Pocket Veto

Definition of Pocket Veto

Pocket Veto is a way to restrict the passage of a bill by not providing permission to the bill. The president in India gives the final approval to a bill or an act after parliament passed the bill. Providing the approval is a matter of the will of the president as the president can send back the bill for reconsideration. The president can also uphold the bill as per the will to stop the bill from passing. This is called the veto power of the president that is guided by Article 111 in the Indian Constitution. However, some changes in the constitutional acts have made this veto power weakened because the president is required to pass the bill for the second time. The use of the pocket veto power of the president comes into account in this respect, as upholding of bills for a specific period has not been mentioned in the Indian Constitution. Therefore, the president of India can take a long time to sign the bill with intend of upholding that. For example, Zail Singh has used the pocket veto to prevent passing the Indian Post Office Bill from 1882 to 1887. Thus, extending the time to prevent a bill from transforming a bill into an act can be done by using the pocket veto. 

Meaning of Pocket Veto

Pocket Veto is observed in the case of a dispute of opinions between the president and the parliament over a bill. Therefore, without the consent of the president, the bill can be passed in the parliament; however, it requires the signature of the president for it to be passed into an act. Four factors are related to the pocket veto in India as the president can keep pending the bill for an indefinite time. The rejection or permission both are not adopted directly in this scenario because the Indian constitution has not mentioned a particular time to pass the bill. Thus, the president can use this law and take advantage of preventing the bill from transforming into an act. 

Types

The concept of veto deals with the legislative power, which allows the government to retain a bill during the ongoing session at the legislature. The absence of the signature of a president gives formation to a pocket veto. There are different types of vetoes in the power of the respective executive. The different types of veto are absolute veto, qualified veto, suspense veto and pocket veto. The notion of pocket veto could be described as an effective tool that is often used by the president regarding the passing of a bill. The President holds the power to implement suspense veto, pocket veto and absolute veto. The effect of pocket veto becomes active when the president takes no action regarding the passing of a bill in the legislature. The process of veto power is generally implied in the legislative session. 

Difference between pocket veto and veto

The major difference between a veto and a pocket veto is the process of voting could override veto. On the other hand, the pocket veto occurs when the proposal of the bill does not come into effect. The president withholds his power to mitigate the proposal of the bill in case of regular veto. The power of veto generally stops the effectiveness of an action whereas the concept of pocket veto comes into play when the law is not formed. The occurrence of a regular veto takes place when the authority refuses to provide a signature required to pass a bill. On the other hand, the occurrence of pocket veto takes place when the bill is received by the president but is not able to return or reject the proposal of the bill.

Conclusion

It could be concluded by stating that the power of pocket veto is completely used by the President. This could be described as power, which usually comes into play when the President wants to stop an action. The effectiveness of pocket veto depends on the rules and regulations followed by different countries. The active state of a pocket veto majorly depends on the laws of the respective countries. The other name of pocket veto is indirect veto, which is used for retaining purposes.