No fixed timelines for Governor/President to decide on Bills; no concept of ‘deemed assent’: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court, while dealing with the President's reference case, prescribed that courts cannot fix timelines for Governors or the President to act on Bills under Articles 200 and 201 of the Constitution. 

The reference arose after delays in decision-making, including the Tamil Nadu Governor’s withholding assent to ten Bills.

The Court said that fixing deadlines or introducing a concept of “deemed assent” would amount to substituting executive power with judicial directions. It clarified that while courts may step in if there is an unexplained delay, they cannot dictate how or when constitutional authorities must decide.

The Bench stressed that the decision-making process remains exclusively within the executive domain.

[In Re: Assent, Withholding or Reservation of Bills by the Governor and the President of India]