Contents
Qualifications for
election as President:
Oath or affirmation by
the President:
Conditions of President’s
office:
Powers and Functions of
President
Power of President under
Article 72:
Ordinance-making Power of
the President:
Articles Related to
President at a Glance
UNION EXECUTIVES
Articles 52 to 78 in Part V of the Constitution deal with the
Union executive. The Union executive consists of the President, the
Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the council of ministers and the attorney
general of India.
Article
52: The
President is the head of the Indian State. He is the first citizen of India and
acts as the symbol of unity, integrity and solidarity of the nation.
Article
53: All
executive actions of the Government of India are formally taken in his name.
Article
54: The
President is elected not directly by the people but by members of Electoral
College consisting of:
1.
The elected members of
both the Houses of Parliament;
2.
The elected members of the
legislative assemblies of the states;
3.
The elected members of the
legislative assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi and Pondicherry.
Article
55: According to
Article 55, the number of votes which
each elected member of the legislative assembly of each state and the
Parliament is entitled to cast at such election is determined in the following
manner:
1. Value of the vote of an MLA =
(Total population of state/ total number of elected members in the
state legislative assembly) * 1/100
2. Value of the vote of an MP = Total value of votes of all MLAs
of all states / Total number of elected members of the Parliament
The President’s election is held in accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of the single transferable vote and the
voting is by secret ballot. Each member of the Electoral College is given only
one ballot paper.
Article
56: According to Article 56, the tenure of the President
is 5 years.
A person to be eligible for election as President should fulfil
the following qualifications:
·
He should be a citizen of
India.
·
He should have completed
35 years of age.
·
He should be qualified for
election as a member of the LokSabha.
·
He should not hold any
office of profit under the Union government or any state government or any
local authority or any other public authority.
Oath
or affirmation by the President:
The
oath of office to the President is administered by the Chief Justice of India
and, in his absence, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court available.
Conditions
of President’s office:
The Constitution lays down the following conditions for the
President’s office:
·
He should not be a member
of either House of Parliament or a House of the state legislature.
·
He should not hold any
other office of profit.
·
He is entitled, without payment
of rent, to the use of his official residence
·
He is entitled to such
emoluments, allowances and privileges as may be determined by Parliament.
·
His emoluments and
allowances cannot be diminished during his term of office.
In
2008, the Parliament increased the salary of the President from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.50 lakh per month and the
pension to 50% of his salary per month.
The President shall not –
(i) President
may resign by writing to Vice-President.
(ii) President
may, for violation of the Constitution, be removed from office by impeachment [Art.
61].
Note:
In case of vacancy caused by resignation,
death or impeachment, a new President should be elected within six months.
In
the above cases, the Vice-President acts as an acting President till the new
President enters the office. During such period he receives the salary and the
facilities of the Presidential post.
The President can be removed from office by a process of impeachment
for
‘violation of the Constitution’. The impeachment charges can be initiated by
either House of Parliament. These charges should be signed by one-fourth
members of the House (that framed the charges), and a 14 days’ notice should
be given to the President.
The executive powers and functions of the President are:
1.
All executive actions of
the Government of India are formally taken in his name.
2.
According to Article 75 he appoints the Prime Minister
of India and according to Article 77
with consent of the Prime Minister he appoints the other ministers. They hold
office during his pleasure.
3.
He appoints the
Attorney-General of India, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the
Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, the chairman and
members of the Union Public Service Commission, the governors of states, the
chairman and members of Finance Commission, and administrators of UTs and so
on.
4. He
can seek any information relating to the administration of affairs of the
Union, and proposals for legislation
from the prime minister.
5. He
can appoint a commission to investigate into the conditions of SCs, STs and
other backward classes.
6. He
can appoint an inter-state council to promote Centre-state and inter-state
cooperation.
The President is an integral part of the Parliament of India, and
enjoys the following legislative powers:
1.
He can summon or prorogue
the Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha. [Art. 85]
2.
He can also summon a joint
sitting of both the Houses of Parliament, which is presided over by the Speaker
of the Lok Sabha. [Art. 108]
3.
He can address the
Parliament at the commencement of the first session after each general election
and the first session of each year. [Art. 87]
4.
He can send messages to
the Houses of Parliament, whether with respect to a bill pending in the
Parliament or otherwise.
5.
He can appoint any member
of the Lok Sabha to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the
Speaker and the Deputy Speaker fall vacant. Similarly, he can also appoint any
member of the Rajya Sabha to preside over its proceedings when the offices of
both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman fall vacant.
6.
He nominates 12 members of
the Rajya Sabha from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical
experience in literature, science, art and social service. [Art. 80(1)]
7.
The President is empowered
to nominate not more than two Anglo-Indian members to the Lok Sabha, if that
community is not adequately represented in that House. [Art. 331]
8.
His prior recommendation
or permission is needed to introduce certain types of bill in the Parliament.
For example, a bill involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India,
or a bill for the alteration of boundaries of states or creation of a new
state.
9.
When a bill is sent to the
President after it has been passed by the Parliament, he can give his assent, withhold
his assent or return the bill for reconsideration of the parliament. However,
if the bill is passed again by the Parliament, with or without amendments, the
President has to give his assent to the bill.
10.
When a bill passed by a
state legislature is reserved by the governor for consideration of the
President, the President can give his assent, withhold it or direct the
governor to return the bill (if it is not a money bill) for reconsideration of
the state legislature. It should be noted here that it is not obligatory for
the President to give his assent even if the bill is again passed by the state
legislature and sent again to him for his consideration.
