Senior lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal represented West Bengal in the hearings into the reference made by President Droupadi Murmu under Article 143 of the Constitution after a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court held in April that the Tamil Nadu Governor’s delay in granting assent was unconstitutional and set specific timelines for action. The reference carried 14 questions and the central issue raised was whether the judiciary can set a fixed timeline for Governors to act on Bills passed by elected state Assemblies.

The court on Thursday said no timeline can be fixed for President and Governors to assent to Bills and ruled against deemed assent to Bills. In an interview, Sibal explains why the court’s opinion passed by the court, which is advisory in nature, is a “great victory

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