Explanation:

Indian President is vested with only 3 types of veto - pocket veto, suspensive veto and absolute veto. American President does not enjoy pocket veto, i.e. he cannot simply keep the bill pending for an indefinite period, while Indian President can. That is why it is remarked that Indian President has a bigger
pocket.

Absolute Veto of the President

The facts about the absolute veto power of the Indian President are given below:

• When the President exercises his absolute veto, a bill never sees the day of the light. The bill ends even after passed by the Indian Parliament and does not become an act.
• President uses his absolute veto in the following two cases:
  • When the bill passed by the Parliament is a Private Member Bill
  • When the cabinet resigns before President could give his assent to the bill. The new cabinet may advise the President to not give his assent to the bill passed by the old cabinet.

Note: In India, the President has exercised his absolute veto before. In 1954, it was exercised by Dr. Rajendra Prasad as a President and later in 1991, it was used by the then President R Venkataraman.

Suspensive Veto of the President

The facts about the suspensive veto power of the Indian President are given below:

• The President uses his suspensive veto when he returns the bill to the Indian Parliament for its reconsideration.
  • Note: If the Parliament resends the bill with or without amendment to the Indian President, he has to approve the bill without using any of his veto powers.
• His suspensive veto can be over-ridden by the repassage of the bill by the Indian Parliament
  • Note: With respect to state bills, state legislature has no power to override the suspensive veto of President. The Governor can withhold the bill for the President’s consideration and even if state legislature resends the bill to governor and governor to President, he still can withhold his assent.
• When the Parliament resends the bill to the President, it has to follow only the ordinary majority in the houses and not the higher majority.)
• The President cannot exercise his suspensive veto in relation to Money Bill.

Pocket Veto of the President

The facts about the suspensive veto power of the Indian President are given below:

• The bill is kept pending by the President for an indefinite period when he exercises his pocket veto.
• He neither rejects the bill nor returns the bill for reconsideration.
• Constitution does not give any time-limit to President within which he has to act upon the bill. Therefore, the President uses his pocket veto where he doesn’t have to act upon the bill.
• Unlike the American President who has to resend the bill within 10 days, the Indian President has no such time-rule.

Note:

• The Indian President has exercised this veto power before. In 1986, President Zail Singh exercised this pocket veto.
• The President has no veto power when it comes to the constitutional amendment bills. (To know the more about the types of amendment in the constitution, refer to the linked article.)