President of India

The post of President is exceedingly prominent, and the Constitution bestows on it a host of privileges and immunities, which are outlined below. The President serves as the head of state and the country's formal executive. Every executive action carried out at the institution is openly stated to be in his name. He has been granted this ability in line with Article 53(1) of the Constitution, which states that the President shall have executive power and may execute it either personally or via personnel subordinate to him. The President of India is the country's head of state, its first citizen, and the Supreme Commander of the Indian military.

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This Story also Contains

1. About The President of India
2. History of The President of India
3. Constitutional Provision of The President of India
4. Office of the President of India (Articles 52–53)
5. How is The President Elected?
6. Tenure of the President's Office
7. Powers and Functions of the President of India
8. Conclusion

"We didn't give him real power, but we elevated him to a position of authority and dignity." The constitution aims to create an exceptional frontman rather than an actual executive. — Jawaharlal Nehru

About The President of India

• The President of India is the highest post in the nation under India's constitutional system.

• The President of India serves as the leader of the Indian state,

• the first citizen

• the nominal head of the Union Executive

• the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces.

History of The President of India

• The position of President of India was established when India became a republic on January 26, 1950.

• The president has executive control over the union, according to the Constitution. He exerts it either personally or through officers who report to him. However, the president is constrained by the advice of the Council of Ministers, which is led by the Prime Minister.

• India's Constituent Assembly debated the president's function extensively.

• Some members, like B. R. Ambedkar, believed that the president should be a constitutional head of state with restricted powers.

• Others, including Jawaharlal Nehru, advocated that the president's powers should be increased to reflect the office's importance.

• The constitution eventually settled on a compromise, with the president serving as a constitutional head of state but still wielding significant powers.

• The president is elected by an electoral college that includes elected members of the Parliament of India and the Legislative Assemblies of the states and union territories.

• The president serves a five-year term and is eligible for re-election once.

• Rajendra Prasad was India's first president, serving from 1950 to 1962.

Constitutional Provision of The President of India

Articles 52 to 78 in Part V of the Constitution deal with the Union Executive. The Union Executive consist of the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers and the Attorney General of India.

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.

Article Related to President at a Glance

Office of the President of India (Articles 52–53)

Article 52: President of India

• The president is India's first citizen. The President of India is the Head of State, representing the country.

• According to the Republic of India's order of precedence, which identifies functionaries, officials, and dignitaries by position and rank in the Indian government, the President is the country's highest authority. However, it is not specified in the Indian Constitution.

Article 53: Executive Power Of The Union

• The Union's executive authority is vested in the President of India, who may use it himself or through his subordinates.

• The President of India is the supreme commander of India's military forces.

• He is the head of the Central Government Executives.

Let us go over the qualifications, terms, election, impeachment, and other aspects of the Indian President's Office.

How is The President Elected?

Article 32

• The Election Commission of India, a constitutional body designed to ensure free and fair elections, conducts the Indian Presidential election under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution.

• The candidate for the Presidential election should earn a specified quota of votes, which is computed using the following formula:

• The quota of votes equals the total number of valid votes cast.

• The number of candidates to be elected is (here) 1 + 1 + 1.

Article 54: Election Of President

Article 54 of the Indian Constitution addresses the electoral college of the President of India. According to the text, the President is not directly chosen by the people. Rather, he is elected by the electoral college, which includes the following members:

• The members of both Houses of Parliament are elected.

• The State Legislative Assemblies' elected members.

• The elected members of Delhi's and Puducherry's Legislative Assemblies.

• The 70th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 introduced this clause.

Article 55: Manner of Election of President

The process by which the President of India is elected is governed by Article 55, which contains the following provisions:

• Equal representation for each state on the scale and between the states and the Union is desirable. For this reason, the following formula determines how many votes the electoral college (elected members of State Legislative Assemblies and Parliament) will cast,

• Value of an MLA's vote equals the State's total population Eleven thousand elected members make up the State Legislative Assembly.

• value of a member of parliament's vote equals the total value of votes cast by all state MLAs Total number of members of Parliament that are elected

• The Proportional Representation System with a single transferable vote and secret ballot should be used in the presidential election.

Tenure of the President's Office

Article 56; Term of Office of President

It describes the President of India's term in office. It makes the following provisions clear

• The President may serve in that capacity for a maximum of five years after taking office.

• They can step down from their position by delivering a handwritten resignation letter to India's Vice President, who would then forward it to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

• If they violate the Constitution, they might be removed from their position as President via Article 61 impeachment.

• Even after their term has ended, the President may stay in office until their replacement takes over.

