NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that constitutional courts cannot prescribe timelines for the President or governors while they decide on bills passed by state legislatures. Calling such directions unconstitutional, the court delivered its opinion on a presidential reference that sought clarity on whether courts could mandate time-bound action under Articles 200 and 201. A constitution bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar struck down earlier directions issued by a two-judge bench in the Tamil Nadu case, which had fixed deadlines for governors when dealing with bills. The bench also held that courts cannot grant deemed assent to bills pending before a governor. It noted that the two-judge bench’s use of A

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