UPSC Prelims 2023 Q36: President's Election and Assent to Bills
Consider the following statements:
1. If the election of the President of India is declared void by the Supreme Court of India, all acts done by him/her in the performance of duties of his/her office of President before the date of decision become invalid.
2. Election for the post of the President of India can be postponed on the ground that some Legislative Assemblies have been dissolved and elections are yet to take place.
3. When a Bill is presented to the President of India, the Constitution prescribes time limits within which he/she has to declare his/her assent.
How many of the above statements are correct?
- Only one
- Only two
- All three
- None
Answer: (d) None
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: incorrect — Article 71(2) protects the acts of a President whose election is set aside. If the Supreme Court declares the election void, acts done in the exercise of the powers and duties of the office on or before the date of its decision 'shall not be invalidated by reason of that declaration'. The statement says the opposite. Without this rule, every Bill signed, Ordinance issued and appointment made during that tenure would be in doubt.
- 2: incorrect — Article 62(1) says the election to fill a vacancy caused by the end of a President's term 'shall be completed before the expiration of the term'. Article 71(4), added by the 11th Amendment in 1961, says the election cannot be called in question because of any vacancy, for whatever reason, among the members of the electoral college. Dissolved Assemblies only mean that those MLAs do not vote. They are not a ground to postpone the election.
- 3: incorrect — Article 111 says only that the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill or that he withholds assent. It sets no deadline for this decision. The only time phrase is that a non-Money Bill may be returned for reconsideration 'as soon as possible after the presentation'. That phrase is not a fixed limit. This silence is why the 'pocket veto' is possible. In November 2025 a Constitution Bench answering a Presidential Reference also held that courts cannot impose timelines for assent under Articles 200 and 201.
How to eliminate
Each statement can be tested against one idea: does the Constitution try to keep the office of President working without breaks? Statement 1 would undo every act of a sitting President after the fact, which would cause chaos in governance. That makes it suspect, and Article 71(2) confirms it is wrong. Statement 2 would let one State's dissolved Assembly hold up the election of the head of State. Article 62(1) requires the election to finish before the term ends, so it is wrong. Statement 3 needs one fact: Article 111 has no time limit, which is the basis of the pocket veto. Note the option structure. 'None' is a legitimate answer choice, and UPSC uses it when every statement is a plausible-sounding reversal of a rule. If you remember the pocket veto (Zail Singh and the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 1986), statement 3 falls. Once you see statements 1 and 2 as threats to continuity, you are at 'None'. Facts to remember: Art. 71(2) saves past acts, Art. 71(4) makes vacancies in the electoral college irrelevant, and Art. 111 sets no time limit.
Know more
Continuity of the Presidency: the safeguards
The Constitution makes sure India always has a President and that the President's acts stand firm.
| Provision | What it says |
|---|---|
| Art. 54 | Electoral college: elected MLAs of States (including Delhi and Puducherry) and elected MPs of both Houses. Nominated members and MLCs do not vote |
| Art. 55 | Proportional representation by single transferable vote, secret ballot. Each vote has a weighted value |
| Art. 56(1)(c) | The President continues in office after the term ends until a successor enters office |
| Art. 62(1) | The election for a term-end vacancy must be completed before the term ends |
| Art. 62(2) | A vacancy caused by death, resignation or removal must be filled within 6 months. The Vice-President acts as President in the meantime (Art. 65) |
| Art. 71(1) | Disputes go only to the Supreme Court, whose decision is final |
| Art. 71(2) | Acts done before the Supreme Court voids an election remain valid |
| Art. 71(4) | Vacancies in the electoral college cannot be a ground to challenge the election |
The detailed procedure (nominations, proposers and seconders, security deposit, election petitions) is in the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952.
Assent to Bills (Art. 111). The President can:
- give assent;
- withhold assent (absolute veto);
- return a non-Money Bill for reconsideration (suspensive veto). If Parliament passes it again, with or without amendments, the President must assent;
- take no decision. Because Article 111 sets no deadline, this works as a pocket veto.
A Money Bill cannot be returned, because it is introduced with the President's prior recommendation. A Constitution Amendment Bill must receive assent (Art. 368(2), after the 24th Amendment, 1971). State Bills reserved by a Governor go to the President under Art. 201, which also sets no time limit for the President.
In the news
India held its 16th Presidential election in July 2022. The Election Commission conducted it before President Ram Nath Kovind's term ended, and Droupadi Murmu was elected. In 2022–23, Governors' delays in assenting to State Bills (Tamil Nadu, Kerala) also kept assent timelines in the news.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Election of the President: Statement 2 depends on who makes up the electoral college and when the election must be held.
- Presidential election disputes: Statement 1 concerns what happens when the Supreme Court decides a dispute over a President's election under Article 71.
- Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act 1952: This 1952 Act governs the procedure and election petitions behind statements 1 and 2.
- Value of votes in presidential election: Shows how MLAs' and MPs' votes are weighted, which matters when some Assemblies are dissolved (statement 2).