Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi administered the oath to K Ponmudy at the Raj Bhavan on Friday

A day after Supreme Court gave a 24-hour deadline to reinstate DMK leader K Ponmudy as a minister, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi administered the oath to him at the Raj Bhavan on Friday. This move came after the Tamil Nadu government had contested Ravi”s refusal to reinstate Ponmudy, despite an order by a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court that stayed the conviction and sentence of the minister on March 11.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin thanked the Supreme Court “for its timely intervention and saving the democracy”.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Stalin wrote, “On behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu, I thank the Hon”ble Supreme Court, the custodian of the Constitution, for its timely intervention & upholding the spirit of the Constitution and saving the democracy.”

The DMK chief also emphasised the importance of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections saying, “In the last decade, the people of #INDIA witnessed the dithering of democracy, withering of federalism and misadventures to put spikes before the functioning of sovereign governments elected by the people and giving age-old traditions a go by. #Elections2024 are crucial to save the democracy and uphold the Constitution. Let us strive hard to prevent the brazen abuse of the power by fascist forces threatening to ruin our glorious nation.”

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday rebuked the Governor, accusing him of “defying the Supreme Court”. The bench, also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, granted the Governor time till today to appoint the Tirukkoilur MLA as a minister.

“When the Supreme Court stays conviction, the governor has no business to say that the conviction is not wiped out. Once the substantive order of conviction is set aside, there is no conviction. You cannot say that the minister is tainted,” the court said.

In a letter addressed to the state government on Sunday, Ravi stated that he could not administer the oath of office to Ponmudy due to the pending case and the absence of a Supreme Court ruling overturning Ponmudy’s conviction.

Ponmudy was disqualified as an MLA following the Madras High Court’s decision to overturn his acquittal in an assets case. However, the Supreme Court subsequently stayed his conviction and the two-year jail term. Despite this, the Governor maintained that Ponmudy’s conviction had only been suspended, not overturned.