NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the Centre and Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s office on a plea of the state government accusing him of not granting assent to several bills cleared by the Assembly.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions made by senior advocate KK Venugopal, alleging a delay on the governor’s part in granting assent to eight bills.

The court also issued a notice to Attorney General R Venkataramani, seeking assistance from him or Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in the matter. The court will now hear the Kerala government’s plea on

Friday.

The former attorney general, appearing in the court on behalf of the southern state, said copies of the petition have been served to the offices of the attorney general and solicitor general. Venugopal said the governor is also a part of the legislature under Article 168 and eight bills are pending his assent. The bench did not issue a notice to Khan and instead, sought the response of the additional chief secretary to the governor and the Centre on the plea. “Mr Venugopal submits that 1) The governor is a part of the legislature under Article 168, 2) The governor had promulgated three ordinances which were later converted into those passed by the legislature, 3) As many as eight bills are pending consideration for assent ranging from seven to 21 months,” the bench said in its order.

The court will now hear the Kerala government’s plea on Friday