Powers of the President: Veto, Ordinance and Pardon

Executive powers

All executive actions of the Government of India are formally taken in the President's name (Article 77). The President makes rules for convenient transaction of business (the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules and Transaction of Business Rules). The President appoints the Prime Minister and other ministers (who hold office during the President's pleasure), the Attorney General, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners, the chairman and members of the UPSC, the Governors of states, and the chairman and members of the Finance Commission. The President can seek administrative and legislative information from the PM (Article 78), can appoint commissions to investigate the conditions of SCs, STs and other backward classes, and directly administers Union territories through administrators. The President can declare any area a Scheduled Area and has powers over the administration of scheduled and tribal areas.

Legislative powers

The President is an integral part of Parliament (Article 79). The President:

• summons and prorogues Parliament and dissolves the Lok Sabha; can summon a joint sitting to resolve a deadlock (presided over by the Speaker);
• addresses Parliament at the first session after each general election and at the first session of each year (Article 87);
• nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha with special knowledge of literature, science, art and social service (the power to nominate two Anglo-Indians to the Lok Sabha ended in 2020 under the 104th Amendment);
• decides on disqualification of MPs on the advice of the Election Commission (Article 103);
• gives prior recommendation for certain bills: money bills, bills to create new states or alter boundaries, and bills affecting taxation in which states are interested;
• lays the reports of the CAG, UPSC, Finance Commission and others before Parliament.

Veto power (Article 111)

When a bill passed by Parliament is presented, the President may give assent, withhold assent, or (for non-money bills) return it for reconsideration. Three kinds of veto exist in India:

1. Absolute veto – withholding assent; the bill ends. Usually used for private members' bills or when a cabinet resigns before assent and the new cabinet advises against it. Examples: in 1954 Rajendra Prasad withheld assent to the PEPSU Appropriation Bill; in 1991 R. Venkataraman withheld assent to the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill.

2. Suspensive veto – returning a bill for reconsideration. If Parliament passes it again, with or without amendments, by a simple majority, the President must give assent. It does not apply to money bills.

3. Pocket veto – taking no action for an indefinite period. The Constitution prescribes no time limit for the President (unlike the US President's 10 days). Example: Zail Singh and the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 1986.

There is no qualified veto (overridable only by a higher majority) in India. Money bills can only be assented to or rejected, but since they are introduced with the President's prior permission, they are normally assented to. For constitutional amendment bills, the 24th Amendment (1971) made assent obligatory – the President has no veto.

State bills reserved for the President (Article 201): the President may assent, withhold assent, or (for non-money bills) direct the Governor to return the bill to the state legislature. Even if the legislature passes it again, the President is not bound to assent. In State of Tamil Nadu v Governor of Tamil Nadu (April 2025) a two-judge bench set timelines for Governors and suggested three months for the President to decide on reserved bills; the President then sought the Supreme Court's opinion under Article 143 on whether courts can impose such timelines. In its November 2025 opinion, a Constitution Bench held that courts cannot fix timelines or apply "deemed assent", though prolonged and unexplained inaction can be examined in limited judicial review.

Ordinance-making power (Article 123)

The President can promulgate an ordinance when both Houses are not in session (or either House is not in session), if satisfied that circumstances exist that make immediate action necessary.

• An ordinance has the same force as an Act of Parliament, but can only be on subjects on which Parliament can legislate, and is subject to the same constitutional limits; it can be retrospective.
• It must be laid before both Houses when they reassemble and ceases to operate six weeks after Parliament reassembles, unless approved earlier; it also lapses if both Houses pass resolutions disapproving it. Maximum life: six months and six weeks.
• The President can withdraw it at any time. The power is exercised on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
• An ordinance cannot amend the Constitution.
• The 38th Amendment (1975) made the President's satisfaction non-justiciable, but the 44th Amendment removed this; in R.C. Cooper (1970) the Court said satisfaction can be challenged for mala fides.
• In D.C. Wadhwa (1987) the Court condemned the Bihar practice of repeatedly re-promulgating ordinances without placing them before the legislature (256 ordinances re-promulgated between 1967 and 1981), and in Krishna Kumar Singh (2017) a seven-judge bench held that re-promulgation is a fraud on the Constitution and that the satisfaction is subject to judicial review.

Pardoning power (Article 72)

The President can grant pardons, reprieves, respites, remissions or commutations for persons convicted of offences: (a) where the punishment is by a court martial; (b) for offences against Union laws; and (c) in all cases of death sentence.

• Pardon – removes both the sentence and the conviction completely.
• Commutation – substitutes a lighter form of punishment (death to rigorous imprisonment).
• Remission – reduces the period of sentence without changing its character.
• Respite – awards a lesser sentence because of a special fact, such as physical disability or pregnancy.
• Reprieve – stays the execution of a sentence (especially death) temporarily.

The power is exercised on ministerial advice, is independent of the judiciary (an executive power), and is subject to limited judicial review for arbitrariness, mala fides or irrelevant considerations (Kehar Singh, 1989; Epuru Sudhakar, 2006). In Shatrughan Chauhan (2014) the Court held that inordinate delay in deciding mercy petitions can be a ground to commute a death sentence.

Governor's pardoning power (Article 161) covers offences against state laws, but the Governor cannot pardon a death sentence (only commute, remit, etc.) and has no power over court-martial sentences. In Perarivalan (2022) the Supreme Court used Article 142 to release a convict after delay by the Governor.

Other powers

• Diplomatic: international treaties and agreements are negotiated and concluded in the President's name; the President represents India in international forums and receives diplomats.
• Military: Supreme Commander of the defence forces; appoints the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force; declares war and concludes peace, subject to Parliament's approval.
• Financial: money bills need prior recommendation; the annual financial statement (Budget) is laid before Parliament in the President's name; the Contingency Fund of India is at the President's disposal; constitutes the Finance Commission every five years.
• Judicial: appoints the Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts; can seek the advice of the Supreme Court on questions of law or fact under Article 143 (the advice is not binding).
• Emergency: national (Art 352), President's rule (Art 356) and financial (Art 360) emergencies.

Common traps

• Suspensive veto does not apply to money bills; pocket veto has no time limit.
• No veto over constitutional amendment bills (24th Amendment).
• Governor cannot pardon a death sentence; the President can.
• Ordinance maximum life: six months + six weeks; re-promulgation is a fraud on the Constitution.