Presidential Reference hearing LIVE: Hearing to resume today in Supreme Court

Supreme Court to hear Presidential Reference on whether Courts could impose timelines for Governors and President to deal with bills passed by state Assemblies. | Photo Credit: Deepika Rajesh

Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, heading a five-judge Presidential Reference Bench, on Wednesday (September 10, 2025) pointed to Governors sitting on Bills for years together even as the Union government referred to disputes raised by Opposition-ruled States such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala over inexplicable gubernatorial delay as a “false alarm”.

“The Governor cannot be reduced to an ornamental head of State. We may have had some aberrations, but for the past 55 years every Governor has acted in a way expected of them, in a collaborative manner,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted. He objected to Opposition-ruled States’ argument that instances of Governors delaying Bills had increased after the NDA government came to power in 2014 at the Centre.

Also read: Governors must act as true guides and philosophers to States: CJI

Appearing for both Tamil Nadu and its ruling party of DMK, senior advocate P. Wilson argued that a Bill was an “expression of political will”.“A Governor cannot act like a constitutional court, adjudicate on the constitutionality of a Bill and unilaterally withhold it… If timelines are not set for gubernatorial assent to Bill, States will be left to wander the corridors of the court,” he submitted.

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