Roadmap for Answer Writing:
Introduction
-
- Briefly introduce the role of the President of India in the legislative framework.
- Mention the significance of veto powers in the legislative process.
- Reference Article 111 of the Indian Constitution, which outlines the President’s veto powers.
- Types of Veto Powers
- Divide the discussion into the three categories of veto powers available to the President.
A. Absolute Veto
- Define Absolute Veto: The President’s power to refuse assent to a bill, making it lapse.
- State the conditions under which it can be exercised:
- When the bill is a Private Member’s Bill.
- When a new cabinet advises against a bill passed by the previous cabinet.
- Provide examples:
- PEPSU Appropriation Bill (1954).
- Salary, Amendments and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill (1991).
- Fact: The absolute veto is an important check on the legislative process (Source: Indian Constitution, Article 111).
B. Suspensive Veto
- Define Suspensive Veto: The ability of the President to return a bill for reconsideration.
- Explain that this veto can be overridden by Parliament if the bill is re-passed.
- Mention restrictions:
- Cannot be applied to Money Bills.
- State legislatures cannot override the President’s suspensive veto.
- Fact: The President’s use of the suspensive veto emphasizes the need for thorough legislative deliberation (Source: Legislative Procedures of India).
C. Pocket Veto
- Define Pocket Veto: The power to take no action on a bill, effectively delaying it indefinitely.
- Explain that there is no constitutional time limit for the President’s decision.
- Provide an example:
- The Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, where pocket veto was utilized.
- Fact: Pocket veto allows the President to withhold action without formally rejecting a bill, serving as a strategic legislative tool (Source: Legislative Analysis).
- Significance of Veto Powers
- Discuss how veto powers enable the President to use judgment and discretion to prevent hasty legislation.
- Highlight the balance of power they create between the executive and legislative branches.
- Conclusion
- Summarize the importance of the President’s veto powers in maintaining the integrity of the legislative process.
- Emphasize their role as a mechanism for checks and balances in Indian democracy.
Relevant Facts (with Sources)
- Article 111: States that when the President receives a bill, he/she can either give assent, withhold assent, or return the bill.
- Source: Indian Constitution.
- Examples of Absolute Veto:
- PEPSU Appropriation Bill (1954).
- Salary, Amendments and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill (1991).
- Source: Legislative records.
- Suspensive Veto Non-Applicability: The President’s suspensive veto cannot be applied to Money Bills.
- Source: Legislative Procedures of India.
- Example of Pocket Veto: Use of the pocket veto on the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill.
- Source: Legislative Analysis.
- Checks and Balances: The President’s veto powers help prevent the passage of potentially hasty laws and maintain a balance between the parliamentary system and the executive authority.
- Source: Political Science literature on checks and balances in democracies.
This roadmap can guide in crafting a structured and informative answer to the question about the veto powers of the President of India.
The President of India plays a pivotal role in the legislative framework by summoning and proroguing parliament sessions and giving assent to bills .Under Article 111, President’s veto powers safeguard constitutional integrity, prevent hasty legislation & maintains executive and legislative balance effectively .
Three categories of veto powers available to the President are –
Significance of Veto powers –
The President’s veto powers safeguard the legislative process integrity by preventing hasty, unconstitutional or harmful laws, ensuring careful consideration and maintaining a delicate balance between executive and legislative branches effectively.
The President of India has veto power, which enables them to withhold or reject legislation passed by Parliament or State Legislatures. This authority ensures the President plays a crucial role in the legislative process, safeguarding the Constitution and promoting deliberation within Parliament ¹.
*Types of Veto Power:*
*Absolute Veto*: The President can withhold assent to a bill, preventing it from becoming an act. This power is exercised in cases of private member bills or government bills when the cabinet resigns.
*Suspensive Veto*: The President returns a bill for reconsideration by Parliament. If the bill is passed again with or without amendments, the President must give their assent.
*Pocket Veto*: The President neither ratifies nor rejects a bill, keeping it pending indefinitely. There’s no time limit for the President to make a decision regarding a bill.
*Objectives of Veto Power:*
– Prevent hasty legislation
– Ensure constitutional adherence
– Safeguard the rule of law
– Check legislative errors
– Encourage comprehensive deliberation
*Veto Power Over State Legislation:*
The President has veto power over bills reserved by the Governor for consideration. The President can give assent, withhold assent, or direct the Governor to return the bill for reconsideration.
*Limitations:*
– The President has no veto power over Constitutional Amendment Bills.
– Money Bills cannot be returned for reconsideration or kept pending.
The veto power of the President of India fosters accountability, scrutiny, and deliberation in lawmaking, strengthening democratic institutions .
The President of India has vested him with very significant veto powers to monitor the legislative process, with checks and balances of governance. “Article 111 of the Indian Constitution states that the President shall signify either that he agrees to the bill or returns it for reconsideration.”.
There are three types of veto powers.
1. Absolute Veto: This will vest absolute power upon the President in order to totally reject a piece of legislation, thus it cannot become a law. Some situations applied here are when a Private Member’s Bill or a new government advises against a bill already passed. Examples of such applications include the PEPSU Appropriation Bill (1954) and the Salary and Pension of MPs (Amendment) Bill (1991).
2. Suspensive Veto: The President may return a non-Money Bill back to Parliament for resubmission. The President shall grant his assent if Parliament resubmits the bill. However, suspensive veto can’t be exercised on Money Bills, and thus government’s financial power remains uninterrupted. 3. Pocket Veto: The President, either by not signing or rejecting it can withhold his assent to the bill indefinitely. One very famous case is the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill which was effectively stalled using pocket veto.
