Supreme Court verdict setting time frame for Bills: Centre likely to file review petition

New Delhi: The Central Government plans to file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict that set a time frame for the President and Governors to decide on Bills passed by State legislatures, according to sources. The Ministry of Home Affairs has initiated steps to file the petition within this week. As part of the process, the Ministry has sought legal opinion. The current plan is to submit the petition before the same bench that delivered the verdict concerning the delay in forwarding Bills by Governors to the President.

The verdict came at a time when Bills forwarded by Governors without any delay to the President are also getting delayed unduly.

On Saturday, the Supreme Court ruled that the President must decide on Bills sent by Governors within three months. If the decision is delayed, the State Government must be informed in writing, the Court ordered. The Court further clarified that States have the right to question delays in the President’s decision before the judiciary.

This is the first time the Supreme Court has set a time limit for the President to decide on Bills passed by State legislatures. Article 201 of the Constitution deals with the actions to be taken by the President regarding Bills forwarded by Governors, but it does not specify a time limit. The Court pointed out that various expert committees, including the Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions, as well as the guidelines issued by the Central Government, had stressed that the President’s decision on such Bills should not be delayed. Therefore, if a constitutional authority fails to act within a reasonable time, it can be subject to judicial scrutiny, said the bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan.

The Supreme Court set the timeline while delivering the verdict in the case against Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, who withheld decision on certain Bills passed by the State Assembly and later forwarded them to the President — a move the Court deemed unconstitutional.

The verdict also clearly lays out the time frame for Governors to act on Bills. If the Governor chooses to return a Bill or forward it to the President, it must be done within one month, based on the advice of the State Cabinet. If the Bill is returned without the Cabinet’s advice, it must be done within three months. If a returned Bill is passed again by the Assembly and sent back, the Governor must give assent within one month. In such cases, the Governor is constitutionally bound to grant assent.