Governor has Constitutional obligation to decide on nomination of MLCs: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on Friday said the Governor of Maharashtra has a Constitutional obligation to either accept or reject the proposal sent by the State Cabinet to nominate 12 persons as Members of the Legislative Council (MLC) within a reasonable time.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G.S. Kulkarni was hearing a petition filed by Nashik resident Ratan Soli Luth, seeking direction from the court to the Governor to decide on the nominations submitted by the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers in November 2020, recommending 12 names for MLCs.

The court said, “Eight months had passed after the Cabinet sent the list to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and this was a reasonable time.”

This impasse has to be resolved, the court said. “It would be eminently desirable if the Governor discharged his obligation without much delay as seats in the Legislative Council cannot be kept vacant indefinitely,” the court added.

The Bench noted, “We express our hope and trust that the Constitutional obligation is fulfilled and things will be set right at an early date. If the saying ‘everything happens for a reason’ is to be believed, then we are sure that there was a genuine reason for the Governor to not say anything until now on the proposal. However, it is the duty of the Governor to speak and let the Chief Minister know about his views within reasonable time on the proposal.”

The court added, “Should there be any misunderstanding or miscommunication between two Constitutional authorities, then these disagreements ought to be made known to each other so as to iron out the differences.”

The Bench went on to say, “It is mature governance between the Centre and State, that there should be misunderstanding between the two, and minor disagreements that ought to be resolved between the Chief Minister and Governor. The same has to be made known to each other.”