Article 200: Assent to Bills

Leading cases

• State of Tamil Nadu v. Governor of Tamil Nadu (2025)The Governor's reservation for the President of ten Bills re-passed by the Tamil Nadu legislature was illegal; the Court held that Article 200 allows no pocket or absolute veto, prescribed time-limits, and declared the Bills deemed assented under Article 142.

Questions on this article

10 questions in 16 of our papers cite Article 200. Try these from the free papers:

1. 1. According to the opinion in Special Reference No. 1 of 2025, which of the following correctly describes the constitutional options available to a Governor under Article 200 when a Bill passed by the State Legislature is presented to him?

   A.To assent, to reserve the Bill for the President, or to withhold assent simpliciter, which ends the Bill at once without any return of it to the LegislatureB.To assent, to withhold assent, to return the Bill or to reserve it, the first proviso operating as a separate fourth option in every caseC.To assent, to reserve the Bill for the President, or to withhold assent and return the Bill with comments, the last option not being available for a Money BillD.To assent or to return the Bill once for reconsideration, reservation for the President being allowed only on the advice of the Council of Ministers
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2. 2. Assertion (A): Under the opinion in Special Reference No. 1 of 2025, in glaring cases of prolonged, unexplained and indefinite inaction by a Governor on a Bill, the Court may issue a limited mandamus directing him to discharge his function under Article 200 within a reasonable time, without commenting on the merits. Reason (R): Article 361 of the Constitution does not prevent the Governor from being personally subjected to judicial proceedings in respect of his functions under Article 200.

   A.A is false but R is trueB.Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of AC.A is true but R is falseD.Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
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3. 3. Under the second proviso to Article 200, the Governor shall not assent to, but shall reserve for the consideration of the President, any Bill which in his opinion would, if it became law:

   A.vary the salaries and allowances payable to the Chief Minister and the other Ministers of the StateB.contain provisions on a matter enumerated in List III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh ScheduleC.provide for the levy of a tax on agricultural income derived from land situated in the StateD.so derogate from the powers of the High Court as to endanger its constitutional position
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