The Landmark Ruling

Reserve the bill for the President's consideration. However, the Article does not prescribe a timeline, allowing room for ambiguity.

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The Supreme Court clarified that this cannot be interpreted to allow indefinite delays or misuse of discretionary powers.

What the top court ruled?

The Supreme Court held that the Governor's actions were not only deliberately obstructive but also violated constitutional procedure. The court said the Governor lacked 'bonafide' (good faith) in his actions and failed to respect the Constitution and the authority of court. It is not up to the Governor to reserve a bill for the President after the Assembly has passed the legislature for a second time without any changes. The Constitution, in the phrase "shall not withhold assent," mandates that the Governor must assent to such bills, the SC held, asserting that the conduct of Governor Ravi went against the very principles of parliamentary democracy.

Timelines for Governors

The Supreme Court laid down time-bound guidelines for Governors under Article 200: