Prez reference: SC judgement on question over fixing timeline for guvs' nod to clear bills on Thursday

New Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) The Supreme Court is slated to pronounce on Thursday its verdict on the presidential reference, which asked if a constitutional court can impose timelines for governors and the president to give assent to bills passed by state legislatures.

A constitution bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar, which heard the arguments for 10 days, had reserved the verdict on September 11.

In May, President Droupadi Murmu exercised powers under Article 143(1) of the Constitution to know from the top court whether timelines could be imposed by judicial orders for exercise of discretion by the President while dealing with the bills passed by state assemblies.

The president's decision had come after the April 8 verdict of the apex court, on powers of the governor in dealing with bills passed by the Tamil Nadu government.

In a five-page reference, Murmu posed 14 questions to the Supreme Court and sought to know its opinion on powers of governor and the president under Articles 200 and 201 in dealing with bills passed by the state legislature. PTI PKS ZMN