West Bengal Guv welcomes Supreme Court ruling on timelines to act on bills

Kolkata, Nov 20 (PTI) West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling that constitutional authorities cannot be bound by judicial timelines in deciding on bills, saying that the judgment clarified the limits and responsibilities of governor and elected government under Articles 200 and 201.

Calling it a "landmark judgment," Bose said it had "cleared the air regarding the jurisdiction of the governor (and the) elected chief minister.".

The governor said the ruling endorsed a practice he said the Raj Bhavan began three years ago.

"It is particularly of happiness to the West Bengal Raj Bhavan that a practice that started here three years back has received the endorsement of the Honourable Supreme Court of India. That is the dialogue with the government and the legislative assembly," he said.

Giving an account of pending bills, the governor said, "Here in Bengal, to be exact, there are three files, four files, which are pending with the state government in the process of dialogue with the government.

"Certain clarifications have been sought from the government. Once that is received, the dialogue process is complete and I will be able to take a decision in giving assent to those files.".

He further said the remaining bills had been sent to the President because they carried "all-India relevance" and "legal and constitutional implications.".

"Three files are sub judice," the Bose added.

Summing up the status, he said, "Because we resorted to the course of dialogue with the government, there is no file which is pending in the Raj Bhavan for the time being.".

The governor also underscored the need to respect constitutional limits.

"Good fences make good neighbours. There is a Lakshman Rekha, which is made by the Constitution of India, which is binding on the governor as well as the elected chief minister. Once that is respected, it is good," he said.

Calling the order timely, he added, "The present Supreme Court order, I would say, a stitch in time saves nine. That is the message which the Honourable Supreme Court has given to the entire India.".

The Supreme Court on Thursday held that the court cannot impose any timelines on Governors and the President to grant assent to Bills passed by state assemblies but at the same time said Governors do not have “unfettered” powers to sit on the Bills for "perpetuity".

In its unanimous opinion on the Presidential Reference, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai also held that "indefinite delay" by the Governors will be open to "limited judicial scrutiny" and that deemed assent of Bills cannot be granted by the apex court by using its plenary power under Article 142. Deemed assent would amount to virtual takeover of the role of a "separate constitutional authority," it said. PTI SCH RG