SC sets historic deadline for President on Governor-forwarded Bills !

By DASI PURNA KARTHIK

On 12 Apr 2025 16:29:19

SC sets historic deadline for President on Governor-forwarded Bills !

• Triggered by Tamilnadu case

In a landmark ruling aimed at curbing prolonged delays in the legislative process, the Supreme Court has, for the first time, set a binding three-month deadline for the President of India to take a decision on bills forwarded by State governors.

The apex court said the decision must be made within three months from the date the President receives the reference. Any delay beyond this timeline must be justified with written reasons and communicated to the concerned State. "We deem it appropriate to adopt the timeline prescribed by the Ministry of Home Affairs... and prescribe that the President is required to take a decision on the bills reserved for his consideration by the Governor within a period of three months from the date on which such reference is received," the court said.

The ruling also directed that states must cooperate by promptly responding to queries and considering suggestions made by the Centre in order to ensure smooth legislative functioning.

This historic ruling came just four days after the Supreme Court cleared 10 bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, which had been stalled by Governor R N Ravi. These bills had been reserved for President Droupadi Murmu’s assent but saw no action for months.

On April 8, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan declared the Governor’s act of reserving the bills for the second time as “legally flawed and unconstitutional.” The court ruled that once the assembly had reconsidered and re-passed the bills, the Governor was not entitled to withhold assent again or send them for Presidential consideration.

"Withholding of assent or reservation of bills for the consideration of the President, after their due reconsideration by the state legislature, being in contravention of the procedure prescribed under Article 200, is declared erroneous in law and thus hereby set aside," the court said.

Long delay, historic action
The issue dates back to 2020, with some bills pending for more than three years. The Tamil Nadu government approached the court in 2023 after the Governor withheld assent to 10 of the 12 pending bills and failed to send them back for reconsideration or to the President for action. The assembly then held a special session on November 18 and re-enacted the same bills, which were again stalled.

With the Supreme Court now validating the bills and setting aside any consequential action by the President, the Tamil Nadu government acted swiftly. On April 8, it issued a gazette notification formally enacting all ten laws—marking the first time in constitutional history that a State government notified laws without receiving assent from either the Governor or the President.