FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Friday, 21 November 2025 SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL Cash Politics Page 6 Trump signs Bill to release Epstein case files NATION Guv okays KTR's prosecution, Congress flags 100-day delay Page 10 Page 8 Ashes: England look to silence Australia, crowd & critics in Perth Page 12 SC rules timelines cannot be imposed Modi to raise terrorism, on Prez, Guv to act on Bills for assent economic issues at G20 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE PARMOD KUMAR Key takeaways from SC’s advisory opinion on Presidential Reference: New Delhi, 20 November 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 b e b ound 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. Nitish Kumar returns as Bihar CM for 10th time, 26-member new NDA Cabinet sworn in 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 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. Social engineering was visible again in Nitish Kumar’s selection of ministers from the JD(U), as Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (Bhumihar), Vijendra Prasad Yadav (Yadav), Sravan Kumar (Kurmi), Ashok Chaudary (Pasi), Leshi Singh (Rajput), Madan Sahni (Nishad), Sunil Kumar (Dusadh), and Mohammad Zama Khan (Minority) returned to the cabinet. From the BJP, Dilip Jaisawal, Mangal Pandey, Ram Kripal Yadav, Nitin Navin, Rama Nishad, Lakhendra Kumar Roshan, Shreyasi Singh, Dr Pramod Kumar, Sanjay Singh Tiger, Arun Shankar Prasad, Surendra Mehta, and Narayan Prasad were sworn in. Chirag Paswan ensured that Sanjay Singh, who defeated Tej Pratap Yadav from Mahua, and Sanjay Paswan were made ministers from the LJP (Ram Vilas). Jitan Ram Manjhi got his son Santosh Suman appointed as minister, while Upendra Kushwaha nominated his son Deepak Prakash as minister from the RLM quota. Deepak Prakash is expected to be nominated as a Member of the Legislative Council. BJP state president Dilip Jaisawal has been rewarded with a ministerial post for his exemplary leadership during the Assembly elections of 2025. 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. 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, as per NIA investigations," said the official. ‘Heatwaves drove nine per cent of India’s power demand surge in 2024’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 20 November As delegates at the ongoing COP30 negotiate on finance adaptation and mitigation to tackle global warming, a new report by Climate Trends & Climate Compatible Futures states that heatwaves drove 9 per cent of India’s power demand surge in the summer of 2024, recommending renewable energy infrastructure as a key to break India’s heat-power trap. The number of heatwave days with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius rose sharply in the latter half of the decade, with 14 states recording a 15 per cent increase in summer heat intensity between 2015 and 2024. Summer peaks are amplifying stress on the grid and power system, worsening emissions, and challenging both infrastructure and public health systems simultaneously. In parallel, India’s power system expanded significantly, growing from 285 GW in 2015 to 461 GW in 2024. Renewable energy capacity more than doubled from 84 GW to 209 GW, while fossil fuel capacity also rose from 195 GW to 243 GW, according to the report. India's power demand stands at a critical juncture where accelerating demand due to increasing heat stress is converging towards the need for timely investment in building infrastructure conducive to renewable energy, which could be the key to solving the dual problem of heat and emission-laden power supply, it adds. According to the report, all regions of India are facing intense heat, which is pushing their electricity demand to record highs, and timely investment in building infrastructure conducive to renewable energy could be the key to solving the dual problem of heat and emission-laden power supply. New Delhi, 20 November Prime Minister Narendra Modi will highlight India's serious concern over terrorism, apart from raising issues concerning the Global South at the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg during his three-day visit beginning tomorrow. Besides meeting Sanae Takaichi, Japan's new Prime Minister, he will hold bilateral meetings with many global leaders on the margins of the summit, senior Ministry of External Affairs officials said at a media briefing ahead of the PM's visit. Responding to a question on whether the Prime Minister will be making a statement on terrorism in the G20 summit, MEA Secretary of Economic Relations Sudhakar Dalela while addressing a special press briefing ahead of the visit of the PM, said: "This is a very important subject for us, but G20 is a forum where economic issues and related matters are discussed." "And as we speak, we are discussing the declaration for the summit. Our colleagues and teams are in Johannesburg, and all such issues are being discussed. So I will not try to prejudge what will come in the declaration, but all important matters that are relevant from our and the global south perspective, will be highlighted by our leadership," he said. Mr Dalela further said that on the margins of G20, the PM will also be participating in IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) leaders meeting as well as holding bilateral meetings with several leaders who will b e present in Johannesburg. “Prime Minister Narendra Mo di will b e visiting Johannesburg, South Africa from 21st to 23rd November to attend the G20 Leaders Summit, at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. This will be the Prime Minister's 4th official visit to South Africa, following his bilateral visit in 2016 and later for the two BRICS summits in 2018 and 2023. It is the first G20 summit to take place on African soil... The summit will be important for India for the continuity of its priorities after having hosted a successful presidency in 2023,” he said. The Summit is being hosted by the Republic of South Africa. This will be the fourth consecutive G20 Summit held in the Global South.