FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 16 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR Cash Politics Page 8 Friday, 21 November 2025 SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL | Telangana Governor okays KTR prosecution Ashes: England look to silence Australia, crowd & critics in Perth Page 6 Trump signs Bill to release Epstein case files Page 16 NATION Page 11 SC rules timelines cannot be imposed on Prez, Guv to act on Bills for assent Mamata writes to ECI, calls for immediate halt to SIR exercise PARMOD KUMAR Kolkata, 20 November New Delhi, 20 November Key takeaways from SC’s advisory opinion on Presidential Reference: I n its advisory opinion on a Presidential Reference, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday overruled its 8 April judgment and held that the President and Governors of states cannot be bound by judicially imposed timelines for acting on Bills presented for assent. Agreeing substantially with the Central government’s position on these issues, the bench also ruled that the decisions of the President and state Governors under Articles 200 and 201 are not justiciable, and the concept of ‘deemed assent” does not exist under the Constitution as one constitutional authority cannot substitute the role and powers of another constitutional functionary. Emphasising that courts cannot prescribe “judicially mandated timelines,” nor invoke Article 142 to create “deemed assent,” the Bench ~ comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, Chief Justice-designate Justice Surya Kant, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar ~ however clarified that courts may intervene in cases of “prolonged, unexplained and indefinite inaction,” to prevent constitutional standstill. The Court reiterated that: “In the absence of constitutionally prescribed time limits, and the manner of exercise of power by the Governor, it would not be appropriate for this Court to judicially prescribe timelines for the exercise of powers under Article 200.” It added that for the same reasons, “the President, too, cannot be bound by judicially prescribed timelines in the discharge of functions under Article 201.” It further held that decisions of the Governor and President under Articles 200 and 201 are not open to judicial scrutiny until after a law comes into force. Courts cannot examine the contents of a Bill or review the merits of the decision at a pre-enactment stage. n NO JUDICIAL TIMELINES: Courts cannot impose deadlines on Governors or the President for assent under Articles 200 & 201. n NO DEEMED ASSENT: The Constitution does not recog nise “deemed assent”; Article 142 cannot be used to create it. n LIMITED JUDICIAL INTERVENTION: Courts may step in only against prolonged, unexplained, indefinite inaction to prevent constitutional standstill. n NOT JUSTICIABLE: Decisions of Governors/President under Articles 200 & 201 cannot be challenged before a law comes into force. n GOVERNOR’S IMMUNITY: Article 361 protects Governors personally, but their constitutional office remains subject to limited judicial review. n MANDAMUS IN RARE CASES: Courts can direct Governors to act within a reasonable time, but without reviewing merits. n GOVERNOR’S LEGISLATIVE ROLE: No law can take effect without Governor’s assent; their role cannot be supplanted by another authority. n THREE CONSTITUTIONAL OPTIONS: Under Article 200, Governors may assent, reserve for President, or return Bills with comments (not for Money Bills); in choosing among these options, the Governor is not bound by ministerial advice. There is no fourth option ~ indefinite withholding of assent is unconstitutional; the Governor cannot invent extra powers. Nitish returns as Bihar CM for 10th time IMRAN MOJIB Patna, 20 November Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the 10th time in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Red Fort blast: NIA arrests four more prime accused STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 20 November The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested four more prime accused in the 10 November blast outside the Red Fort in Delhi, taking the total number of arrests in the case to six, officials said on Thursday. The four accused were taken into custody by the NIA in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, on production orders from the District Sessions Judge, Patiala House Court. "NIA has identified the accused as Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganai of Pulwama (J&K), Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather of Anantnag (J&K), Dr Shaheen Saeed of Lucknow (U.P), and Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay of Shopian (J&K). They had all played a key role in the terror attack that killed several innocent persons and left many others injured, as per NIA investigations," said the official. Moving expeditiously with its probe in the case, the NIA had earlier arrested two accused ~ Amir Rashid Ali, in whose name the car used in the blast was registered, and Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish, who had provided technical aid to the suicide bomber involved in the deadly attack. Their interrogation is continuing as part of the probe agency’s efforts to unravel the complete terror conspiracy in the case. The NIA, which was handed over the investigation by the Union Home Ministry soon after the attack, is working closely with various state police forces to track and arrest the members of the terrorist module involved in the carnage. Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, and other NDA leaders at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Thursday. In the grand swearing-in ceremony, BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar. Along with Nitish Kumar, 26 ministers from NDA’s constituent parties -~ 14 from BJP, 8 from JD(U), 2 from LJP (Ram Vilas), and 1 each from HAM and RLM ~ took oath. PM Modi stole the show at the ceremony as he once again waved his ‘gamchha’ in his signature style to express his gratitude to the people of Bihar. A Cabinet expansion is expected after Makar Sankranti (14 January 2026). STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Chief Minister Mamata Banerje e to day sent a strongly-worded letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding an immediate halt to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bengal. She described the exercise as “impromptu,” “unplanned,” and “chaotic,” alleging that it has subjected Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to relentless pressure and traumatic wo r k i n g conditions. In her letter, Miss Banerjee criticised the Election Commission’s rollout of the SIR process, citing multiple shortcomings. She stated that the exercise lacked adequate preparedness, planning, and training, making it a distressing experience for both BLOs and the general public. “I deeply appreciate the strenuous efforts of BLOs under extremely pressing circumstances and a heavy wo r k l o a d ,” sh e w ro te . “However, it is undeniable that they have not been provided with sufficient training, support, or time to undertake a mammoth exercise of this nature.” Highlighting the challenges faced by BLOs, many of whom are teachers and frontline workers, Miss Banerjee noted that they are being forced to juggle their primary duties with door-to-door surveys and complex e-submissions. “Most are struggling with online forms due to lack of training, server failures, and repeated data mismatches,” she said. “At this pace, it is almost certain that voter data across multiple constituencies cannot be uploaded with the required accuracy by 4 December.” Launching a broadside against the ECI’s alleged indifference and the West Bengal CEO’s purported intimidation tactics, she added: “What is particularly unacceptable is the response from the Commission at this juncture. Instead of offering support, extending timelines, or addressing systemic flaws, the CEO’s office has resorted to intimidation. Show-cause notices are being issued without justification.” Miss Banerjee’s letter follows a series of alleged SIR-related suicides and reports of BLOs falling ill while on duty. • Related reports: Pg 2,3