6 months ago
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A five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court connected Thursday (November 20, 2025) answered the 16th Presidential Reference the state has witnessed by opining that the judiciary cannot fetter Governors and the President to ‘one-size-fits-all’ time-tables to dispose of State Bills oregon usurp their functions by assuming ‘deemed consent’ of the projected laws astatine the expiry of a court-ordered clip frame.
Also read: Presidential Reference proceeding updates
“Such a usurpation of the gubernatorial relation of the Governor, and likewise of the President’s functions, is antithetical not lone to the tone of the Constitution, but besides specifically, the doctrine of separation of powers – which is simply a portion of the basal operation of the Constitution,” a Bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, Chief Justice-designate Surya Kant, Justices Vikram Nath, P.S Narasimha and A.S. Chandurkar underscored.
However, the tribunal clarified that the President and Governors cannot edifice to “prolonged and evasive inaction” by sitting endlessly connected State Bills awaiting their approval. This would magnitude to a deliberate effort to thwart the people’s volition expressed done the projected payment laws passed by State legislatures.
None of the 5 judges claimed authorship of the 111-page opinion, fashioning it arsenic the ‘Opinion of the Court’.
The Reference nether Article 143 of the Constitution came simply a period aft a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, successful a judgement successful the Tamil Nadu Governor case connected April 8, plugged a law soundlessness by fixing a three-month clip bounds for Governors and the President to dispose of State Bills pending with them.
Addressing a preliminary objection raised by Tamil Nadu and Kerala that the Presidential Reference was lone an “appeal successful disguise” against the binding April judgement of the court, the Bench said thing stopped it from clarifying “general questions of instrumentality referred to it by the President”.
The Bench termed the acceptable of 14 questions posed by the President connected May 13 arsenic a unsocial “functional reference” touching upon the day-to-day functioning of law functionaries and the interplay among State legislatures, Governors, and the President.
“It is an organization responsibility, to tender its sentiment connected this functional notation sought by the highest law functionary of the country. The tribunal cannot shirk distant from its work to robust retired law creases,” the Bench said.
It clarified that a Governor has really 3 options earlier him nether Article 200 – to assistance assent to the Bill, reserve it for the information of the President, oregon withhold assent and instrumentality the Bill to the State legislature with comments if it is not a Money Bill. A Governor cannot stall a Bill without returning it to the State Assembly on with his reasons for doing so.
“It would beryllium against the rule of federalism and a derogation of the powers of the State legislatures to licence the Governor to withhold a Bill without pursuing the dialogic process… Dialogic process is simply a portion of the strategy of checks and balances and national strategy that our Constitution envisages,” the Reference Bench advised.
The tribunal opined that a Governor was not bound by the assistance and proposal of the Council of Ministers portion exercising his relation nether Article 200. He had discretion to take immoderate of the 3 options – to assent, reserve a Bill for the information of the President oregon withhold assent oregon instrumentality the projected instrumentality to the State legislature with comments.
“If the Governor was bound by the assistance and proposal of the Council of Ministers, each Bills would beryllium granted assent, rendering the enactment of referring to the President, oregon returning with comments, nugatory,” the tribunal reasoned.
The Bench propounded that the Supreme Court cannot judicially reappraisal the merits of the determination taken by the Governor nether Article 200. “However, successful glaring circumstances of inaction that is prolonged, unexplained, and indefinite, the Court tin contented a constricted mandamus for the Governor to discharge his relation wrong a tenable clip period,” it said.
But the restricted reappraisal of the Governor’s inaction would not entail subjecting him personally to judicial proceedings. The Governor enjoyed implicit idiosyncratic immunity from tribunal proceedings nether Article 361 of the Constitution.
“Imposing” timelines connected the President and Governors to woody with each Bills pending with them for assent done judicial orders would beryllium akin to taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach, particularly successful the lack of immoderate constitutionally prescribed docket oregon mode of workout of powers by Governors oregon the President nether Articles 200 and 201. The tribunal rationalised that immoderate Bills whitethorn woody with analyzable issues and necessitate longer consideration.
“Secondly, astatine the expiry of this one-size-fits-all timeline, it creates a close for judicial redressal, prima facie rendering the enactment of the Governor oregon President fishy upon the expiry of specified timeline,” the tribunal justified.
In nonstop contradiction to the April 8 judgment, the Reference Bench said the President request not consult the Supreme Court connected each State Bill referred to her by Governors for consideration. It would beryllium near to the discretion of the President to instrumentality the proposal of the Supreme Court nether Article 143.
Further, the Bench clarified that the courts had nary powerfulness to reappraisal the merits of Bills.
“It is impermissible for the courts to undertake judicial adjudication implicit the contents of a Bill, successful immoderate manner, earlier it becomes law… The people’s volition expressed done the legislative subdivision is lone definitive and conclusive upon receiving the assent of the Governor oregon the President, arsenic the lawsuit whitethorn be,” the tribunal noted.
