T H E U N I O N E X E C U T I V E [ PA RT V, A RT I C L E S 5 2 - 7 8 A N D

A RT I C L E 1 2 3 ]

 The union executive of Indian polity is a part of the

political executive, that comprises three important posts:
 President (Article 52-62)
 The Vice-President Of India (Articles 63-73)
 Prime Minister & Council of Ministers (Article 74-75 &
Article 78)
 Attorney-General of India (Article 76)
 PRESIDENT OF INDIA

 (1) Article 52 – There shall be a President of India.

 The president is the head of Indian state. He is fi rst
citizen of India
 (2) Article 53 – the Executive power of the Union: The
executive power shall be vested in the President and shall
be exercised by him either directly or through off icers’
subordinate to him.
 (3) He is the supreme commander of the defense forces in
India.
 (4) Though he’s only the constitutional head, or titular
head, de jure head or nominal executive or just a symbolic
head.
ELECTION OF PRESIDENT ARTICLE
54
 Article 54 provides that president shall be elected by the
members of electoral
 college consisting of:
 A. Elected members of both houses of parliament and
 B. Elected members of Legislative assemblies of state
 • State includes the national capital territory of Delhi and
union territory of Pondicherry. It means that elected
members of Legislative assemblies of National Capital
Territory (NCT) of Delhi and union territory of
Pondicherry shall also be eligible to vote in the election of
president.
 CONT….

 Member who do not participate in election of president: it

is to be noted that
 1. nominated members of both the houses of parliament;
and
 2. nominated members of state legislative assembly; and
 3. members both elected and nominated of state
legislative council[ in case of bicameral Legislature] and
 4. Nominated members of legislative assemblies of Delhi
and Puducherry donot participate in the election of
president.
ARTICLE 55 : MANNER OF ELECTION
OF PRESIDENT
 Provides that there shall be uniformity in the scale of
Representation of diff erent states as well as parity
between the state as whole and union at the election of
the
 president.
 • the president election is held in accordance with the
system of proportional
 representation by the means of Single Transferable Vote
and the voting is by secret ballot[ article 55(3)]
 All doubts and disputes arising out of the Presidential
elections are decided into and enquired by the Supreme
Court whose decision is fi nal.
 The elections are monitored and conducted by the
Election Commission of India.
TERM OF OFFICE (ARTICLE 56) AND RE-
ELECTION (ARTICLE 57)

 1 . Term – 5 years, from the date on which he enters upon

his off ice.
 2. Resignation is addressed to the Vice-President.
 The president may for violation of constitution be removed
from off ice by impeachment in the manner provided in
article 61
 3. The President is eligible for re-election for any number
of terms.
 Resignation
 • President --------------Vice President -------------
Speaker
Q U A L I F I C AT I O N ( A R T I C L E 5 8 ) , C O N D I T I O N S ( A R T I C L E 5 9 ) & O AT H ( A R T I C L E 6 0 )

 1. Eligibility -
 (a) Citizen of India
 (b) 35 years
 (c) Is eligible for election as an MP of the House of the People.
 2. Shouldn’t hold any off ice of profi t.
 3. The President shall not be a member of either House of
Parliament of any Legislature. Even if such a member is elected,
he is deemed to have vacated that seat.
 Oath administered by the Chief Justice of India or in his absence
the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court available.
 Emoluments, allowances and privileges etc. as may be
determined by the parliament and which can’t be diminished
during his term.
 He is immune from any criminal proceeding during his term. He
can’t be arrested or imprisoned. However, after two-month’
notice civil proceedings can be initiated against him during his
term in respect of his personal acts.
IMPEACHMENT O F THE PRESID ENT (ARTICLE 61)

A formal removal of the President from his post by

constitutional means.
 2. He is impeached for the ‘ Violation of the Constitution ’.
However, the term is defi ned nowhere in the constitution.
 3. The charges can be preferred by either house of the
parliament. However, a 14-days’ notice shall be served to
the President before the acceptance of such a resolution.
 4. Signed by at least one-fourth members of the total
members of that house (Lok Sabha/ R ajya Sabha) which
initiated the charges.
CONT..,

House 1 House 2
Lok Sabha/ Rajya Lok Sabha/ Rajya
Sabha Sabha
2/3rd Majority 2/3rd Majority
President
Right to appear and
to be represented at
such an President
investigation. stands
removed from
Impeachment is a quasi-judicial process. And though, the
nominated members of Parliament do no participate in his the date the
election, they take part in the impeachment process. State resolution is
Legislatures have no part in impeachment. so passed.
POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

 Executive Powers

 1. All executive actions are taken in his name. He is the

formal, constitutional, titular head or de jure head of the
Government.
 2. Appoints the P.M and other ministers on P.M’s advice.

