Q.While appointing PM, President selects:

Even though the President of India is bound, as a rule, to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers, this does not mean the President has no discretion whatsoever — that would be an incorrect assessment. Constitutionally, the President has the right to be informed of all important matters and Council deliberations; the Prime Minister is obliged to furnish any information the President calls for, and the President often writes to the Prime Minister expressing views on important national matters.

Beyond this, there are at least three specific situations in which the President can genuinely exercise personal discretion.

First, reconsideration of advice: the President can send the Council of Ministers' advice back once, asking it to reconsider — for example, if the President believes the advice has legal flaws or is not in the country's best interest. The Council can resend the same advice, which then becomes binding, but a Presidential request for reconsideration carries real weight.

Second, the veto power (including the 'pocket veto'): the President can withhold assent to any Bill (other than a Money Bill) passed by Parliament, sending it back for reconsideration. If Parliament passes the same Bill again and returns it, the President must then give assent — so this veto is limited. However, the Constitution sets no time limit within which the President must return a Bill for reconsideration in the first place — meaning a President can simply keep a Bill pending indefinitely, an informal but very effective power known as the 'pocket veto.' A real instance of this: in 1986, Parliament passed the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, criticised for curtailing press freedom; President Zail Singh never acted on it during his term. His successor, President Venkataraman, eventually sent it back for reconsideration — but by then a different, newly-elected coalition government (1989) chose not to bring the Bill back to Parliament, so it effectively never became law. …