In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has, for the first time, set a three-month deadline for the President to decide on Bills reserved by Governors under Article 201 of the Constitution. The verdict came in response to Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi’s controversial move of reserving 10 Bills for Presidential consideration after they had been reconsidered by the state legislature, a move the court deemed illegal and erroneous.

The bench, led by Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, emphasized that constitutional authorities cannot act arbitrarily or indefinitely delay decisions. While Article 201 does not define a timeline, the Court cited recommendations from the Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions, along with government OMs, to enforce this three-month window.

The ruling aims to curb executive inaction, uphold federalism, and safeguard state legislatures' democratic will, asserting that neither the Governor nor President has absolute veto power over state-passed legislation.