No Judicial Deadlines For President Or Governors On Pending Bills: Supreme Court

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court today held that neither the President nor state Governors can be placed under mandatory timelines for granting assent to Bills. The five-judge Constitution Bench further underscored that their actions are not “justiciable”, adding that judicial review can be invoked only after a Bill has become law.

While calling such directions unconstitutional, the court gave its opinion on a presidential reference which sought clarity on whether courts could command time-bound action under Articles 200 and 201.

The Supreme Court emphasised that, although it cannot examine the merits of a Governor’s decision, “indefinitely stalling Bills and creating procedural deadlocks is antithetical to the Constitution.”

A bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, along with Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, heard the matter over ten days before reserving its verdict on 11 September.

The Presidential reference was issued in May, shortly after a two-judge bench ruling in the Tamil Nadu Governor case that prescribed timelines for the President and Governors to act on Bills.

 

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