diff --git a/cli/smriti_cli/formatters.py b/cli/smriti_cli/formatters.py
index cce1545..bf1b777 100644
--- a/cli/smriti_cli/formatters.py
+++ b/cli/smriti_cli/formatters.py
@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ def _relative_time(iso_ts: str) -> str:
         then = datetime.fromisoformat(iso_ts.replace("Z", "+00:00"))
     except Exception:
         return iso_ts
+    if then.tzinfo is None:
+        then = then.replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+    else:
+        then = then.astimezone(timezone.utc)
     now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
     delta = now - then
     secs = int(delta.total_seconds())
diff --git a/cli/tests/test_state_multi_branch.py b/cli/tests/test_state_multi_branch.py
index 511439d..88d7cb5 100644
--- a/cli/tests/test_state_multi_branch.py
+++ b/cli/tests/test_state_multi_branch.py
@@ -15,12 +15,13 @@ These tests cover the digestibility guarantees the build rests on:
 """
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
 
 from smriti_cli import mcp_server
 from smriti_cli.formatters import (
     _format_active_branches_section,
     _format_divergence_signal_section,
+    _relative_time,
     _task_section,
     _normalize_task_item,
     format_state_brief,
@@ -74,6 +75,13 @@ def _base_commit():
 # ── Formatter-level tests ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 
+def test_relative_time_handles_aware_and_naive_iso_timestamps():
+    two_hours_ago = datetime.now(timezone.utc) - timedelta(hours=2)
+
+    assert _relative_time(two_hours_ago.isoformat()) == "2h ago"
+    assert _relative_time(two_hours_ago.replace(tzinfo=None).isoformat()) == "2h ago"
+
+
 def test_format_state_brief_no_space_state_matches_pre_build():
     """With space_state=None, output must not contain any multi-branch sections.
     This is the regression guard for existing CLI callers."""