President

President

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.

Qualification and Election of the President

Article 58 says;

1. NO person shall be eligible for election as President unless he is

•  acitizen of India

•  has completed the age of 35 years

•  isqualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha

2. A person shall not be eligible for election as President if he holds any office of profit under the government of India, or the government of any state, or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said governments.

Article 52 of our Constitution lays down that there shall be a President of India. Article 53 lays down that the executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him directly or indirectly.

Further Article 52 provides that the nomination of a candidate for election to the office of President must be subscribed by at least 50 electors as proposers and seconded by another 50 electors of the Electoral College. Every candidate has to make a security deposit of ₹15,000/- in the Reserve Bank of India.

This amount will be forefeited if the candidate does not secure 1/6 of the votes polled.

The President is elected not directly by the people but by members of Electoral College consisting of:

•  The elected members of both the houses of Parliament

•  The elected members of the legislative assemblies of the states

•  The elected members of the legislative assemblies of the union territories of Delhi and Pondicherry.

The President`s election is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote and the voting is by secret ballot. This system enures that the successful candidate is returned by the absolute majority of votes.

Each member of the electoral college is given only one ballot paper. The voter, while casting his vote, is required to indicate his preferences by marking 1,2,3,4 etc against the names of the candidates.This means the voter can indicate as many preferences as there are candidates in the fray. In the first phase, the first preference votes are counted. In case a candidate secures the required quota in this phase, he is declared elected. Otherwise, the process of transfer of votes is carried out. The ballots of the candidate securing the least number of first prefrence votes are cancelled and his second preference votes are transferred to the first preference votes of other candidates.This process continues till a candidate secures the required quota.

Oath by the President

Before entering upon his office, the President has to make and subscribe an oath or affirmation. In his oath, the President swears:

•  TO faithfully execute the office;

•  TO preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law; and

•  TO devote himself to the service and wellbeing of the people of India.

The oath of office to the President is administered by the Chief Justice of India and in his absence in the presence of the senior most judge of the Supreme Court.

Entitlement to the President

• He is entitled without payment of rent to use his official residence (The Rashtrapathi Bhavan-Dehil)

• He is entitled to such emoluments, allowances and privileges as may be determined by the Parliament

• The President is entitled to a number of privileges and immunities. He enjoys personal immunity from legal liability for his official acts. During his term of office, he is immune from any criminal proceedings

Term, Impeachment and Succession

Term

Article 56 says that the President shall hold office for a term of 5 years from the date on which he enters upon his office. However, he can resign from his office at any time by addressing the resignation letter to the Vice-President. Further he can also be removed from the office before completion of his term by the process of impeachment. The President can hold office beyond his term of five years until his successor assumes charge. He is also eligible for re-election to that office.

Impeachment

Article. 61 of the Constitution lays down a detailed procedure for the impeachment of the President. For the impeachment of the President, first, a charge for impeachment has to be made in either House of the Parliament by a resolution signed by atleast one fourth of the total number of members of the House and moved by giving atleast 14 days’ advance notice. Such a resolution must be passed by a majority of not less than two thirds of the total number of members of the House when a charge is so presented by one House, it should be investigated by the other House. After the investigation, if a resolution is passed by the other house by a majority of two thirds of its total number of members, the President stands removed by impeachment from his office from the date of passing of the resolution.

Succession

A vacancy in the President’s office can occur in any of the following ways:

1. On the expiry of his tenure of five years

2. By his resignation

3. On his removal by impeachment

4. By his death

5. When he becomes disqualified to hold office or when his election is declared void.

If the vacancy occurs due to resignation, removal or death, then election to fill the vacancy should be held within six months and the Vice-President will act as the President until a new President is elected. Further, when the sitting President is unable to discharge his functions due to absence, illness or any other cause, the Vice-President discharges his functions until the President resumes his office. In case the office of the Vice-President is vacant, the Chief Justice of India or if his office is also vacant, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court acts as the President or discharges the functions of the President.

Functions and Powers of the President

Vast are the functions and powers of the President. He convenes the parliament, addresses and prorogues the same. He nominates 12 members of eminence in different fields to the Rajya sabha and two Anglo Indian members to the Lok Sabha. He enjoys veto power over non-money bills of the parliament and can send back non-money bills for reconsideration of the parliament, he can convene joint sessions of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha; He can promulgate ordinances for a period not exceeding six months. He can also has veto powers over certain State legislations. He prompts and facilitates the institution of Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, and ensures that the council of Ministers enjoy the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha. The President alone installs the ministers and distributes portfolios to them, he can also, dismiss the ministry, if he feels that the ministry does not enjoys the majority support in the Lok sabha. He nominates members to various constitutional bodies, including the judiciary, armed forces and diplomatic corps. The President enjoys enormous powers during the periods of emergencies, can suspend any law, can dissolve ministries and legislatures for specified periods. He can also commute capital punishments.

Fact

The emergency powers of the President of India are specified in Part XVIII of the Indian Constitution.

When any person i.e., Vice-President, Chief Justice of India or senior most Judge is acting as President, he enjoys all the powers and immunities of the President as is entitled to such emoluments, allowances and privileges as determined by the Parliament.

The Official Residence of the President of India is

“The Rashtrapathi Bhavan” situated at Delhi……..

Activity

Find out the electoral quota if the total number of voters polled in the election for President is 10,00,000 and the number of candidates to be elected is 1

Debate

We have a written constitution wherein the functions and responsibilities of each constitutional office are clearly defined and delimited. We are a Republic with an elected President as the Head of the State. But we are also a Parliamentary democracy with Ministerial responsibility to the representatives of the people in the Lok Sabha.

Teacher can divide the class into two group and organise a debate on the unique mix of the President and the Prime Minister and his team.

Activity

Read The Cartoon Identify The Context.

1. What is being depicted by the given cartoon?

Activity

1. Discuss the Veto Powers of the President of India.

2. Find out what is Absolute Veto, Suspensive Veto, Pocket Veto and Qualified Veto.

List out all the Presidents and their tenure till date. Make a Collage using the images collected.

Preparation of Chart

List the Prime Ministers of India from 1947 to 2019. Paste the photos of the Prime Ministers in your chart. 

Activity

Identify the powers of the President, related to the examples in the given tabular column

(executive/legislative/ judicial/financial/emergency)