Introduction

In Article 111 of the Indian constitution, the President of India has several powers with respect to his assent to a bill of parliament. The same Article also empowers the President to use various veto powers if he finds it necessary to preserve and ensure the correct constitutional and legislative practices. The veto power is the power of the President to refuse or not to take any action on a bill passed by a legislature. The veto power of the president of India is a discretionary power of the president. He is not required to follow the advice of the council of ministers to exercise the same.

Discussion

The Veto Power of the President

Article 111 states that a bill of Parliament can only become an Act when the President gives his assent to that particular bill, so, when the Indian parliament passes bills, the bill is then sent to the President for his assent. 

For any bill passed by the Parliament and sent to the president for his assent, the President can choose to take one of the following actions,

• The President may give his assent to the bill passed by the Parliament,
• The President may not give his assent or withhold the bill passed by the Parliament,
• The President may return the bill to the parliament for reconsideration of the Parliament.

The President’s power to withhold or not give his assent to a parliament bill is called the veto power of the president of India.

The President performs his veto power by his conscience; however, two scenarios can be given when the president exercises his veto power,

1. If President realises an ill consideration by the parliament in the passage of the bill, and
2. The President found it necessary to withhold a bill to prevent non-constitutional legislation.

The President of India enjoys veto powers like an absolute veto, suspensive veto, and pocket veto. 

Absolute Veto

The Absolute Veto gives power to the President to completely deny a bill of parliament; in this case, the bill is dropped, and it doesn’t become an act.

However, the President can use Absolute Veto in the following conditions,

1. If a Private Member of the Parliament presented the bill.
2. If the outgoing government passes the bill (passed before the resignation but resigned before the President’s assent) and the new government advises the President not to give his assent. 

Suspensive Veto

When the President sends the bill back to the parliament for reconsideration, this veto power is called the suspensive veto power of the president of India.

However, there are certain limitations to the suspensive veto power of the President of India,

1. The President of India cannot use Suspensive Veto over money bills, as the money bills are passed with his/her prior recommendation. 
2. If the President sends a bill for reconsideration of the Parliament, and parliament again passes the bill without making any changes to it. In that case, the President is required to give his assent to such a bill.

Pocket Veto

When the President decides to not decide on a bill of the Parliament, this veto power of the president of India is called the pocket veto power of the President. The President neither gives his assent nor withholds the bills; instead, he chose not to take any action on the bill.

The constitution of India doesn’t prescribe any time limit for the exercise of pocket veto by the President of India. In this regard, the Indian constitution gives a wider pocket veto to the President than any other constitutional democracy; for example, the President of the United States can only exercise pocket veto for ten days.

Veto Power concerning State Legislatures

Any bill passed by a state legislature has to be sent to the governor for his assent. When the governor of the state is not satisfied with a bill of the state legislature, he can reserve it for the consideration of the President of India. When the governor reserves a bill passed by a state legislature for the President’s consideration, the President may take the following actions,

1. The President may give his assent to the bill of the state legislature,
2. The President may not give his assent or withhold the bill of a state legislature,
3. The president may ask the governor to return the bill to the state legislature for their reconsideration.

However, if the state legislature again passes the bill without any changes, and the governor reserves it for the President’s consideration, the President is not bound to give his assent to the bill.

Conclusion

The veto power of the president of India is drawn from article 111 of the Indian constitution. The President of India can exercise three veto powers concerning a bill of the parliament, the absolute veto, the suspensive veto, and the pocket veto. However, these veto powers have some limitations. The president cannot use his power of suspensive veto on a money bill. The President is bound to sign a bill if it comes to him without any changes after he had sent it for reconsideration. However, the pocket veto gives vast veto power to the president; the president can exercise this power for as long as he finds necessary.