Only the President's assent is required for a bill passed by Parliament to become an act. When a bill like this is presented to the President for his signature, he has three options (under Article 111 of the Constitution):
1. He can sign the bill or veto it. 2. He can refuse to sign the bill or veto it.3. If the bill is not a money bill, he may return it to Parliament for reconsideration. However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or without amendments and again presented to the President, the President must give his assent to the bill.
As a result, the President has veto power over bills passed by Parliament, meaning he can refuse to sign them. The purpose of granting this power to the President is twofold: (a) to prevent the Parliament from passing hasty and ill-considered legislation, and (b) to prevent legislation that may be unconstitutional.
The President of India has three veto powers: absolute veto, suspensive veto, and pocket veto. In the case of the Indian President, there is no qualified veto; the American President has it.
It refers to the President's ability to refuse to sign a bill passed by the legislature. The bill then comes to an end and does not become law. This veto is usually used in the following two situations:
(a) In the case of private member's bills (that is, bills introduced by any member of Parliament who is not a minister); and
(b) In the case of government bills, when the cabinet resigns (after the bills have been passed but before the President has given his assent) and the new cabinet advises the President not to give his assent.
When the President returns a bill to the Parliament for reconsideration, he exercises his veto. If the bill is passed by Parliament again, with or without amendments, and presented to the President, the President is required to give his assent to the bill. This means that a re-passage of the bill by the same ordinary majority overrides the presidential veto. In the case of money bills, the President does not have this veto. The President can either give or withhold his assent to a money bill, but he or she cannot return it to the Parliament for reconsideration. Normally, the President signs a money bill as soon as it is introduced in Parliament with his prior approval.
In this case, the President does not ratify, reject, or return the bill; instead, he simply keeps it on the table indefinitely. The President's ability to refuse to act on a bill is known as the pocket veto. The President can use his veto power because the Constitution does not set a deadline for him to make a decision on a bill that has been presented to him for his signature.
It is important to note that the President does not have veto power over a constitutional amendment bill. The President must give his assent to a constitutional amendment bill under the 24th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1971.
In addition, the President has veto power over state legislation. A bill passed by a state legislature can only become law if it receives the governor's or President's assent (in case the bill is reserved for the consideration of the President).
When a state legislature passes a bill, the governor has four options (under Article 200 of the Constitution):
1. He can sign the bill or veto it. 2. He can refuse to sign the bill or veto it.3. He may return the bill to the state legislature for reconsideration (if it is not a money bill), or he may veto it.
4. He has the option of reserving the bill for the President's consideration.When the governor reserves a bill for the President's consideration, the President has three options (under Article 201 of the Constitution):
1. He can sign the bill or veto it. 2. He can refuse to sign the bill or veto it.3. He has the authority to order the governor to return the bill (if it is not a money bill) to the state legislature for consideration. The President is not obligated to give his assent to the bill if it is passed by the state legislature again, with or without amendments, and presented to him for his signature. This means that the state legislature is powerless to override the President's veto. Furthermore, the Constitution does not specify a time limit within which the President must make a decision on a bill that has been reserved for his consideration by the governor. As a result, the President has pocket veto power over state legislation.
