President must decide on Bills in 3 months, rules Supreme Court
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PTI photo.
New Delhi: In a first, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the President must take a decision on the Bills reserved for consideration by governors within a period of three months from the date on which a reference is received, The Indian Express (TIE) reported.
The Court also ruled that in case of any delay, the President must convey appropriate reasons to the state concerned.
The Court makes the ruling while Article 201 of the Constitution does not have such a timeframe for the President to decide on Bills.
On April 8, the Court declared that Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, reserving 10 Bills for consideration of the President in November 2023, which had already been reconsidered by the state Assembly, was illegal and erroneous.
On Friday, Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said that it must be made clear that the Courts would not be powerless to intervene in cases where the exercise of function by a constitutional authority is not being done within a reasonable time.
The Court continued that where the Governor reserves a Bill for the consideration of the President and the President in turn withholds assent thereto, then it shall be open to the State Government to assail such an action before this Court.
Justice Pardiwala noted that under Article 201, the President has two options once a Bill is reserved by the Governor for his/her consideration – grant or withhold assent.
Writing for the bench, Justice Pardiwala noted that under Article 201, the President has two options once a Bill is reserved by the Governor for his/her consideration – grant or withhold assent, TIE reported.