Governors Power of veto | Indian Constitution Download PDF
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When a Bill is presented before the Governor after its passage by the Houses of the Legislature, it will be open to the Governor to take any of the following steps:
(a) He may declare his assent to the Bill, in which case it would become law at once: or
(b) He may declare that he withholds his assent to the Bill, in which case the Bill fails to become a law; or,
(c) He may, in the case of a Bill other than a Money Bill, return the Bill with a message.
(d) The Governor may reserve a Bill for the consideration of the President In one case reservation is compulsory, viz., where the law in question would derogate from the powers of the High Court under the Constitution.
In the case of a Money Bill, so reserved, the President may either declare his assent or withhold his assent. But in the case of a Bill other than a Money Bill, the President may, instead of declaring his assent or refusing it, direct the Governor to return the Bill to the Legislature for reconsideration. In the latter case, the Legislature must reconsider the Bill within six months and if it is passed again, the Bill shall be presented to the President again. But it shall not be obligatory upon the President to give his assent in this case too [Art. 201],
It is clear that a Bill which is reserved for the consideration of the President shall have no legal effect until the President declares his assent to it. But no time limit is imposed by the Constitution upon the President either to declare that he assents or that he withholds his assent. As a result, it would be open to the President to keep a Bill of the State Legislature pending at his hands for an indefinite period of time, without expressing his mind.
It should also be noted that there is a third alternative for the President which was demonstrated in the case of the Kerala Education Bill, viz., that when a reserved Bill is presented to the President he may, for the purpose of deciding whether he should assent to, or return the Bill, refer to the Supreme Court, under Art. 143, for its advisory opinion where any doubts as to die constitutionality of the Bill arise in the President’s mind.
Veto Powers of President and Governor , compared
The veto powers of the President and Governor may be presented graphically, as follows:
(B) In the case of a State Bill reserved by the Governor for the President’s consideration
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President |
Governor |
| 1.May assent to the bill passed by the houses of parliament |
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| 2. May declare that he withholds his assent,in which case, the union bill fails to become law | 2. May declare that he withholds his assent , in which case, it falls to become law |
| 3. In case of a bill other a Money bill, may return it for reconsideration by parliament , with a message to both houses. If the Bill is again passed by Parliament , with or without amendments, and again presented to the president , the president shall have no other alternative than to declare his assent to it. | 3. In case of a Bill other than a Money Bill, may return it for reconsideration by the State Legislature, with a message. If the Legislature again passes the Bill with or without amendments, and it is again presented to the Governor, the Governor shall have no other alternative than to declare his assent to it. |
| 4. Instead of either assenting to, withholding assent from, or returning the Bill for reconsideration by the State Legislature, Governor may reserve a Bill for consideration of the President, in any case he thinks fit.
Such reservation is, however, obligatory if the Bill is so much derogatory to the powers of the High Court that it would endanger the constitutional position of the High Court, if the Bill became law. |
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President |
Governor |
| (a) If it is a Money Bill, the President may either declare that he assents to it or withholds his assent to it. | |
| (b) If it is a Bill other than a Money Bill, the President may—
(i) declare that he assents to it or that he withholds his assent from it, or (ii) return the Bill to the State Legislature with a message for reconsideration, in which case, the State Legislature must reconsider the Bill within six months, and if it is passed again, with or without amendments, it must be again presented, direct, to the President for his assent, but the President is not bound to give his assent, even though the Bill has been passed by the State Legislature, for a second time. |
Once , the Governor reserves a bill for the Presidents consideration, the subsequent enactment of the bill is in the hands of the president and the governor shall have no further part in its career. |
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