INDIAN
POLITY
PRESIDENT & VICE PRESIDENT
❑UNION EXECUTIVE: (Articles 52 to 78 in Part V)
THE PRESIDENT:
Article 52: There shall be a President of India.
Article 53: The executive power of the union shall
be vested in the President & shall be exercised by
him either directly or through officers subordinate to
him in accordance with this constitution.
Article 54: The President is elected by an electoral
college.The President is elected by the elected
members of:
o Lok sabha
o Rajya Sabha
o State Assemblies
o State Assemblies of Delhi and Pondicherry. (Since
1992 through the 70th amendment).
Article 55: This Article mentions about the manner
of the election of the President.
–The President is elected indirectly.
–The election shall be by a secret ballot.
–The election shall be held in accordance with the
system of proportional representation by means of
single transferable vote.
Article 56: This article mentions about the term of
the President.
o The term of office is 5 years from the date on which
the President enters upon his office.
o The President can resign to his office by writing
under his hand addressed to the Vice President.
o the President may be removed from office for
violation of the Constitution, by impeachment in
the manner provided in article 61.
Article 57: Eligibility for re-election of President. A
person is eligible for re-election to the office of the
President any number of terms.
Article 58: Qualification to contest for the President:
–Citizen of India
– Should have completed 35 years of age
– Should not hold any office of profit
–Should be qualified for election as a member of the
Lok Sabha.
✔A candidate for election to the office of the
President must be subscribed by at least 50 electors
as proposers and 50 electors as seconders.
✔Security deposit of Rs. 15000 will not be refunded if
the candidate fails to get the 1/6th of the votes
polled.
✔The disputes related to the election of the
President of India are challenged only in Supreme
Court, and the decision of the Supreme Court is
final. (Article 71).
✔This article also includes the disputes related to the
election to the office of the Vice-President also.
Procedure for Impeachment
✔Article 61 of the constitution provides for the
Impeachment of the President of India.
✔The charges of impeachment can be initiated in
either house of the Parliament.
✔The charges need to be signed by 1/4th of the
members of the House and a 14 day notice should
be given to the President.
✔After the impeachment resolution is passed by a
majority of the two-thirds of the majority of that
House, it is sent to the other to investigate upon the
charges.
✔If the other house also passes the resolution for
impeachment by a majority of two-thirds of the
total membership of that House, the President then
stands impeached.
Article 72: The President has 5 types of pardoning
powers.
• Pardon: This removes both the sentence and the
conviction and completely absolves the convict all
sentences, punishments and disqualifications.
• Commutation: This is the substitution of one form
of punishment for a lighter form.
• Remission: Reducing the period of the sentence
without changing its character.
• Respite: Awarding a lesser sentence in place of one
originally awarded because of some special facts.
Ex: Pregnant woman, disabled persons etc
• Reprieve: This is the stay of execution of a sentence
for a temporary period.
The Constitution of India granted 3 types of
emergency powers to the President of India.
• National Emergency (Article 352)
• State Emergency or President’s Rule (Article 356)
• Financial Emergency (Article 360)
❖ POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT:
Executive Power:
o Prime Minister & Cabinet Ministers
o Chief Justice & Judges of SC; HC
o Chairman & Members of UPSC.
o Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG)
o Attorney General of India (AGI)
o Chief Election commissioner (CEC)
o Governors
Legislative Powers:
o He can summon, prorogue the parliament &
dissolve the lok sabha.
o He can summon a Joint Sitting of both the houses
of Parliament. (Article 108)
o He addresses the first session after general
elections.
o Nominate 12 member to Rajya Sabha.
o Certain bills can be introduced in Parliament only on
the recommendation of the President.
o Presidential assent is essential before a bill
becomes an Act.
o Promulgates ordinances when the Parliament is not
in the session. (Article 123)
THE VICE-PRESIDENT
Article 63: There shall be a Vice-President of India.
o The post has been inspired by the Constitution of
the U.S.
o occupying 2nd place in warrant of precedence.
Article 64: The Vice-President to be Ex-officio
Chairman of The Council of States.
Article 65: The Vice-President To Act As President
Or To Discharge His Functions During Casual
Vacancies In The Office, Or During The Absence, Of
President.
o However, he can act as the president only for a
maximum period of six months.
Article 66: Election of Vice-President.
o The Vice-President of India is elected by an electoral
college consisting of: Elected and nominated
members of both house of parliament.
o Eligibility Criteria for Vice-President
Should be the citizen of India
Completed the age of 35 years.
Qualified for the member of Rajya Sabha
Does not hold any office of profit.
o Important Points-
✔Any person qualified to be elected and intending to
stand for election as Vice-President is required to be
nominated by at least 20 MPs as proposers and at
least 20 MPs as seconders.
✔A candidate seeking election as Vice-President is
required to make a security deposit of Rs.15,000/-.
Article 67: Term of office of Vice-President. The
Vice-President shall hold office for a term of five
years from the date on which he enters upon his
office.
o VP can be removed from his office by a resolution
raised only in Rajya sabha.
✔NOTE: The V.P gets the salary, allowance, and
remuneration etc. as the chairperson of the Rajya
Sabha. The present salary of the V.P is Rs.400000
per month.
✔The salary, emoluments etc. of the chairperson of
the Rajya Sabha is mentioned in the second
schedule of the Constitution of India.
Important points about the V.P of India
✔S. Radhakrishnan and Md. Hamid Ansari held the
post of Vice President twice.
✔Krishan Kant was the only V.P to have died in office.
✔The V.P.s who went on to become the Presidents –
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain, V.V. Giri, R.
Venkataraman, S.D. Sharma, K.R. Narayanan.
✔Because of the limited powers and functions, the
V.P of India is also at times termed as “His
Superfluous Highness”.
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