The Supreme Court's Decision on the Presidential Reference

Question 1. What are the constitutional options available to the Governor when a bill is presented to him under Article 200 of the Constitution?

Answer: To reserve the bill for the President's consideration or, if the bill is not a money bill, to withhold assent and return it to the legislature with comments.

Question 2. Is the Governor bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers under Article 200?

Answer: The Governor has discretion and is not bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.

Question 3. Is the Governor's exercise of constitutional discretion under Article 200 justifiable?

Answer: The discharge of the Governor's functions under Article 200 is not justifiable. However, in clear circumstances of indefinite inaction, the court has limited power to issue a mandamus to the Governor to take a decision within a reasonable period.

Question 4. Does Article 361 impose a complete bar on judicial review of the Governor's actions under Article 200?

Answer: Article 361 of the Constitution imposes a complete bar on judicial review with respect to subjecting the Governor personally to judicial proceedings.

Question 5. Can a time limit be set for exercising powers under Article 200?

Answer: This is not justified because the Constitution is silent on this.

Question 6. Is the President's exercise of constitutional discretion under Article 201 of the Constitution justified?

Answer: Following the argument given regarding the Governor, the President's consent under Article 201 is also not justified.

Question 7. Can the President be bound by a time limit when exercising powers under Article 201?

Answer: For the same reasons given for the Governor, the President cannot be bound by a judicially prescribed time limit.

Question 8. Is the President required to consult the Supreme Court whenever a Governor reserves his assent to a bill?

Answer: The President is not required to consult the Supreme Court. The President's subjective satisfaction is sufficient.

Question 9. Are the decisions of the Governor and the President under Articles 200 and 201 of the Constitution justiciable at the pre-enactment stage of a law?

Answer: The decisions of the Governor and the President under Articles 200 and 201 are not justiciable at the pre-enactment stage of a law. It is improper for courts to pass a judicial judgment on the subject matter of a bill before it becomes law.

Question 10. Can the exercise of constitutional powers and orders of the President/Governor under Article 142 of the Constitution be substituted in any way?

Answer: The exercise of constitutional powers and orders of the President/Governor cannot be substituted in any way under Article 142, nor does it allow for the concept of "deemed assent" of bills.

Question 11. Is a law made by a State Legislature an applicable law without the Governor's assent under Article 200 of the Constitution of India?

Answer: There is no question of a law made by a State Legislature being applicable without the Governor's assent under Article 200.

Question 12. In view of the provisions of Article 145(3) of the Indian Constitution, is it not mandatory for any bench of the Court to first decide whether a case involves substantial questions of law and should be referred to a bench of at least five judges?

Answer: Returned unanswered. Irrelevant to the context.

Question 13. Are the powers of the Supreme Court under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution limited to matters of procedural law?

Answer: It is not possible to answer definitively. The scope of Article 142 is given as part of Question 10.

Question 14. Does the Constitution prevent the Supreme Court from resolving Centre-State disputes through any means other than litigation under Article 131?

Answer: Irrelevant to the functional nature of the reference. Therefore, returned unanswered.