Kochi: In a major verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that courts cannot impose rigid timelines on constitutional authorities like the President and Governors, India Today reported.
Setting aside its earlier ruling fixing a time frame of three months for Governors and the President to decide on state bills, the five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India observed that the court cannot impose rigid timelines on constitutional authorities.
Observing that prescribing deadlines would “violate the elasticity available under the Constitution”, the court ruled that governors cannot deliberately delay taking action at all.
The Apex court stressed that while it cannot interfere in the merits of a Governor’s decision, “stalling bills indefinitely and bringing bills to procedural impasse is antithetical to the Constitution”.
SC: avoid delay in clearing bills
