Govt. says SC cannot treat Governors as ‘aliens or foreigners’ , Pg1

Key Highlights:

• The Union government argued in a submission that the Supreme Court cannot treat Governors as "aliens" or "foreigners" with imposed timelines.
• The submission was authored by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta as part of a Presidential Reference to be heard by a Constitution Bench.
• The reference stems from an April judgment imposing a three-month deadline on Governors and the President when dealing with State Bills.
• The Centre argued that the April ruling trespassed upon the exclusive zone of the President and Governors.
• Mr. Mehta emphasized that neither Article 200 nor Article 201 provides any specific time limit for Governors to assent State Bills.

Detailed Insights:

• The Presidential Reference was triggered by a Supreme Court judgment that sought to define a timeline for Governors' actions on State Bills.
• Tamil Nadu contended that Presidential References cannot be used to nullify Supreme Court judgments.
• The Centre's submission asserts that imposing a timeline on Governors would effectively amount to a constitutional amendment.
• Governors possess democratic legitimacy through indirect democratic representation and are not mere "post offices".
• The Centre argued against the court invoking Article 142 to grant deemed assent to 'delayed' State Bills, stating it cannot authorize another organ to assume powers not vested in it.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Article 200: Governor's power to assent to State Bills.
• Article 201: President's power to consider State Bills referred by the Governor.
• Article 142: Allows the Supreme Court to pass orders necessary for doing complete justice.
• Presidential Reference: Process by which the President of India seeks the opinion of the Supreme Court on a question of law or fact.