Presidential Reference to Supreme Court on Governor’s powers
POLITY – JUDICIARY
17 SEPTEMBER 2025
- The five-judge Bench hearings on Presidential Reference that followed the Supreme Court judgment on April 8, 2025, clarifying the constitutional position on the powers of the Governor and the President in providing assent to Bills passed by State Assemblies, have largely confirmed that Governors should not indefinitely withhold assent to such Bills.
- Addressing the 14 questions posed in the Presidential Reference, the Chief Justice of India, B.R. Gavai, on whether the Court should “sit powerless” while Governors make “competent State legislatures defunct”
- The argument that the Constitution’s silence on specific timelines in Articles 200 and 201 does not grant unlimited discretion to Governors remains compelling.
- The Bench’s examination of why judicial review applies to Governors’ recommendations under Article 356 (President’s Rule) but supposedly not to actions under Article 200 (assent to Bills) highlighted potential inconsistencies in arguments defending unlimited discretion for Governors.
- An advisory opinion by the Court under Article 143 does not override a binding judgment under Article 141.
