The Governor sent queries on certain provisions of the bill banning online gambling more than a month after he promulgated an ordinance.
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. (Raj Bhavan/ Twitter)
Tamil Nadu law minister S Reghupathy on Friday, 25 November, said the state government has submitted its reply to the clarifications sought by Governor RN Ravi on the bill prohibiting online gambling and regulating online games in the state, which was passed by the Assembly last month.
The Governor sent queries on certain provisions of the bill more than a month after he promulgated an ordinance to the same effect.
Responding to the questions raised by the Governor within 24 hours of receiving the letter from the Raj Bhavan, the DMK government clarified that the bill was legally sound and well within the Constitutional framework. It also emphasised that the state was competent to enact such a legislation.
Allaying the concerns raised by the Governor over certain legal aspects flagged by the Madras High Court in August 2021 while striking down a similar legislation introduced by the then AIADMK government, Minister Reghupathy claimed that all such matters have been addressed in the new legislation.
The legislation was formulated after a committee led by retired Madras High Court judge Justice K Chandru studied the subject extensively, and after getting inputs from all stakeholders.
Tamil Nadu has passed a law to ban online gambling games. (Creative Commons)
To a question on the high court’s observations on doctrine of proportionality, the government pointed out that a distinction was made between game of chance and game of skill, and that the legislation was not in violation of the doctrine as it does not propose a blanket ban on all online games.
Instead, it only prohibited online games of chance such as rummy and poker that are played with money or other kinds of stakes. In the case of other online games, a regulatory regime would be implemented.
With the bill yet to get assent from the Governor, the state government has not constituted the Tamil Nadu Gaming Authority as envisaged under the new legislation or framed other related rules.
A batch of petitions filed by gaming companies against the new ordinance in the Madras High Court was also withdrawn last week after the state government informed the court that the ordinance has not come into force yet.
Though the government has responded to Governor Ravi’s letter, questions are also being asked about why the latter was delaying in giving assent to the bill considering that he had approved the ordinance the same day it was sent to him by the law department.
When asked why the Governor sought clarifications on the bill now, instead of raising it before the promulgation of the ordinance, the law minister stated that only the Governor could answer that question.
It may be noted that this is not the first time that Governor Ravi has sat on bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
A memorandum demanding the immediate withdrawal of RN Ravi as Governor was submitted to President Droupadi Murmu by MPs belonging to the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance earlier this month.
In it they had enclosed a list of 20 bills which were pending with the Governor as on 31 October, 2022. The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Ordinance, 2022, was one of them.
Further, the law minister also claimed that despite seeking an appointment afew days back with the Governor to discuss about the bill, the government received no response from the Raj Bhavan.
As far as the DMK is concerned, several leaders in the party believed that the delay in giving assent to the gaming bill was yet another instance of the Governor trying to create a “deadlock” for the government.
Some others also questioned the powers of the Governor to “assess” the bills passed by the Assembly.
Speaking to South First, senior lawyer and DMK MP P Wilson said: “A Governor cannot question the wisdom of the legislature. The role of the Governor is very limited when it comes to bills. He/she can look into whether the legislature is competent to legislate on a particular subject and see whether it falls under List 2 (State list) or List 3 (Concurrent list) of the Constitution.”
“A Governor cannot sit and assess a bill passed by the Assembly or look into whether it is violative of the provisions of the Constitutions. These are matters to be decided by the courts. The Governor does not have the jurisdiction to do so and it exceeds his/her powers,” he added.
Manu Sundaram, lawyer and spokesperson of the DMK, also echoed similar views. Opining that it was unfortunate that the Governor was holding up the bills passed by the Assembly, he also drew attention to how Governor do not have the powers of judicial review.
“Such actions by the Governor is beyond Constitutional propriety. The Governor cannot sit in judgement of the laws passed by the Assembly. It is for the courts to decide if a particular law is unconstitutional.
“For example, can the President say the Citizenship Amendment Act is unconstitutional and withhold his assent? This could be a delaying tactic and it is unfair that there are no timelines or deadlines set for Governors to act on such matters,” he said.
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