A five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday (November 20, 2025) answered the 16th Presidential Reference the country has witnessed by opining that the judiciary cannot fetter Governors and the President to ‘one-size-fits-all’ time-tables to dispose of State Bills or usurp their functions by assuming ‘deemed consent’ of the proposed laws at the expiry of a court-ordered time frame.
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“Such a usurpation of the gubernatorial function of the Governor, and similarly of the President’s functions, is antithetical not only to the spirit of the Constitution, but also specifically, the doctrine of separation of powers – which is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution,” a Bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, Chief Justice-designate Surya Kant, Justices Vikram Nath, P.S Narasimha and A.S. Chandurkar underscored.
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However, the court clarified that the President and Governors cannot resort to “prolonged and evasive inaction” by sitting endlessly on State Bills awaiting their approval. This would amount to a deliberate attempt to thwart the people’s will expressed through the proposed welfare laws passed by State legislatures.
