New Delhi, November 20: In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that courts cannot impose timelines for the Governor or President to grant assent to bills passed by state assemblies.

Additionally, the judiciary cannot treat such bills as automatically assented to under the concept of "deemed assent."

A five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice BR Gavai, unanimously ruled that fixing a timeline for the assent process would undermine the principles of federalism. The bench emphasized that governors must follow due process under Article 200 of the Constitution when deciding on bills, and it would not be appropriate for them to withhold assent without adhering to this procedure.

The bench, which also included Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, P S Narasimha, and A.S. Chandurkar, made it clear that governors do not have "unfettered power" to delay or refuse assent to bills passed by state assemblies.