India, July 19 -- A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai, is set to take up the presidential reference on July 22 to examine the legality of prescribing timelines for governors and the president to act on state bills.

The eagerly awaited hearing will be conducted by a bench comprising the three most senior judges of the court -- CJI Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, and Justice Vikram Nath, along with Justices PS Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar. Notably, the bench includes four current or future Chief Justices of India, with Justice Surya Kant set to take over in November 2025, followed by Justices Vikram Nath in February 2027 and Justice Narasimha in October 2027.

The decis...