Tamil Nadu government has alleged that the President delayed decision-making on the bill for over 1,400 days without taking any action.
Published Nov 16, 2025 | 12:01 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 16, 2025 | 12:56 PM
File photo of NEET protests. Credit: SFI_CEC/ X
Synopsis: Tamil Nadu government has moved Supreme Court against President’s refusal to assent to its NEET exemption bill, pending for over 1,400 days. The state has alleged violation of SC rulings mandating decision within three months, seeks quashing of rejection and court-directed assent. Petition follows Governor’s earlier return and re-passage of the 2021 bill.
The Tamil Nadu government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the President’s refusal to grant assent to the state’s NEET exemption bill.
The Union Government has been implementing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to medical courses, a move that the Tamil Nadu has opposed since its inception.
To study the adverse impact of NEET on students in Tamil Nadu, a committee was constituted under the chairmanship of retired Justice A.K. Rajan. Based on the committee’s recommendations, NEET exemption bill was passed in the state Assembly on 13 September, 2021, and sent to the Governor for approval.
However, on 1 February, 2022, the Governor returned the bill to the Assembly. Later, the bill was passed again on 8 February, 2022, and resubmitted to the Governor, who forwarded it to the President for assent.
However, April this year, the President too refused to approve the bill. Challenging the President’s decision, the Tamil Nadu government has now approached the Supreme Court.
In its petition, Tamil Nadu government has alleged that the President delayed decision-making on the bill for over 1,400 days without taking any action.
Also, no reasons were provided for rejecting the bill, which, the petition claims, contravenes previous Supreme Court judgments. The petition highlights that the Supreme Court has ruled that the President must decide on state bills within a maximum of three months.
Accordingly, it seeks the quashing of the President’s decision and urges the Supreme Court to grant assent to the bill.
Notably, a Supreme Court bench headed by the Chief Justice is yet to deliver its verdict on a related case concerning 14 questions raised by the President regarding whether the court can impose a time limit on the President’s decision-making on state bills.
