In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that courts cannot fix timelines for Governors and the President to give assent to Bills passed by state legislatures. A Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai further said the judiciary also cannot grant deemed assent to the Bills while adding that Governors cannot indefinitely withhold assent to Bills cleared by state Assemblies.

Responding to the Presidential reference made in the case of the Tamil Nadu Bills verdict, the Supreme Court said “deemed assent”, invoked earlier this year in the Tamil Nadu case, is “antithetical to the spirit of the Constitution” and goes against the principle of separation of powers.

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The bench further observed that imposing a timeline would be strictly contra

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