 3. Appoints the Attorney General of India, CAG, Chief

Election Commissioner and other Commissioners, the
chairman and members of UPSC, Governors of states,
Chairman and members of Finance Commission etc.
 4. He appoints Inter-State Council and he is the one who
can declare any area as scheduled area and decides on
the matter of the declaration of any tribe as the scheduled
CONT…

 Legislative Powers

 1. Summons and Prorogues the Parliament and dissolves the Lok

Sabha.
 2. Summons the joint sitting of the tw o houses of Parliament

(w hich is presided over by the Speaker of Lok Sabha).

 3. Nominates 12 members to R ajya Sabha from amongst people

having achievements in art, literature, science and social

service and may nominate 2 members to Lok Sabha from the
Anglo-Indian Community.
 4. H is prior recommendation is required in case of presentation

of certain types of bills such as money bills, bills seeking

expenditure from the consolidated fund of India etc.
CONT…

 5. He can withhold his assent to bills, return the bills

to the legislatures, apply pocket veto to bills etc.
 6. He can promulgate ordinances when the
parliament is not in session.
 7. He presents the reports of Finance Commission,
CAG, and UPSC etc. before the Parliament.
 8. No demand for the grant can be made except on
his recommendation. Also, he constitutes a Finance
Commission every fi ve years for distribution of
revenues between center and states
CONT..

 Judicial Powers
 1. Appoints the Chief Justice and other judges of the
Supreme Court and High courts.
 2. Seeks advice from the Supreme Court on any question
of law.
 3. He can grant pardon etc.
 Emergency Powers
 1. National Emergency (Article 352)
 2. President’s Rule (Article 356)
 3. Financial Emergency (Article 360)
CONT..,

 Veto Po wers

 The President of India has three types of Veto powers, namely

 1 . Absol ute Veto- Withhol ding the assent to the bill. The bill
then ends and does not become an Act.
 2. Suspensi ve Veto- Returning the bil l for reconsideration.
Howe ve r, the Pre sident can return the bill for reconsideration to
the legislature only once, after which he has to give his consent.
 3. Pocket Veto - Taking no action on the bi ll sent to the
President. T he re’s no time limi t provided in the constitution
within w hich the Presi dent has to give his assent or si gn the bill.
 CONT..,
 Ordinance Making Powers (Article 123)
 1. An ordinance can be issued by the President only when
both houses of Parliament are not in session or when only
one house is in session.
 2. The ordinance must be approved by the Parliament within
six weeks of its reassembly.
 3. Hence, the maximum life of an ordinance is – six months +
six weeks.
 4. He can issue an ordinance only on the advice of the
council of ministers headed by the P.M
 Pardoning power of the President (Article 72)

 1. The President has the power to grant pardon, reprieve,

commutation, remission, respite to any persons convicted in
any Union Law, or by a court-martial or in cases of death
penalty.
CONT..,

 Discretionary Powers of the President

 1. Appointment of the P.M when no party has a clear

majority in the Lok Sabha or when the P.M in off ice dies
suddenly and there’s no obvious successor.
 2. Dismissal of the council of ministers when it can’t
prove the confi dence of the Lok Sabha.
 3. Dissolution of the Lok Sabha if the council of ministers
has lost its majority.
 4. Use of Suspensive Veto in case of bills.
 POSITION OF PRESIDENT
 Position : The President of India has been given wide and far-
reaching p owers which he enjoys both during normal and
emerg ency times. But after the passing of the Constitution Forty-
Second (1976) and Forty- Fourth (1978) Amend ment Acts, the
Presid ent of our Republic has become a Constitutional fi g urehead
and nothing b eyond that.
 Today, President’s position is one of great authority and dignity,
but at the same time strictly constitutional. Thus the President is
bound in every case to act on the advice of his Prime Minister and
other Ministers who are responsible to the Lok Sabha and
responsive to the public opinion.
 In short, the p owers really reside in the Ministry and the
Parliament and not in the President as such.
 He has no discretion in our Parliamentary system of government.
 The Supreme Court through various decisions has upheld the
position that the President is a constitutional head and as such he
is as much bound b y the advice of his Ministers during emerg ency
as during normal times.
CONT….
 For example, the President can declare a proclamation of the
National Emergency (Article 352) only after receiving a written
communication of the decision of the Union Cabinet. If the
President abuses his powers, he can be removed from off ice by a
process of impeachment.
 It does not, however, mean that the President of India is a
magnifi cent cipher or a mere rubber stamp.
 Unlike the British Monarchy which is hereditary, the President
of our Republic is an elected Head of the State. In our coalition
politics, there are some grey areas where the President may still
have to use his own judgment and wisdom. These are:
 1) Appointment of the Prime Minister, 2) Dismissal of the Union
Ministry,
 3)Dissolution of the Lok Sabha, and,
 4) Seeking information on all matters of administration and
legislation from the Prime Minister etc.
 In some such situations, the role of our President may become
most crucial and decisive. However, the President has to be free
from all political aff iliations. He is expected to act with
complete constitutional rectitude and impartiality. The nation is
expected to be benefi tted by his wise leadership and
constructive role.
 In short, the President of India is the symbol of national unity,