Previous Year Question
Which of the following is related to the only example when the President of India exercised his veto power?
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
In 1986, then President Giani Zail Singh did not give assent to the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 1986, which had been passed by Parliament, and kept the Bill pending. The official Parliament Digital Library also contains the parliamentary record of the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 1986.
The President's power regarding assent to Parliamentary Bills is contained in Article 111. When a Bill passed by Parliament is presented to the President, the President may assent to it or withhold assent. In the case of a Bill other than a Money Bill, the President may also return it to Parliament for reconsideration. If Parliament passes the Bill again and presents it to the President, the President cannot withhold assent.
A Pocket Veto refers to a situation in which the President neither assents to the Bill nor expressly rejects it nor immediately returns it for reconsideration, but keeps it pending. The Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 1986 is the famous Indian constitutional example associated with this form of veto.