The President of India is the Executive President of the Republic of India. All executive functions of the association are done in his name. According to Article 53, the executive power of the Union lies in them. He is also the highest commander of the Indian Armed Forces. All types of emergencies are imposed and removed, declaring war / peace. He is the first citizen of the country. The Indian President is required to be an Indian citizen.
President of India in Indian Constitution
According to Article 52 – There will be a President of India. Article 53 – Executive power of the Union: The executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President and he shall use it directly or through any of his subordinate officers. The President is the highest commander of the defense forces in India.
However, the President is the only constitutional head or titular head, de jure head or nominal executive head or symbolic head.
Election of the President of India
The President is elected by the members of the electoral college which consists of the following.
Selected MPs, Selected MLAs of the States
Selected MLA from National Capital Territory of Delhi (added by the 70th Constitutional Amendment and effective from 1.06.1995) and Union Territory of Puducherry.
Nominated members of parliament and legislatures and legislative councils do not participate in the presidential election.
Article 55 describes the modus operandi and it should have uniformity and nationwide representation as per the constitution.
Hence MPs and MLAs vote on the basis of their representation.
Presidential elections are conducted in accordance with the system of proportional representation by a single transitive method and the voting is conducted by secret ballot.
The investigation and settlement of all doubts and disputes related to the election of the President is decided by the Supreme Court whose decision is final.
The election process is monitored and handled by the Election Commission of India.
So far, only one President, Mr. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy has been elected.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad is the only President to have been appointed President twice.
Two presidents – Dr. Zakir Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed have died during his tenure.
The term of the President of India and the re-election of the President of India
- The term of the President of India is 5 years.
- The President of India addresses his resignation to the Vice-President.
- The President is eligible for re-election for several terms.
Qualification of president of india
The qualification and eligibility of the President of India is that –
- He should be a citizen of India,
- He should be at least 35 years old,
- Must be eligible to be elected as Lok Sabha MP
- One should not hold any office of profit.
The President is not a member of the House of Parliament or any Legislature.
If such a member is elected to the presidency, his seat is considered vacant.
There should be at least 50 member proposers and 50 member endorsers of the electoral college for nomination of a candidate for election.
The oath to the President of India is administered by the Chief Justice of India, if it is absent, by the senior-most judge available to the Supreme Court.
The material, allowances and privileges etc. are determined by the Parliament and there is no reduction in their tenure.
The President is exempted from any criminal proceedings during his term.
The President cannot be arrested or jailed.
However, after two months’ notice, civil cases can be brought against him during his tenure in connection with his personal work.
Impeachment on the President of India
The President can be formally removed from his office by constitutional provision.
There is a provision for impeachment ‘in violation of the constitution’. However, nowhere in the Constitution is the term clarified.
This charge can be made by any House of Parliament. However, the President is informed 14 days before any such proposal is brought.
Also, the notice must be signed by at least one fourth of the total members of the House in which the motion is brought.
After the Bill is approved in that House, the impeachment bill should be passed by a majority of more than 2/3 of the total members of that House.
The bill then moves to another House which will investigate the allegations and the President has the right to attend and represent such an inquiry.
If the other House upholds the charge and finds the President guilty of a violation, and passes that resolution by a majority of more than 2/3 of the total members of that House, then the office of the President is deemed vacant from the date the resolution was passed. is.
Hence impeachment is a quasi-judicial process.
Nominated Members of Parliament do not participate in the election of the President, but they take full part in the impeachment process.
Also, state legislators have no role in the impeachment process.
Powers of the President of India
The President of India has many powers. Let’s know
Executive powers
- All executive functions are carried out in the name of the President. He is the formal, titular head or de jure head of the Government of India.
- The President appoints the Prime Minister and other ministers on his advice.
- The President appoints the Attorney General of India, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Commissioners, the Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission, the Governors of the States, the Chairman and members of the Finance Commission, etc.
- The President appoints the Inter-State Council and may decide to declare any area as Scheduled Area and any caste as Scheduled Caste.
Legislative powers
- The President has the power to summon the Parliament session, pruning and dissolving the Lok Sabha.
- The two Houses of Parliament have the power to summon (summon) a joint sitting. (This meeting is chaired by the Speaker of Lok Sabha.)
- The President of India can nominate 12 members to Rajya Sabha and 2 from the Anglo-Indian community to the Lok Sabha from people of repute from arts, literature, science and social services.
- Prior permission of the President is required in the matter of introducing special types of Bills like Money Bills, Bills demanding expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, etc.
- He can withhold his opinion on the Bill, return the Bill to the legislature, or keep it in the pocket.
- He can pass an ordinance if he is not in session of Parliament.
- He puts the report of Finance Commission, CAG and Public Service Commission etc. before the Parliament.
- No grant can be allocated without the President’s permission. Also, he sets up a Finance Commission every five years for income sharing between the Center and the states.
Judicial powers
- The President of India appoints the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme and High Courts.
- The President can consult the Supreme Court on any question of law.
- He can give pardon etc.
Emergency powers
- National Emergency (Article 352)
- President’s rule (Article 356)
- Financial Emergency (Article 360)
veto power
The President of India has the following three veto powers:
Full veto – Holding your permission on the bill. After this, the Bill expires and does not become an act.
Example: In 1954, Dr. Rajendra Prasad withheld his approval on the Pepsu Appropriation Bill. And, in 1991, Shri R.K. Venkataraman had withheld his approval on the salary, allowances bill of MPs.
Suspended veto – Sending the Bill for reconsideration.
In 2006, President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam used a suspended veto on the Bill of Profit.
However, the President can return the bill only once for the legislature to be reconsidered.
Pocket veto – No action on any bill sent to the President.
No such time-limit has been set in the constitution within which it is mandatory for the President to give his permission or sign the bill.
So he has a ‘Bigger Pocket’ than the US President.
In 1986, President Giani Zail Singh imposed a pocket veto on the Indian Post Office Amendment Bill.
Note: The President has no veto power regarding the Constitution Amendment Bill. He is obliged to approve such Bills.
Ordinance making power (Article 123)
Ordinance can be issued by the President if both Houses of Parliament or one House is not in session.
It is mandatory to obtain the ordinance within six weeks of the Parliament’s re-sitting.
Hence the maximum lifetime of the ordinance is – 6 months + 6 weeks.
The President can issue ordinances only on the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
President’s Pardon Power (Article 72)
The President has the power to forgive, withhold, change, commute and stop the punishments of a person punishable by federal law, or in the case of a court martial or capital punishment.
It is an executive power and the Governor has such powers under Article 161,
However, the Governor cannot interfere in capital punishment and court martial matters.
The President exercises this power in consultation with the Central Cabinet.
Discretionary powers of the President
Appointment of Prime Minister: When no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha or if he dies during the tenure of the Prime Minister and there is no proper inheritance.
The Lok Sabha has the power to suspend the Union Cabinet if it does not get the confidence vote.
The Council of Ministers has the power to dissolve the Lok Sabha if it loses majority in the Lok Sabha.
With respect to Bills, suspension may exercise veto power.
Originally posted 2020-08-11 17:45:00.
