VETO POWERS OF PRESIDENT

        Veto is Latin for "I forbid", so the veto power of the president can forbid, or "not approve" a proposal of a bill to become law. Veto power is not absolute power.

The Bill that is duly passed by the Parliament becomes an Act only if it receives assent of the President. The POI can exercise the following options on an ordinary bill:

1.   He can declare or give assent.

2.   He can withhold assent.

3.   He can send back for reconsideration.

4.   Maintain silence.

The object of conferring this power on the president is

a)   To prevent hasty and ill-considered legislation by the parliament.

b)   To prevent a legislation which may be unconstitutional.

The President of India is vested with the following four types of veto power.

1.   Absolute Veto

2.   Suspensive Veto

3.   Pocket Veto.

4.   Qualified veto

Absolute Veto:

If president once says no or refuses assent to the bill, the bill never becomes Act. The bill is dead. This constitutes absolute veto. This veto power is outdated.

POI can exercise absolute veto on the following bills:

a)   A state bill which is reserved by the governor for consideration president of India under Article 200.

b)   A private member bill which is opposed by the government but approved by the parliament, on such bills council of ministers may advice the president to use absolute veto.

c)   A bill which was considered by the cabinet and sent to president, before president giving assent, council of ministers dissolved. Eventually new government is formed and the new government or council of ministers advices the president not to accept such bills.

Suspensive Veto:

The President exercises this veto when he returns a bill for reconsideration of the Parliament. However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or without amendments with one third majority and again presented to the President, it is obligatory for the President to give his assent to the bill. This means that the President veto is overridden by a re-passage of the bill.

• President veto will be qualified if the bill is approved by parliament by one third majority for second time.
• Suspevsive veto is used by former president APJ Abdul Kalam in office of profit bill in 2006.

Pocket Veto

In this case, the President neither ratifies nor rejects nor returns the bill, but simply keeps the bill pending for an indefinite period. Maintains silence without expressing specific opinion indefinitely. This power of the President no to take any action (either positive or negative) on the bill is known as the Pocket Veto.

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. In USA, on the other hand, the president has to return the bill for reconsideration within 10 days. Hence, it is remarked that the pocket of the Indian President is bigger than that of the American President.

• In 1986, President Zail Singh exercised the pocket veto with respect to Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill. The bill, passed by the Rajiv Gandhi Government, imposed restriction on the freedom of press.
•  The constitutional amendment Act of 1971 made it obligatory for the president to give his assent to a constitutional amendment bill.

Qualified veto

        If a bill which was rejected by the president of India for the first time is reapproved by the parliament with two third majority. President veto will be qualified. In India there is no Qualified veto. Qualified Veto is present in U.S.A.

Use of veto powers of president

1.   In 1954 Dr Rajendra Prasad “PEPSU appropriation bill” -- Absolute Veto.

2.   In 1991 R Venkataraman “Salaries, Allowances and pension of MPs (ammendment) bill” -- Absolute Veto.

3.   In 1986 Zail Singh “Indian Post office (ammendment ) bill” – Pocket veto.

4.   In 2006 APJ Abdul Kalam “Office of Profit bill” -- Suspensive veto.

POI cannot exercise veto on

§  Constitutional amendment bills

§  Finance/money bills

§  States reorganization bills

• With regard to ordinary bills (state & central) president can be ratified, rejected, returned.
• With regard to money bills (state & central) president can be ratified, rejected and cannot be returned.
• With regard constitutional amendment bills president can only be ratified but cannot rejected or returned.