India

Tamil Nadu Dissolves Justice Kurian Joseph’s Centre-State Relations Panel

By PTI

The Tamil Nadu government has dissolved the high‑level committee on Centre‑State relations chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice Kurian Joseph, saying its mandate overlaps with that of the newly reconstituted State Law Commission. The order, issued by Public Secretary E Sundaravalli on November 6, ends the panel’s tenure six months before its final report deadline of May 31, 2027. The three‑member committee—Justice Kurian Joseph, retired IAS officer K Ashok Vardhan Shetty, and former State Planning Commission chairman M Naganathan—had submitted the first part of its report to Chief Minister M K Stalin in February 2026. The order states that the non‑statutory committee “has a considerable similarity and overlap in the nature and scope of the functions entrusted to the Tamil Nadu State Law Commission” and therefore was discontinued with immediate effect. The State Law Commission was reconstituted on August 7, 2026, with a broad mandate to examine Centre‑state relations and review existing laws. Because the Justice Kurian Joseph committee was non‑statutory, its functions significantly overlapped with those of the newly empowered State Law Commission. A senior official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that administrative hurdles and internal “stepping down” also marked the closure of the committee. After the TVK government took office, Naganathan resigned from the panel, and the government did not extend existing staff arrangements. Consequently, research scholars and office assistants were relieved, affecting the panel’s workflow. With the formal scrapping of the committee, its Secretary and Committee Officer have been directed to hand over all records and relevant documents to the State Law Commission and submit a compliance report.