Second plea filed in Supreme Court challenging Governor’s delay in inviting Vijay to form govt. in Tamil Nadu

A writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday (May 9, 2026) to declare a May 7 press release by Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar, denying the claim made by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party president C. Joseph Vijay to form the government, as unconstitutional and arbitrary.

The petition filed by retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer M. Ramasubramani, through advocate G. Siva Bala Murugan, submitted that the Governor’s refusal to invite Mr. Vijay, as the head of the single largest party which emerged after the recently concluded Assembly election, was a hostile move against parliamentary democracy.

Tamil Nadu government formation LIVE updates – May 7

It said the Governor’s insistence that Mr. Vijay should demonstrate the “requisite majority support” essential for formation of government was contrary to the settled constitutional conventions governing formation of government in a hung Assembly.

The petition said the press release effectively foreclosed the constitutional process without permitting the single largest political party to establish its majority on the floor of the Legislative Assembly.

“It is well-settled that in a parliamentary democracy governed by the Constitution, the question whether a political party or coalition commands majority support can only be determined on the floor of the House and not by way of subjective satisfaction, private consultations or roving enquiry undertaken at Lok Bhavan,” Mr. Ramasubramani submitted.

The Governor cannot terminate the constitutional process without a floor test when a viable claim to majority exists, the petition said.

Comment | Governor should be convinced that single largest party can win a majority

This the second petition filed in the Supreme Court in as many days questioning the Governor’s position that Mr. Vijay should provide physical letters of support from MLAs to prove that he had the numbers in the 234-seat Assembly.

The earlier petition by Ezhilarasi P., who said she was a TVK party member, argued that the Governor was “duty bound” to invite Mr. Vijay, as the leader of the single largest party, to form the government in the State, and later prove the majority on the floor of the House.