has been an inordinate delay in filling the vacant posts due to legal issues. VHNs spearhead antenatal care, delivery services, post-natal follow-up and immunisation. Instead of serving one village (population of 5,000 to 6,000 as per norms), each VHN is now covering at least two to three villages each. Facing an acute crisis, they have been rising concerns about falling behind in maternal and child healthcare services. On the other hand, there is a growing concern about the shortage and skewed distribution of specialists in the State. Government doctors have been asking for an increase in their workforce as per patient strength, according to norms prescribed by Indian Public Health Standards. Many of them note that there is a huge rise in patient inflow to government hospitals, but no commensurate rise in staffing. In the last four years, the State recruited some 3,500-odd medical officers to its primary healthcare (point of entry) but is yet to address specialist shortfalls at the secondary and tertiary care levels. In particular, there is a huge deficit in super speciality cadre such as for cardiothoracic surgery and vascular surgery. Additionally, contractual recruitments and proposed models for public private partnership in service delivery, such as for haemodialysis, are facing stiff opposition among the existing workforce. For a State like Tamil Nadu, which takes pride in its advanced health infrastructure, a discontent and stretched workforce is detrimental in many ways. It could affect performance, patient outcomes, and public trust.
The Hindu
21-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Tamil Nadu Government's initiative to train tribal students for exams such as JEE, AIEEE be renewed, demands activist Karthik
As a recent Right to Information (RTI) Act reply has revealed that an initiative of the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department in 2013 to train about 50 tribal students every year for competitive examinations such as IIT JEE and AIEEE was dropped in the same year, an activist demands for the revival of the scheme to improve enrolment of tribal students in top institutions in the country. 'Though the sporadic successes of tribal students and Scheduled Caste students entering technical and medical institutions is being celebrated by the media and teachers, the exclusive government platform created for extending a constant support to their higher education should be renewed to increase their participation,' said S. Karthik, a Madurai based social activist. RTI activist suggests T.N. govt. to amend G.O. on giving special funds to Adi Dravidar schools Pointing out to the Government Order published on October 15, 2013, Mr. Karthik said the G.O. enabled training 50 tribal students for two years in private coaching centres at a cost of ₹2 lakh per student. Though such a similar training was already offered to Scheduled Caste students through Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation, the G.O. pointed out that for a similar training for tribal students too, private coaching centres could be roped in under Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998. 'As the training would include students studying in grade XI and XII, a total of ₹2 lakh would be allocated to each of the 50 students for the course of two years of the training,' it added. He said that though the exercise would entail an arduous process to persuade students from rural areas and hilly terrains to enrol for the training, the G.O. reminded that it was the duty of the government to democratise the opportunities which was available to only few sections of the society. 'Even when the scattered successes could be attributed to the government measures, a consolidation of efforts was mandatory to improve the enrolment of SC and tribal students in top institutions such as IIT and NIT,' he stated. 'As the initiative was lauded for its efforts to bring about a change in the realm of higher education in the State, dropping off in the same year was a disappointment,' he said. 'Learning about the need to include all students of the society in the run to excellence, the Tamil Nadu government should resume the programme at least from the current academic year,' he demanded.
The Hindu
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
The Hindu wins bronze in International News Design Competition
The Hindu has won a bronze medal in the 7th International News Design Competition conducted by Selected from over 700 entries by a distinguished jury, The Hindu bagged the award for publishing an illustration for a report 'Ringside view: how T.N. is aligned this election' which analysed political leaders and some prominent candidates of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu. The Illustration published on April 14, 2024, was created by Soumyadip Sinha, Chief Illustrator, The Hindu. It vividly depicted political leaders and prominent candidates locking horns ringside. Ten other publications including some from India also won the Bronze medal.
The Hindu
02-05-2025
- The Hindu
Drugs worth ₹547 crore seized, 15 arrested: MHA
Drugs worth ₹547 crore were seized by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and 15 people arrested in this connection, the Union Home Ministry said on Friday (May 2, 2025). Also Read | 300 kg drugs worth ₹1,800 crore seized off Gujarat; consignment was T.N.-bound "Bharat is axing down drug cartels with ruthless aggression. The Amritsar Zonal Unit of the NCB axed a drug diversion cartel through a 4-month-long operation across 4 states, seizing drugs worth Rs 547 crore and arresting 15," Union Home Minister Amit Shah's office wrote on X. Bharat is axing down drug cartels with ruthless aggression. The Amritsar Zonal Unit of the NCB axed a drug diversion cartel through a 4-month-long operation across 4 states, seizing drugs worth ₹547 crore and arresting 15. It is a giant stride towards building a drug-free Bharat… — गृहमंत्री कार्यालय, HMO India (@HMOIndia) May 2, 2025 It said this action is a giant stride towards building a drug-free India under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
