SC rules no fixed timelines for President, Governors to clear Bills

New Delhi: India’s Supreme Court has ruled that neither governors nor the President can be bound by fixed timelines when giving assent to bills passed by state assemblies, and that the judiciary cannot confer “deemed assent” in such matters.

A five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice BR Gavai and including Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, delivered the unanimous verdict. The court held that allowing governors to withhold bills without following due process under Article 200 (power to governor to provide assent to bills passed by assembly) of the Constitution would undermine the principles of federalism.

“We do not think governors have unfettered power to sit indefinitely over bills passed by state assemblies,” the bench observed.

The ruling came in response to a Presidential reference under Article 143(1), in which President Droupadi Murmu sought the apex court’s opinion. The judges clarified that governors have three constitutional options: to grant assent, to return a bill for reconsideration, or to refer it to the President.

The court emphasised that in a democracy, imposing rigid timelines on governors would run counter to the flexibility envisaged by the Constitution. It also criticised its own earlier order of April 8, which had granted “deemed assent” to bills pending with the Tamil Nadu Governor, stating that such a move effectively usurped the functions of a constitutional authority.

Finally, the bench ruled that the exercise of a governor’s powers under Article 200 is not subject to judicial review. PTI