Veto power applies to the authority usually granted to the Government’s executive branch. It applies to the right to delay or the organization’s capacity to oppose any laws enacted by the legislative branch or approved by a vote of the legislative branch of government. While this structure applies in other countries but certain nations including the national assembly of the United States have the right to circumvent this executive branch veto authority. If Parliament will overcome the veto by having a two-thirds majority in their favour, they will do that.
In modern days, however, most of the world’s government executive departments possess four types of veto powers. Of these four, three rights were vested in the Indian President, namely Absolute Veto, Suspensive Veto and Pocket Veto. The President of India does not possess the right of Qualified Veto. Nevertheless, it is operated by the President of the United States. In this post, we’ll address the President of India ‘s three veto rights. When our country’s president is given a bill that has been enacted and approved by both legislative houses, he may do one of three items listed in Article 111 of the Indian Constitution. Such three options are:
• The President can give the bill its approval.
• The President can withdraw approval of the legislation.
• The President can refund the Parliament’s reconsideration bill if he is not pleased with one or more of its features.
So if Parliament passes the same bill again, with or without any changes, then in this situation the President will give the bill its approval. The President can not send the bill to Parliament for reconsideration, though, in the case of money bills. He may either approve or refuse the bill for the revenue. It ensures that no Suspensive Veto power is necessary with the President in case of a money bill. In the case of money bills, he can exercise Absolute Veto.
Absolute Veto
Absolute Veto implies that the President of India may withhold his approval of any bill passed by Parliament using this authority. When the President withholds his acceptance of the measure, it expires and is not an artist. For two instances total control is commonly used:
• Legislation initiated by any legislative leader who is not a minister classified as private legislation.
• The bills approved by the legislature, but before the president could give his consent, the cabinet retired and the current cabinet persuaded the president not to give his consent to the bills.
For eg, during the PEPSU authorization bill in 1954, Dr Rajendra Prasad, the then President, withheld his assent. Parliament passed the PEPSU appropriation bill in the territory of PEPSU (Patiala and East Punjab States Union) during the President’s rule. He refused his assent as the president was faced with this and suspended the law of the government.
Yet again in 1991, when R Venkataraman was President of India, he even deferred his assent to Parliament bill members’ salary, allowances, and pension. This bill was passed the last day before the Lok Sabha was disbanded and adopted without the President of India requesting a prior recommendation.
Suspensive Veto
As the name implies, Suspensive Veto is a president’s right under which the president may postpone the passage of a bill under sending it for reconsideration to parliament. If Parliament passes the bill again, either with or without any modifications or adjustments and then submits it again to the President, this time the President needs to give his assent.
Such a sense, the President’s veto right is overridden as the Senate approves the legislation with the same clear majority once again. Nevertheless, a larger majority is needed in the United States of America to overcome President Veto on a measure. Unless it’s a bill of revenue, so the president cannot exercise Suspensive Veto on it. Under any situation, the President can either authorize the bill and render it an act or withdraw its approval, but cannot submit the money bill for reconsideration to Parliament. Typically, the president is more likely to give his assent to a money bill, as will money bill needs the president’s explicit consent before it is passed in parliament.
Pocket Veto
A pocket veto is the President’s authority in which he neither passes a bill nor gives it back for reconsideration. Simply keeping the bill postponed for as long as he likes. By doing so, the President takes no constructive or detrimental move on the resolution. It is likely as the Indian Constitution does not allow for any fixed time frame in which the President is expected to take action on a bill submitted to him for his assent. In the United States of America, though, the President is required to submit the legislation for reconsideration within 10 days of its presentation. The Indian President’s Veto bag is larger than the American President’s. However, the 24th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1971 established that unless a Constitutional Reform Bill is submitted to him for his assent, the President cannot use his veto power.
Presidential Veto over state legislation
The President also has powers of veto on statutory proposals. Whenever a Bill is approved by a state legislature, it may become an act of statute only after the Governor ‘s approval. In case the state governor retains the bill for the President’s approval the aforementioned legislation can not become an act without the President’s approval.
Article 200 of the Indian Constitution specifies that if a bill approved by the state legislature is submitted to the state governor, he has four alternatives:-
• The Governor can authorize the Act.
• The Governor can vote in favour.
• The Governor can submit the bill back to the state legislature for reconsideration. It will only happen if the payment is not a payment for revenue.
• The governor always has the right of reserving the bill for the President’s consideration
When the Governor chooses to find the Candidate, in that case the Candidate still has three options under Article 201 of the Indian Constitution:-
• President should authorize the bill
• The Chair can withhold his assent to the legislation. The President may order the Governor to send the bill to the State Senate so that it can be reconsidered by the state legislature. When the state Senate approves the legislation with or without any amendments or improvements, instead it sends the legislation to the President again. Even, in this situation, the President is not obliged to support the legislation like he was in the situation of Legislative bills.
In other terms, the senate cannot bypass the President’s veto authority, unlike the assembly which can overcome Suspensive Veto by approving the bill again. No clause in the Indian Constitution calls for some time in which the President is expected to decide on this legislation. The President may also still utilize his pocket veto right in favour of the state legislature.
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