11.
According to Article
123, he can promulgate ordinances when the Parliament is not in session. An
ordinance issued under Art. 123 must receive approval of Parliament (both the
houses) within six weeks of reassembly of the parliament.
The financial powers and functions of the President are:
1.
Money bills can be
introduced in the Parliament only with his prior recommendation.
2.
He causes to be laid
before the Parliament the Union Budget.
3.
No demand for a grant can
be made except on his recommendation.
4.
He can make advances out
of the Contingency Fund of India to meet any unforeseen expenditure.
5.
According to Article
280, he constitutes a Finance Commission after every five years to
recommend the distribution of revenues between the Centre and the states.
The judicial powers and functions of the President are:
1.
He appoints the Chief
Justice and the judges of the Supreme Court and high courts.
2.
He can seek advice from
the Supreme Court on any question of law or fact. However, the advice tendered
by the Supreme Court is not binding on the President.
Pardoning
Power: The President has the
power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions or punishments or to
suspend, remit or commute the sentences of any person in all cases. The
President is the only authority to grant pardons in case of death sentence on
the advice of council of ministers. [Art. 72]
Power
of President under Article 72:
Pardon: Completely absolves the offender
Commutation: Substitution of one form of punishment to a lighter form
Remission: Reducing the period of sentence without changing its character.
Respite: Awarding a lesser sentence in place of one originally awarded due
to some special fact, e.g., pregnancy of a woman offender, physical disability
of convict.
Reprieve: Stay of the execution of a sentence (especially that of death)
for a temporary period.
Diplomatic
Powers: The international
treaties and agreements are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the
President. He represents India in international forums and affairs and sends
and receives diplomats like ambassadors, high commissioners, and so on.
Military
Powers: He is the supreme
commander of the defence forces of India. In that capacity, he appoints the
chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
A bill passed by the Parliament can become an act only if it
receives the assent of the President.
When such a bill is presented to the President for his assent, he has three
alternatives (under Article 111 of
the Constitution):
1.
He may give his assent to
the bill, or
2.
He may withhold his assent
to the bill, or
3.
He may return the bill (if
it is not a Money bill) for reconsideration of the Parliament.
However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or without
amendments and again presented to the President, the President must give his
assent to the bill.
The veto power enjoyed by the executive in modern states can be
classified into the following four types:
1.
Absolute veto:
withholding of assent to the bill passed by the legislature.
2.
Qualified veto:
This can be overridden by the legislature with a higher majority.
3.
Suspensive
veto: This can be over ridden by the legislature
with an ordinary majority.
4.
Pocket veto:
that is, taking no action on the bill passed by the legislature.
Of the above four, the President of India is vested with three—absolute veto,
suspensive veto and pocket veto. There is no qualified veto in the case of
Indian President; it is possessed by the American President.
Ordinance-making
Power of the President:
Article 123 of the Constitution empowers the President to
promulgate ordinances during the recess of force and effect as an act of
Parliament, but are in the nature of temporary laws.
The ordinance-making power is the most important legislative power of the
President. It has been vested in him to deal with unforeseen or urgent matters.
Four Limitations:
1.
He can promulgate an
ordinance only when both the Houses of Parliament are not in session or when
either of the two Houses of Parliament is not in session.
2.
He can make an ordinance
only when he is satisfied that the circumstances exist that render it necessary
for him to take immediate action.
3.
His ordinance-making power
is coextensive as regards all matters except duration, with the law-making
powers of the Parliament. This has two implications:
(a) An ordinance can be issued only on those subjects on which the Parliament
can make laws.
(b)
An ordinance is subject to the same constitutional limitation as an act of
Parliament. Hence, an ordinance cannot abridge or take away any of the
fundamental rights.
4.
Every ordinance issued by
the President during the recess of Parliament must be laid before both the
Houses of Parliament when it reassembles. If the ordinance is approved by both
the Houses, it becomes an act. If Parliament takes no action at all, the
ordinance will not be into force after six weeks from the reassembly of
Parliament
Articles Related to
President at a Glance
|
Article No. |
Subject-matter |
|
52 |
The President of
India |
|
53 |
Executive power of
the Union |
|
54 |
Election of President |
|
55 |
Manner of election
of President |
|
56 |
Term of office of
President |
|
57 |
Eligibility for
re-election |
|
58 |
Qualifications for
election as President |
|
59 |
Conditions of
President’s office |
|
60 |
Oath or affirmation
by the President |
|
61 |
Procedure for impeachment
of the President |
|
62 |
Time of holding
election to fill vacancy in the office of President |
|
65 |
Vice-President to
act as President or to discharge his functions |
|
71 |
Matters relating to
the election of President |
|
72 |
Power of President
to grant pardons etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain
cases |
|
74 |
Council of
ministers to aid and advise the President |
|
75 |
Other provisions as
to ministers like appointment, term, salaries, etc. |
|
76 |
Attorney-General of
India |
|
77 |
Conduct of business
of the Government of India |
|
78 |
Duties of Prime
Minister in respect to furnishing of information to the President, etc. |
|
85 |
Sessions of
Parliament, prorogation and dissolution |
|
111 |
Assent to bills
passed by the Parliament |
|
112 |
Union Budget
(annual financial statement) |
|
123 |
Power of President
to promulgate ordinances |
|
143 |
Power of President
to consult Supreme Court |