TN scraps Kurian panel on Centre-State relations, citing overlapping role

Chennai, The Tamil Nadu government has dissolved the high-level committee on Centre-State relations headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice Kurian Joseph, citing overlap of mandate with the newly reconstituted State Law Commission.

TN scraps Kurian panel on Centre-State relations, citing overlapping roleThe order, issued by Public Secretary E Sundaravalli on November 6, cuts short the panel's tenure six months before its final report deadline on May 31, 2027.

The three-member committee, comprising Justice Kurian Joseph, retired IAS officer K Ashok Vardhan Shetty, and former State Planning Commission chairman M Naganathan, had previously submitted the first part of its report to then Chief Minister M K Stalin in February 2026.

"The High-Level Committee on Union-State Relations is a non-statutory body examining various issues relating to Union-State relations, and has a considerable similarity and overlap in the nature and scope of the functions entrusted to the Tamil Nadu State Law Commission," the order states, concluding that "after careful consideration, the government have decided to discontinue the services of the panel with immediate effect." According to the government's rationale, the panel became redundant following the reconstitution of the Tamil Nadu State Law Commission on August 7, 2026, which was granted a broad mandate to examine Centre-state relations and review existing laws, official sources on Sunday said.

Because the Justice Kurian Joseph committee was non-statutory, its functions significantly overlapped with those of the newly empowered State Law Commission, the sources added. A senior official, seeking anonymity, on Sunday said that administrative hurdles and internal "stepping down" also marked the closure of the committee.

According to him, following the TVK government assuming office, Naganathan resigned from the panel, while the government refrained from extending existing staff arrangements. Consequently, research scholars and office assistants were relieved, impacting the workflow of the panel.

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, he added. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.