New Delhi: As the 12 Opposition parties have knocked the doors of President Ram Nath Kovind to urge him not to give assent to agriculture bills passed in Rajya Sabha on Sunday, the sources have said that the President is likely to give time to leaders of opposition parties on the basis of a subject of the convention and customs.
"It's not that the President is constitutionally bound to give time to Opposition parties, but since, so many parties are seeking time over a pertinent national issue, the President may follow the customary norms and likely to meet them," the sources said.
However, the legal experts have explained that the President is left with only a few options in this case as the Bill has already been passed by the both the Houses of the Parliament. Though the President has the right to send back the Bill to the Parliament for its review, which seems not possible in this case as there are only a few such precedents in the history of the Parliament, the experts stated.
Citing the case of India's first President Rajendra Prasad, who had objected over the passage of Hindu Code Bill, the experts said, "As Rajendra Prasad had wanted similar rules of marriage and heritage for all religions, so he personally wrote the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru that he won't sign it even if house passes the bill."
The Hindu Code Bill could not be passed and, in common with other pending Bills, had lapsed. However, a fresh bill with several changes was later introduced.
Another precedent is of President Giani Zail Singh, who had used a pocket veto to refuse assent to the "Post Office (Amendment) Bill" in 1986 to show his opposition to the bill. The bill was later withdrawn by the VP Singh government in 1990.
As the country's President is bound to obey the Parliament, so in this case, there is nothing much to be done by the President.
The other option, which is left with the Opposition parties, is to seek legal intervention by moving Supreme Court in the matter of refusal of their demand of division of vote in Rajya Sabha, the experts said.