Controversy and Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi are inseparable. Since taking over as the Constitutional Head of the State on September 18, 2021, several of his official actions and statements have triggered huge political rows. On several occasions, he has been pulled up by the Supreme Court. In the latest instance, on April 8, 2025, the apex court invoked powers to declare as many as 10 Bills on which he had delayed action, effectively approved. Here, we take a look at five big controversies involving Mr. Ravi. These do not include his contentious political positioning and views and the annual feature of refusing to read out the approved text of the Governor’s Customary Address to the House.
1. When a Governor withholds assent to a Bill, it means the ‘Bill is dead’
In April, 2023, Mr. Ravi proclaimed that when a Governor withholds assent to a Bill passed by the Assembly, it means the “Bill is dead”. He argued that the Supreme Court had defined withholding assent as “the Bill falling through”, implying the Bill is dead. “It is a decent language used of the word ‘reject’. When you say ‘withhold’, the Bill is dead,” he told civil service aspirants at the Raj Bhavan.
Back then, Congress veteran and former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram had cryptically responded, “Actually when a Governor withholds assent for no valid reason, it means ‘Parliamentary Democracy is dead’.”
In November 2023, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, while dealing with the Punjab Governor’s case, held that the rejection of a Bill by a Governor does not mean its death. A law proposed by a State legislature is not extinguished merely because the Governor refuses to sign his assent, it said.
2. ‘Given to me, I will never clear the NEET Bill’
In February 2022, Governor Ravi returned to the Assembly Speaker the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill 2021. The Bill had sought exemption from NEET-based admissions to MBBS/BDS courses and instead admit students on the basis of class 12 Board exam marks in government quota seats. The Bill was drafted on the recommendations of the Justice A.K. Rajan Committee. However, Mr. Ravi said the Committee’s report merely reflected “the jaundiced view” of the panel and the Bill was not in the interest of the students.
Ideally, in this case, he should have referred the Bill to the President as the proposed law was repugnant to a Central law mandating NEET-based admissions.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly, for the first time, re-adopted a Bill returned by the Governor, and sent it back to Raj Bhavan. This time, Mr. Ravi forwarded it to the President, who has since declined assent.
In August 2023, Mr. Ravi declared that given to himself, he would never clear the NEET exemption Bill. He asserted NEET was “going to stay in the country.” During an interaction with students who had cracked the NEET, he said, “I am telling you very frankly. I will never give clearance to NEET Bill… It is a subject on which only the President is competent to give the clearance. Given to me, I shall never give it. Be sure about it.”
3. Dismissal of Senthilabalaji and a quick ‘U-turn’
On the evening of June 29, 2023, Governor Ravi unilaterally “dismissed with immediate effect” V. Senthilbalaji from the Council of Ministers, hours after the latter was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in an alleged money laundering case. “There are reasonable apprehensions that continuation of Thiru V. Senthilbalaji in the Council of Ministers will adversely impact the due process of law, including fair investigation, that may eventually lead to breakdown of the Constitutional machinery in the State. Under these circumstances, Honourable Governor has dismissed Thiru V. Senthilbalaji from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect,” a Raj Bhavan communication said.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had retained Mr. Senthilbalaji as a Minister without portfolio. Law Minister S. Regupathy said Mr. Stalin would reiterate to the Governor that it is the prerogative of the Chief Minister to retain or drop a Minister.
Late that night, the Governor hurriedly backtracked on his decision. He communicated to the Chief Minister: “I have been advised by the Honourable Union Minister of Home Affairs that it would be prudent to seek the opinion of the Attorney General also. Accordingly, I am approaching the Attorney General for his opinion. Meanwhile, the order of dismissal of minister Thiru V. Senthilbalaji may be kept in abeyance until further communication from me.” To this day, the Raj Bhavan has not shared what opinion the Attorney General had given Mr. Ravi.
4. Refusal to re-induct Ponmudy into the Cabinet
In March 2024, the Governor refused to re-induct K. Ponmudy into the Cabinet, though the Supreme Court had suspended his conviction in a corruption case. Mr. Ravi wrote to the Chief Minister, arguing as Mr. Ponmudy “remains tainted of corruption, re-induction as Minister would be against constitutional morality and hence, I am unable to accede to your request.”
Later, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud slammed Mr. Ravi for “defying the Supreme Court of India” by refusing to re-induct Mr. Ponmudy as Minister. “We are seriously concerned about the conduct of the Governor in this case. We did not want to say it aloud in court. He is defying the Supreme Court of India… When a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court stayed the conviction of Ponmudy, the Governor had no business to tell us that the suspension order did not wipe out the conviction or made it non-existent,” the Chief Justice said.
The Governor then administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Ponmudy.
5. NIA probe into a petrol bomb attack
On the afternoon of October 25, 2023, a man hurled a Molotov cocktail at the main gate of the Raj Bhavan in Chennai. The police overpowered him and took him into custody. The police said the accused was a history-sheeter by the name of ‘Karukka’ Vinodh, who was involved in similar instances of attack at a few other places.
However, the Raj Bhavan said more than one person was involved in a “very drastic and serious attack” that happened against the Constitutional Head of the State of Tamil Nadu. It said that some miscreants, armed with petrol bombs, tried to barge in through the Main Gate No. 1 of the Raj Bhavan. “After the first petrol bomb was hurled at the main entrance Gate 1 of Raj Bhavan, it burst with a huge sound and burnt the entrance. The security personnel rushed to capture the miscreants. Even when the security personnel of Raj Bhavan attempted to subdue the attacker, another petrol bomb was hurled, which resulted in severe damage to the main entrance to Raj Bhavan. Somehow, one of the assailants was overpowered by the security,” it said.
A day later, the Raj Bhavan accused the police of suo motu diluting the attack “as an act of simple vandalism”. It said that in a hurry, the police had remanded the accused, “preventing a detailed interrogation, which could expose those behind the attack.”
Subsequently, the National Investigation Agency took over probe in the case. The NIA chargesheet filed in January last year mentioned Vinodh as the lone accused, thereby rejecting the Raj Bhavan’s claim that more assailants were involved.
Published – April 08, 2025 02:58 pm IST
