The Supreme Court’s reply to the Presidential reference on how the apex court could set a timeline for the president and governors to clear bills has come as a blow to the Opposition-ruled states. The Supreme Court, citing Articles 200 and 201 of the Constitution, refused to impose timelines on governors for acting on bills.

The chief justice of India-led five-judge bench pointed out the phrase “as soon as possible” in Article 200 and said the governors' actions would be open to judicial scrutiny if they refused to act on the bills for a prolonged time in an inexplicable manner. However, the president’s actions on the bills are not open to judicial scrutiny. In short, enacted laws could be subjected to judicial scrutiny, but not the bills.

Analysts held that this decision could affect th

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