On Governors' Power Over Bills, Supreme Court's "Vision Of Harmony" Remark

A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court resumed hearing a Presidential Reference that seeks clarification on whether timelines can be imposed on Governors and the President when handling bills passed by state governments.

The five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, with Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, pressed the Centre on the scope and limits of a Governor's power. 

The Chief Justice Gavai asked Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, whether permitting a Governor to withhold assent without returning a Bill for reconsideration would render elected state governments vulnerable to "the whims and fancies of the Governor."

"Are we then not giving total powers to the Governor to sit in appeals? The Government elected by majority will be at the whims and fancies of the Governor," the CJI said."If such a power is recognised, will it not give the Governor the right to keep the bill on hold indefinitely?"

Mr Mehta, citing Article 200, said that the Governor has the power to grant assent, withhold assent, reserve the Bill for the President's consideration, or return the Bill to the Assembly for reconsideration.

If the Governor says that he is withholding assent, it means the "Bill dies," the Solicitor General argued.

"A person who is not directly elected is not a lesser person," Mr Mehta said, adding that the Governor is a person upon whom the Constitution has reposed trust to discharge Constitutional functions.

The bench, however, questioned whether such an interpretation aligned with the expectations of the makers of the Constitution. 

"They said there will be harmony between Governors and provincial governments. It was further said that state governments will be consulted before the appointment of Governors," Chief Justice Gavai said. "Have we lived up to the vision where, in the first paragraph, they said there would be harmony between the Governor and the State?"

The hearing comes against the backdrop of tensions between Governors and state governments, particularly in opposition-ruled states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Punjab, Telangana, and West Bengal, where Governors have been accused of sitting on Bills for prolonged periods. Several states have argued that this stalls governance and undermines democratic practices.