In your view, what can be implications of making governor devoid of his power to reserve bills for presidential assent? Critically discuss while keeping in focus article 200 of the constitution.

When a bill is passed by the state legislature and sent to the Governor for his assent, he has three options i.e. give his assent; withhold his assent; return the bill if it is not a money bill, or further reserve the bill for presidential considerations. The president can return the bill for reconsideration and in that case, the houses pass it again and present it to the president. In case the president gives his assent the bill becomes an act. That is what article 200 of the Indian constitution says.

In the case, if the power of the governor to reserve the bill for presidential assent has been abolished then some serious implications could emerge.

Possible implications

The governor works as an agent of the central government in the state and neither directly elected by the people of India nor elected by any special electoral college. Another thing to consider, the office of the governor is a constitutional entity and not an employment under the central government of India. So the abolition of the power to reserve the bill for the consideration of the president could create the following consequences.

• It will provide more power to the governor while giving assent to the bill passed by both houses of the state legislature.
• The power to practice the Suspensive veto by the Governor will be strong.
• It may create a threat to the federal provision of the Indian Constitution.
• President enjoys supremacy in the case of the tenure, transfer, and removal of the governor. So the issue of the abolition of the power to reserve the bill for the consideration of the president may be contradictory to the legislative power of both.

Comment

All provisions mentioned in article 200 are equally important to keep the balance of the legislative power of the President and the Governor. It is also significant for maintaining the federal provision of India.

Topics: GS-IV: Ethics and Human Interface