Supreme Court reminds governors not to delay assent to bills

State governors must keep in mind the expression “as soon as possible” in Article 200 of the Constitution while giving their assent to bills passed by the state legislature, the Supreme Court said on Monday.

State governors must keep in mind the expression “as soon as possible” in Article 200 of the Constitution while giving their assent to bills passed by the state legislature, the Supreme Court said on Monday.

The Supreme Court said Article 200 of the Constitution says “the Governor may, as soon as possible, after the presentation to him of the bill for assent, return the bill if it is not a money bill.” (PTI)

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice PS Narasimha made the remark while hearing a petition filed by Telangana government, questioning the delay shown by governor Tamilsai Soundararajan in clearing bills sent for her assent months ago.

The bench said that proviso 1 of Article 200 of the Constitution says “the Governor may, as soon as possible, after the presentation to him of the bill for assent, return the bill if it is not a money bill.” Article 200 relates to assent to bills cleared by the state legislature.

“The expression ‘as soon as possible’ has significant constitutional intent and must be borne in mind by constitutional authorities,” the bench said as it disposed of the petition.

The court clarified that this part of the order was not meant for the case at hand but meant for all constitutional authorities in general.

In its petition, the state said: “In a parliamentary democracy, the Governor has no discretion to defer or delay necessary assent. Any refusal on part of the Governor including any delay will defeat the parliamentary democracy and the will of the people.”