India, Nov. 21 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that neither Governors nor the President can be forced to grant assent to bills passed by state assemblies within a fixed timeframe.

The apex court also ruled that it cannot provide "deemed assent" to such bills.

A five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and including Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, P.S. Narasimha, and A.S. Chandurkar, delivered the unanimous verdict.

The bench emphasized that Governors do not have unlimited authority to withhold bills under Article 200 of the Constitution. "We do not think Governors have unfettered power to sit over bills passed by state assemblies," the court stated.

The court explained that imposing deadlines on Gove...