Article 201

Bills Reserved for Consideration of the President

Official heading: “Bills reserved for consideration .”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part VI, Article 201, printed pages 91–92
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Article 201 governs bills reserved by the Governor for the President's consideration, empowering the President to declare assent, withhold assent, or direct the return of the bill to the State Legislature.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 201 provides the mechanism for Union executive scrutiny over State legislation when a bill is reserved by the Governor under Article 200.

Presidential Choices: The President may either declare assent to the bill or declare that assent is withheld.

Directive to Return: The President may also direct the Governor to return the bill (if not a Money Bill) to the House or Houses of the State Legislature, accompanied by a presidential message.

Six-Month Reconsideration Window: When a bill is so returned, the State Legislature must reconsider it within a period of six months from the date of receipt. Crucially, even if the Legislature repasses the bill, the President is NOT constitutionally bound to grant assent, unlike the Governor under Article 200.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

The Governor reserves a State land acquisition bill repugnant to a Central statute for the consideration of the President under Article 254(2).

Core takeaway: Under Article 201, the President considers the bill on the advice of the Union Cabinet; if the President grants assent, the State law prevails within that State over the conflicting Central law.

Illustrative Notice: If the President withholds assent or returns the bill and later refuses assent after reconsideration, the bill dies.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 201 establishes federal oversight over State legislation in national interest areas.

President acts on Union Cabinet advice under Article 74.
Six-month statutory deadline for State legislative reconsideration.
No binding assent on repassage: President retains absolute veto over reserved State bills.
Crucial for resolving Concurrent List conflicts under Article 254(2).

5. Operative Constitutional Text

When a Bill is reserved by a Governor for the consideration of the President, the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill or that he withholds assent therefrom: Provided that, where the Bill is not a Money Bill, the President may direct the Governor to return the Bill to the House or, as the case may be, the Houses of the Legislature of the State together with such a message as is mentioned in the first proviso to article 200 and, when a Bill is so returned, the House or Houses shall reconsider it accordingly within a period of six months from the date of receipt of such message and, if it is again passed by the House or Houses with or without amendment, it shall be presented again to the President for his consideration.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part VI, Article 201, printed pages 91–92 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource