6 months ago
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Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai connected Sunday (November 23, 2025) said the 2025 Presidential Reference opinion against tying Governors to timelines was not intended to displacement the load backmost connected States to tally pillar-to-post to get their recalcitrant Governors to walk pending Bills connected time.
“If the Constitution does not supply for a timeline, we [judiciary] cannot work thing that is not there. It is for the Parliament to bash that,” CJI Gavai, who is retiring connected November 23, said successful a media interaction.
He explained that an sentiment fixed successful a Presidential Reference did not overrule a judgement but lone clarified the law.
“In a Presidential Reference, we cannot overrule a judgment, but we tin laic down the law, and portion laying down the law, we tin observe that the instrumentality laid down successful a peculiar mode [in a judgment] is not correct,” the CJI said.
The Presidential Reference was triggered by a judgement successful the Tamil Nadu Governor lawsuit connected April 8, which broke the soundlessness successful the Constitution and held that Bills indispensable beryllium cleared by Governors and President successful 3 months oregon they would beryllium ‘deemed’ to person got assent.
On November 20, a five-judge Bench led by Chief Justice Gavai, successful its advisory opinion, contradicted the April 8 judgement and concluded that Governors and the President cannot beryllium forced to travel a timeline. They request to enactment lone wrong a “reasonable period”. The Bench, however, did not specify the word “reasonable period” successful its opinion.
“We person lone relaxed the timeline. At the aforesaid time, we person balanced it by saying the Governor cannot beryllium connected a Bill endlessly. We person besides provided for a constricted judicial reappraisal based connected the facts and circumstances of each case. You cannot person a straitjacket look that successful each Bill, if assent is not granted, it would beryllium deemed to person been passed. In a regular Bill, 1 period is capable for a Governor to wide it. However, successful Bills concerning Internal oregon outer emergency, a Governor whitethorn not beryllium capable to instrumentality a telephone successful a month. He whitethorn instrumentality 3 oregon 4 months,” the Chief Justice said.
To a question if Justice B.V. Nagarathna’s dissent to a Supreme Court connection to elevate Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi had immoderate merit, the Chief Justice said that “if it had, the 4 different judges connected the Collegium would not person agreed to the proposal”.
CJI Gavai said helium did not judge successful the age-old adage that determination should beryllium “friction” betwixt the judiciary and the government. “I bash not judge friction is necessary, particularly erstwhile we person to beryllium connected the Purse for infrastructural development… I bash not deliberation continuous friction is necessary,” helium said.
The Chief Justice said the fashionable conception is that a justice is autarkic lone if helium decides against the government. “The determination of a justice is not based connected whether the litigant is the authorities oregon a backstage person. You determine arsenic per the papers earlier you. The authorities whitethorn succeed, oregon the authorities whitethorn suffer successful a fixed case. That is not the close approach,” helium said.
When asked if helium had travel nether unit from the authorities astatine immoderate time, helium replied, “No. I cognize erstwhile asked this question everyone successful my presumption would accidental ‘no’. But successful my case, it is truly a ‘no’!”
The CJI replied to a question astir the ample fig of transfers of High Court judges during his six-month tenure, saying they were mostly made successful the involvement of medication of justice, but determination were besides complaints against immoderate judges. “In specified cases, transfers were recommended aft owed verification of the allegations,” helium said.
Asked wherefore helium decided to forgive the lawyer who threw an entity astatine him successful tribunal alternatively of taking punitive action, Chief Justice Gavai said, “Maybe it is the mode I was brought up. The determination [to fto the lawyer go] was taken connected the spur of the moment.”
