TN Govt Notifies 10 Laws Deemed Assented by Governor Following Historic Supreme Court Verdict

Chennai: In a landmark development, the Tamil Nadu Government has notified ten Acts in the Government Gazette following a historic verdict by the Supreme Court, which held that the Bills—re-adopted by the State Assembly and earlier forwarded to the President by the Governor—were deemed to have received assent. This marks the first instance in Indian legislative history where laws have come into effect without the formal signature of either the Governor or the President.
As per the government notification, the Acts are considered to have received the Governor’s assent on November 18, 2023. Among these is the Tamil Nadu Fisheries University (Amendment) Act, 2020, which renames the institution as The Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University. Several other Acts pertain to amendments in various state universities, including the Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2022; the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University (Amendment) Act, 2022; the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, Chennai (Amendment) Act, 2022; the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (Amendment) Act, 2022; the Tamil University (Second Amendment) Act, 2022; the Tamil Nadu Fisheries University (Amendment) Act, 2023; the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Amendment) Act, 2023; and the Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2022.
Most of these legislations deal with the appointment of Vice-Chancellors, a domain previously under the purview of the Governor. The move was a direct response to Governor R.N. Ravi's refusal to assent to the Bills and his subsequent decision to forward the re-enacted Bills to the President, which the Supreme Court found procedurally and constitutionally flawed.
The Tamil Nadu Government had challenged the Governor’s inaction and delay, terming it “deliberate obstruction.” The Supreme Court's verdict on April 8, 2025, held the Governor’s delay to be unconstitutional and affirmed that the ten Bills, having been duly passed and re-adopted by the Assembly, must be treated as law.
This sets a historic constitutional precedent—the enactment of legislation without any formal assent, based solely on the judicial affirmation of legislative procedure.
Reacting to the development, DMK Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson posted on X, stating, “History is made as these are the first Acts of any legislature in India to have taken effect without the signature of the Governor or President, but on the strength of the judgement of the Supreme Court. Our universities will now be cleansed and taken to a new level under the chancellorship of the Government.” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin echoed the sentiment with a brief yet pointed message on X: “DMK means creating history.”