Veto powers will allow the President to veto hasty or not well-thought-through legislation, thus ensuring fair interaction between the legislative and the executive branches of government.
Model Answer
Veto Powers of the President of India
The President of India holds significant authority in the legislative process through his/her veto powers, as stipulated in Article 111 of the Indian Constitution. This authority allows the President to either approve, reject, or withhold assent to bills passed by Parliament, thereby playing a crucial role in shaping legislation.
1. Absolute Veto
The absolute veto allows the President to withhold assent to a bill entirely, resulting in it lapsing and not becoming law. This power is invoked under specific circumstances:
2. Suspensive Veto
The suspensive veto enables the President to return a bill to Parliament for reconsideration, either with or without recommendations. This power can be overridden if Parliament re-passes the bill; in such a case, the President is obliged to grant assent without further veto. Notably, this veto cannot be applied to Money Bills. Additionally, no state legislature can override the President’s suspensive veto concerning state bills (Source: Legislative Procedures of India).
3. Pocket Veto
The pocket veto empowers the President to take no action on a bill, effectively “putting it in his pocket.” The Constitution does not specify a time limit for the President’s response, allowing for this form of veto. An example is the use of pocket veto on the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, preventing it from becoming law (Source: Legislative Analysis).
In summary, these veto powers provide the President of India with critical oversight in the legislative process, allowing for reflection and necessary checks on potentially hasty legislation.
The president has a veto power over the bills passed by the parliament, that is, he can withhold his assent to the bills.
The veto power enjoyed by the President can be classified into following types:
a)With respect to private members bills
b)With respect to government bills when the cabinet resigns and th new cabinet advises the President not to give his assent to such bills
2. Suspensive Veto- The President exercises the veto when he returns the bill for reconsideration of the parliament. However, if the bill is passed again by the parliament with or without amendments and again presented to the President , it is obligatory for the President to give his assent to the bill
3. Pocket Veto- In this case, the President neither ratifies nor returns the bill, but simply keeps the bill pending for an indefinite period. The President can exercise this veto power as the constitution does not prescribe any time limit within which he has to take the decision with respect to a bill presented to him for his assent.
4. Veto over state legislation- The President has veto power with respect to state legislation also.Under Article 201 President has three alternatives when governer reserves a bill for President-:
a) He may give his assent to bill
b)He may withhold his assent to the bill
c)He may direct the governor to return the bill for the reconsideration of the state legislature
The object of conferring this veto power is imposed to prevent hasty and ill considered legislation by the Parliament and to prevent a legislation which may be unconstitutional therefore this veto power holds utmost importance in safeguarding the constitution.
Veto Power of President of India
When a bill is presented in the Parliament, Parliament can enact the bill and before the bill becomes an act, it has to be given to the Indian President for his assent. It is on the President of India to either reject the bill, return the bill or withhold his assent to the bill. The choice of the President over the bill is called his veto power. Veto Article 111 of the Indian Constitution guides the power of the President of India.
What are the three types of Veto?
Types of vetoes are:
1. Absolute Veto
The power of the President to withhold the assent to the bill is termed as his absolute
veto.
2. Suspensive Veto
The power of the President to return the bill to the Parliament with or without
consideration is called suspensive veto.
3. Pocket Veto
It is termed pocket veto when the power of the President is not acted upon the bill.
1. Absolute Veto of the President:
Following facts are given related to the absolute veto power of the Indian President-
– After exercising his absolute veto power, a bill never goes to see daylight.
After passing by the Indian Parliament, the bill comes to an end, and that bill does not become an act.
– The absolute veto is applied by President in the following two circumstances:
(i) The Parliament has passed the Private Member Bill
(ii) A new cabinet may emerge without the assent given by President to the bill, that was passed by the previous one. The
new cabinet may advise the President that he should not give his assent to the bill passed by
the previous cabinet.
Note: Thus far, absolute veto, by the President has already been exercised, at India. In the year, 1954
was used by Dr. Rajendra Prasad as a President and later in 1991 it was
used by then President R Venkataraman.
2. Suspensive Veto of the President
Following facts about the suspensive veto power of the Indian President are described below:
President applies his suspensive veto when he sends the bill back to the Indian Parliament
for re-considering that.
– His suspensive veto can be over-ridden by the re-passage of the bill by the Indian
Parliament. If the Parliament resend the bill with or without amendment to the
Indian President, he has to approve the bill without using any of his veto powers.
– With respect to state bills, state legislature has no power to override the suspensive
veto of President. Governor can withhold the bill for the President’s consideration
and even if state legislature resends the bill to governor and governor to President,
he still can withhold his assent.
– When the Parliament resends the bill to the President, it has to follow only the
ordinary majority in the houses and not the higher majority.
– President cannot exercise his suspensive veto in relation to Money Bill.
3. Pocket Veto of the President
Following are some facts about the pocket veto power of the Indian President:
When the Indian President exercises pocket veto, he keeps a bill pending for an indefinite time. The President neither rejects the bill nor returns it for reconsideration.
According to the Constitution, it does not provide for any definite time in regard to within which period he needs to act upon the bill. So there is pocket veto wherein he doesn’t have
to enact on the bill.
Unlike that of the American President, who is obligated to resend it back within 10 days the Indian President has no such time rule.