President Flashcards
Article 52
Article 52 of the Indian Constitution states that there shall be a President of India.
Who are the union executives and which part of the constitution deals with them?
Part 5 of the constitution - Article 52-78 of the constitution deals 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.
Who is the first citizen of India ?
The president is the first citizen of India
Who is the President?
The president is the head of the Indian State. He is the first citizen of India and acts as a symbol of unity, integrity, nad solidarity of the nation.
Explain Article 53 of the Indian constitution
Article 53 of the Indian Constitution vests the executive power of the Union in the President and states that the President shall take all decisions on the advice of the Council of Ministers. It also provides that the President shall act in accordance with the Constitution and the laws made by Parliament, and that the President shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of his office.
Article 54
The President shall be elected by the members of
an electoral college consisting of—
(a) the elected members of both Houses of
Parliament; and
(b) the elected members of the Legislative
Assemblies of the States.
1
[Explanation.—In this article and in article 55, ‘‘State’’
includes the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the
Union territory of *Pondicherry..
Article 55
(1) As far as practicable, there shall be uniformity
in the scale of representation of the different States at the
election of the President.
(2) For the purpose of securing such uniformity
among the States inter se as well as parity between the
States as a whole and the Union, the number of votes
which each elected member of Parliament and of the
Legislative Assembly of each State is entitled to cast at
such election shall be determined in the following
manner:—
(a) every elected member of the Legislative
Assembly of a State shall have as many votes as
there are multiples of one thousand in the quotient
obtained by dividing the population of the State by
the total number of the elected members of the
Assembly;
(b) if, after taking the said multiples of one
thousand, the remainder is not less than five
hundred, then the vote of each member referred to
in sub-clause (a) shall be further increased by one;
(c) each elected member of either House of
Parliament shall have such number of votes as may
be obtained by dividing the total number of votes
assigned to the members of the Legislative
Assemblies of the States under sub-clauses (a) and
(b) by the total number of the elected members of
both Houses of Parliament, fractions exceeding one-
half being counted as one and other fractions being
disregarded.
(3) The election of the President shall be held in
accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of the single transferable vote
and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.
1
[Explanation.—In this article, the expression
‘‘population’’ means the population as ascertained at the
last preceding census of which the relevant figures have
been published:
Provided that the reference in this Explanation to the
last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published shall, until the relevant figures for the
first census taken after the year 1
[2026] have been
published, be construed as a reference to the 1971 census.]
Article 56
(1) The President shall hold office for a term of
five years from the date on which he enters upon his
office:
Provided that—
(a) the President may, by writing under his hand
addressed to the Vice-President, resign his office;
(b) the President may, for violation of the
Constitution, be removed from office by impeachment
in the manner provided in article 61;
(c) the President shall, notwithstanding the
expiration of his term, continue to hold office until
his successor enters upon his office.
(2) Any resignation addressed to the Vice-President
under clause (a) of the provison to clause (1) shall forthwith
be communicated by him to the Speaker of the House of
the People.
Article 57
A person who holds, or who has held, office as
President shall, subject to the other provisions of this
Constitution, be eligible for re-election to that office.
Article 58
(1) No person shall be eligible for election as
President unless he—
(a) is a citizen of India,
(b) has completed the age of thirty-five years, and
(c) is qualified for election as a member of the
House of the People.
(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.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this article, a person
shall not be deemed to hold any office of profit by reason
only that he is the President or Vice-President of the
Union or the Governor 1
*** of any State or is a Minister
either for the Union or for any State.
Article 59
. (1) The President shall not be a member of either
House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of
any State, and if a member of either House of Parliament
or of a House of the Legislature of any State be elected
President, he shall be deemed to have vacated his seat in
that House on the date on which he enters upon his
office as President.
(2) The President shall not hold any other office of
profit.
(3) The President shall be entitled without payment
of rent to the use of his official residences and shall be
also entitled to such emoluments, allowances and
privileges as may be determined by Parliament by law
and, until provision in that behalf is so made, such
emoluments, allowances and privileges as are specified
in the Second Schedule.
(4) The emoluments and allowances of the President
shall not be diminished during his term of office.
Article 60
Every President and every person acting as
President or discharging the functions of the President
shall, before entering upon his office, make and subscribe
in the presence of the Chief Justice of India or, in his
absence, the senior-most Judge of the Supreme Court
available, an oath or affirmation in the following form,
that is to say—
“I, A.B., do swear in the name of God that I will faith-
solemnly affirm
fully execute the office of President (or discharge
the functions of the President) of India and will to the
best of my ability to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and that I will devote myself to
the service and well-being of the people of India”.
Article 61
(1) When a President is to be impeached for
violation of the Constitution, the charge shall be preferred
by either House of Parliament.
(2) No such charge shall be preferred unless—
(a) the proposal to prefer such charge is contained
in a resolution which has been moved after at least
fourteen days’ notice in writing signed by not less
than one-fourth of the total number of members of
the House has been given of their intention to move
the resolution, and
(b) such resolution has been passed by a majority
of not less than two-thirds of the total membership
of the House.
(3) When a charge has been so preferred by either
House of Parliament, the other House shall investigate
the charge or cause the charge to be investigated and
The President shall have the right to appear and to be
represented at such an investigation.
(4) If as a result of the investigation a resolution is
passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the
total membership of the House by which the charge was
investigated or caused to be investigated, declaring that
the charge preferred against the President has been
sustained, such resolution shall have the effect of removing
the President from his office as from the date on which
the resolution is so passed.
Article 62
(1) An election to fill a vacancy caused by the
expiration of the term of office of President shall be
completed before the expiration of the term.
