The Supreme Court on Monday (August 18, 2025) deferred hearing a petition filed by the Punjab government challenging the President’s prolonged delay in acting on two State Bills referred to her by the Governor. The State government had contended that its case is squarely covered by the court’s April 8 ruling in the Tamil Nadu Governor case, which laid down timelines for gubernatorial action on Bills. Accordingly, it had urged the court either to direct the Governor to comply with the ruling or to declare the Governor’s inaction illegal and treat the Bills as having received “deemed assent.”
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai, and also comprising Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria, decided to await the outcome of a Constitution Bench hearing a Presidential Reference under its advisory jurisdiction on whether the court can prescribe timelines for Governors and the President in dealing with State Bills submitted for assent or reserved for their consideration.
