Governor and President’s Powers | Judgement Matrix

Today, a five-judge Constitution Bench delivered its opinion on the constitutional powers of Governors and the President in relation to assent, withholding and reservation of Bills. The case arose through a Presidential Reference where the Court examined the powers of Governors and the President, under Articles 200 and 201, when granting assent to bills passed by state legislatures. It clarified the scope of aid and advice, rejected the concept of deemed assent and delineated the limits of judicial review.

The Bench noted that the issues went to the heart of the constitutional process of law-making and required authoritative clarification to ensure uniformity across states. It reiterated that the Governor, though an integral part of the State Legislature, is an unelected constitutional functionary whose actions must remain within the discipline of the Constitution. It also emphasised that judicial power cannot be used to impose timelines or substitute constitutional procedures where the Constitution is silent.

This judgement matrix sets out the principal constitutional questions considered by the Court and its answers. For the complete reasoning and analysis, refer to our detailed judgement summary.