New Delhi, July 22: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam would be bound by the Constitution to give his assent to the office of profit bill soon after it is presented to him after reconsideration by Parliament.

Many legal experts believe that the President cannot unreasonably delay the bill even if it was passed again by Parliament without any amendment.

“Our Constitution allows the President to return a bill once for reconsideration by Parliament but if it is presented to him for the second time after reconsideration, he has no option but to give his assent,’’ lawyer Rajiv Dhawan said.

On there being no time limit for giving his approval, Dhawan said constitutional silence cannot be exploited to undermine the purpose of the provisions. “There is no pocket veto,’’ he said, adding that the President needed to clear the bill “as soon as possible”.

Senior counsel K.K. Venugopal said once the bill was presented to Kalam again he will have to give his assent within a “reasonable time’’.

But some experts said “reasonable time” is very subjective and would depend on several factors, including availability of the President in the country.

Lawyer P. N. Lekhi said the President could sit on the bill without acting on it.

Advocate Prashant Bhusan said there was no question of any constitutional crisis as Kalam was bound to sign the bill. Article 111 also clearly gave Parliament the liberty to pass the bill again without any amendment after considering the objections raised by the President.

Although there was no procedural flaw in returning the bill without any amendment, the constitutional validity of the amendment can be challenged in court.

The matter is of public interest and could finally reach the court, Dhawan pointed out. The exemption of certain offices was grounded on certain principles and legislators could not just add to the list in an arbitrary manner, he said.