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Supreme Court Begins Hearing Presidential Reference on Timelines for Governors’ and President’s Assent to Bills

The bench said it is giving a non-binding opinion under Article 143.

The Supreme Court’s clarification came during an exchange with senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who argued on behalf of the state of Tamil Nadu that the April 8 verdict by a two-judge bench and the point of law had become inseparably fused, such that any contrary view in the reference would unsettle the decision itself. (HT)
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President Droupadi Murmu had, under Article 143, sought the Court’s guidance on 14 questions arising from its April 8 ruling that fixed timelines for governors and the President in granting, refusing or withholding assent to state bills.

Overview

  • Chief Justice B. R. Gavai’s five-judge bench opened arguments by permitting Tamil Nadu and Kerala to oppose maintainability and asked why the President seeking the court’s view should be contested.
  • The court clarified the advisory reference will not review or overrule the April 8 Tamil Nadu judgment that set deadlines and invoked deemed assent.
  • Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the Constitution deliberately omits fixed timelines and that Article 142 cannot create a doctrine of deemed assent.
  • The bench pressed the Centre on bills reportedly pending with governors since 2020, asking what a constitutional court should do in such circumstances if prolonged inaction persists.
  • The hearing will continue, with a multi-day schedule already set, and related petitions such as Punjab’s challenge to delayed assent are being held over pending the advisory opinion.