Governor can't send bill to President after it comes back to him second time from assembly: SC

The Centre on Wednesday faced some serious questions from the Supreme Court which sought to know if the governor can simply withhold his assent to bills without returning them to the Legislative Assembly leaving the elected government at whims and fancies of the governor.

On the second of the hearings on the Presidential reference on timelines for assent to state bills, a five-judge Constitution Bench led by CJI BR Gavai said the governor cannot send bills to the President for consideration when presented to him for the second time after the state assembly has cleared it.

Under Article 200 of the Constitution, the governor has to either give assent to a bill passed by the assembly or he can withhold assent or can send it for the consideration of the President. The Governor also has the power to send back the bill (other than a money bill) to the assembly for reconsideration.

"If the fourth option (of returning the bill to the assembly for reconsideration) is to be exercised with a message for reconsideration to the assembly, then the option of withholding assent or sending the bill to President becomes defunct…," said the Bench which also included Justice Surya Kant, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice AS Chandurkar.

"If the governor can indefinitely withhold assent, governments formed by majority support would be at the mercy of an unelected appointee," the Bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

Describing governors as seasoned people with years of political experience or public service, Mehta said, "The governor is not just a postman. He represents the Union of India, appointed by the President. The President is elected by the entire nation by way of an election and that’s also a way of democratic expression."

The Centre has contended that the governor can exercise his power to send the bill to the President even after the assembly puts it before him for the second time.

"Under Article 200, the governor has four options – either he assents or that he withholds assent or that he reserves the bill for the consideration of the President. Exercising power under proviso he can return the bill to the legislative assembly for reconsideration. Now, if the bill is passed again by the house and presented to the governor for assent, the governor shall not withhold assent. He cannot send the bill for consideration of the President in the second instance,” the Bench said.

"The interpretation of the governor's powers cannot be straitjacketed. It should be left open-ended. The Constitution is a living document. Its interpretation cannot remain static," Justice Narasimha said.

He questioned the Centre's contention that if the governor decided to withhold assent, the bill fell through and said such an interpretation of Article 200 was counterproductive to the governor's powers.

During the hearing, the Bench also sought to know if the country had lived up to the expectations of the Constitution framers that there will be harmonious relations between the governor and the state government.