New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, November 6, expressed anguish that state governments have to approach the courts to get governors to act on Bills passed by the legislature. The top court made this oral observation while hearing a writ petition filed by the Punjab government challenging the inaction of governor Banwarilal Purohit on seven Bills.According to LiveLaw, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud orally said that the trend of governors acting on Bills only after the government approaches the court must stopHe said this in response to solicitor general Tushar Mehta informing the bench that governor Purohit took “appropriate decisions” on some Bills and would convey the details by Friday (November 10).The CJI said, according to LiveLaw:“Why does the party have to come to the Supreme Court? Governors act only when matters reach the Supreme Court. This has to stop. You come to Supreme Court then the Governor starts acting. This shouldn’t be.”He pointed out that a similar situation had occurred in the past in Telangana, when the governor acted on the pending Bills only after the government filed a writ petition in the top court.“Governors should not be oblivious of the fact that they are not elected authorities,” the CJI stated.Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Punjab government, said Bills that the governor did not act on included those on fiscal management and amendments to GST, affecting governance. To this, the CJI said:“Little bit of soul searching needed from Chief Minister and Governor. Governor must know that he is not an elected representative… He can withhold assent and send it back once.. This is particularly on money bills … Why should parties be required to move the Supreme Court for convening the House? … We are the oldest democracy and these issues must be sorted between the Chief Minister and the Governor.”The bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, agreed to hear similar petitions filed by the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments also on Friday.