(2) An election to fill a vacancy in the office of
President occurring by reason of his death, resignation or
removal, or otherwise shall be held as soon as possible
after, and in no case later than six months from, the date
of occurrence of the vacancy; and the person elected to fill
the vacancy shall, subject to the provisions of article 56, be entitled to hold office for the full term of five years from
the date on which he enters upon his office.
Who all elects The President?
By the people of the 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 Puducherry
Who all does not participate in the election of the president?
The president is not directly elected by the people
1) the nominated members of both of the houses of Parliament
2) The nominated members of the state legislative assemblies
3) The members (both elected and nominated) of the state legislative councils
4) the nominated members of the legislative assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry Do not participate in the election of the President.
Can the assembly which is dissolved participate in the election of the President?
Where an assembly is dissolved, the members cease to be qualified to vote in the presidential election, even if fresh elections to the dissolved assembly are not held before the presidential election.
States with legislative councils in India?
As of 2022, 6 out of 28 states have a State Legislative Council. These are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.
How does the constitution achieve uniformity in the scale of representation of different states as well as parity between the states as a whole and the union at the election of the president?
The constitution provides that there shall be uniformity in the scale of representation of different states as well as between the states as a whole and the Union at the election of the president. To achieve this 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 shall be determined in the following manner
1) every elected member of the Legislative assembly of a state shall have as many votes as there are multiples of 1000 in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the state by the total number of the elected members of the assembly.
2) every elected members of either House of Parliament shall have such number of votes as maybe obtained by dividing the total number of votes assigned to the members of the Legislative assembly of the state by the total number of the elected members of both the houses 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. This system ensures that the successful candidate is returned by the absolute majority of votes. A candidate in order to be declared elected to the office of president must secure a fixed quota of votes. The quota of votes is determined by dividing the total number of valid votes polled by the number of candidates to be elected ( here only one candidate is to be elected as president) plus one and adding 1 to the quotient. The formula can be expressed as:
Electoral Quota= (Total number of valid votes polled ÷ 1 + 1)+1
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 candidates. This means that 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 set in motion. The ballots of the candidate securing the least number of first preference 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.
Value of the vote of an MLA?
Value of the vote of an MLA = (Total Population of the Sate ÷ Total number of elected members in the state legislative assembly)× 1/1000
Value of the vote of an MP?
Value of the vote of an MP= Total value of votes of all MLAs of all states ÷ total number of elected members of parliament.
Who decides when there are doubts and disputes in connection with the election of the president?
All doubts and disputes in connection with election of the President are enquired into and decided by the supreme court whose decision is final. The election of a person as president cannot be challenged on the ground that the electoral college was incomplete ,that is, the existence of any vacancy among the members of the electoral college. If the election of a person as president is declared void by the supreme court, acts done by him before the date of such declaration of the supreme court are not invalidated and continue to remain in force.
Why was indirect election opted as the system of election for the president by the constitution makers?
Some members of the constituent assembly criticized the system of indirect election for the president as undemocratic and propose the idea of direct election. However, the constitution makers choose the indirect elections due to the following reasons.
1) the indirect election of the president is in harmony with the parliamentary system of Government envisaged in the constitution. Under this system, the president is only a nominal executive and the real powers are vested in the council of ministers headed by the prime minister. It would have been anomalous to have the president elected directly by the people and not give him any real power.
2) the direct election of the president would have been very costly and time and energy consuming due to the vast size of the electorate. This is unwarranted keeping in view that he is only a symbolic head.
Qualifications for election as president
A person to be eligible for election as president should fulfill the following qualifications:
1) he should be a citizen of India
2) he should have completed 35 years of age
3) he should be qualified for election as a member of the lok sabha
4) 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. A sitting president or vice president of the union, the governor of any state and a minister of the union or any state is not deemed to hold any office of profit and hence qualified as a presidential candidate
Further the nomination of a candidate for election to the office of president must be subscribed by at least 50 electors as proposers and 50 electors as seconders. Every candidate has to make a security deposit of 15000 rupees in the Reserve Bank of India. The security deposit is liable to be forfeited in case the candidate fails to secure 1/6th of the votes polled. Before 1997, the number of proposers and seconders was 10 each and the amount of security deposit was 2500 rupees. In 1997, they were increase to discourage the non serious candidates.
Oath or affirmation by the president
Before entering upon his office, the president has to make and subscribe to an oath of affirmation. In his own the president swears:
1) to faithfully execute the office
2) to preserve protect and defend the constitution and the law, and;
3) to devote himself to the service and well being of the people of India.
Who administers The oath of 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.
Does the acting president also has to undertake The oath or affirmation?
Yes any other person acting as president or discharging the function of president also under takes the similar Oath or affirmation.
Conditions of the president’s office.
The constitution lays down the following conditions of the president’s office:
1) he should not be a member of either the House of Parliament or the house of the state legislature. If any such person is elected as president, he is deemed to have vacated his seat in that house on the date on which he enters upon his office as the President.
2) he should not hold any other office of profit
3) he is entitled, without payment of rent, to the use of his official residence (the Rashtrapati bhavan)
4) he is entitled to such emoluments, allowances and privileges as maybe determined by parliament.
5) his emoluments and allowances cannot be diminished during his term of office.
The salary of the president
The salary of President of India is discussed here. On September 11, 2008, the Indian government increased the president’s salary to 1.5 lakh rupees (approximately to 3.9 lakh in 2022). In India’s 2018 Union budget, this compensation was increased to 5 lakh (equivalent to 5.9 lakh in 2022).
The pension provided to the president
50% of his salary per month.