Article 57: Eligibility for re-election

The President, either presently serving or having served, may be reelected, according to this article. The President of India may be re-elected an unlimited number of times, in contrast to the United States.

Article 58: Qualifications for Election as President

The following criteria are listed in Article 58 of the Indian Constitution and are necessary for election as President:

• He or she ought to be an Indian citizen.

• He or she needs to be older than 35.

• He or she must be eligible to run for election to the Lok Sabha, or House of the People.

• He or she should not be employed by the federal government, a state government, a municipal government, or any other public entity.

Note: Unlike the United States, India does not have the natural born clause requirement (i.e., citizenship by birth and descent) to be eligible for president.

Article 59: Conditions of the President's Office

The President's duties are outlined in Article 59 of the Constitution. They are listed below:

• The President ought not to have a position in the House of Representatives or the House of Commons of any State Legislature. On the day when he assumes the presidency, a member of the House is considered to have resigned from office if elected.

• No office of profit should be held by the President.

• He or she is allowed to occupy the official dwelling without having to pay rent.

• In addition, he is qualified to receive benefits, allowances, and privileges as specified by law by the Parliament. Throughout his term, these benefits and allowances must be maintained.

Article 60: Oath or affirmation by the President

Article 60 of the Constitution addresses the oath or affirmation that the Indian President must take before taking office. The President promises under oath to carry out the following:

• To faithfully carry out the President's duties

• To make all reasonable efforts to uphold, defend, and maintain the law and the Constitution

• To dedicate oneself to serving and promoting the welfare of the Indian populace.

• In the presence of the Chief Justice of India or, in the event of the Chief Justice's absence, a senior judge of the Supreme Court, the President of India takes the oath of office.

Article 61: Procedure for impeachment of the President

Article 61 - This article outlines the process for impeaching the president of India for violating the Constitution.

• The impeachment procedure may be started by either chamber of parliament. A quarter of the members of the house who are starting the impeachment process must sign the accusation.

• The initiating house shall provide the President a notice period of fourteen days (14 working days) before to approving the resolution.

• Following the notification period, the initiating house passes the resolution with a two-thirds majority of the house's entire membership.

• After the motion is approved, the other chamber of parliament must form a judicial committee or look into the accusations made against the president.

• The President may attend during the investigation with legal representation to refute the allegations.

• If the President is found not guilty of the allegations, the resolution will expire. If the majority of members in the second house vote in favour of the motion, it is deemed guilty.

• As of the day the resolution is passed, the President shall be removed from office by the resolution.

Article 62: Absence and Vacancy in the President's Office

This relates to the provisions of the Indian President's vacancy. They are listed below:

• It is appropriate to hold an election before the President's term ends to fill the vacancy left by the end of the office.

• Within six months following the death, resignation, or dismissal of the current President, there should be an election to replace the vacancy in the position.

Article 65

• The Vice President of India fills in as President in the event of a vacancy in the position brought on by a death, resignation, or removal from office until a new President is chosen.

• The Vice President of India assumes the President's responsibilities until he returns to office if the President is absent from office for any cause, including sickness.

• The Chief Justice of India, or in his absence, the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court, shall assume the role of President of India if the Vice President is not present.

Powers and Functions of the President of India

The President is endowed with certain responsibilities and duties that fall roughly into the following categories:

Executive Power of the President of India

• He will be the sole proprietor of the company.

• He has signed every international treaty, subject to ratification by the parliament.

• Distributes tasks among ministries under the prime minister's recommendation.

• The President of India should be kept up to date on potential legislative authority and Union issues. The President appoints the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.

Legislative Powers of the President of India

An essential component of the Indian Parliament is the President. The President may do the following:

• Address the Parliamentary Houses.

• Deliver communications to the Parliamentary Houses.

• When the Parliament is not in session, promulgate ordinances.

• Approval of legislation enacted by the legislature.

Financial Powers of the President of India

The President may do the following:

• A money bill cannot be submitted in Parliament unless the president has recommended it in advance.

• The President presents the Union budget, known as the Annual Financial Statement, to the Parliament.

• Every five years, he forms a Finance Commission to determine how the income should be divided between the Centre and the States.

Judicial Powers

The President may do the following:

• Pardon people and commute their sentences.

• Name the Chief Justice of India and the other justices of the Indian High Court and Supreme Court.

Diplomatic Powers

• The President of India represents the country in international forums.

• The President negotiates and concludes international treaties and agreements.

Military Powers

• As the supreme commander in chief of India's defence forces

• He selects the leaders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

• With the consent of the parliament, he can declare war or bring about peace.

Emergency Powers

The President is incredibly powerful in the following three emergencies

• Article 352 National Emergency.

• The President may rule under Articles 356 and 365 based on the Governor's report or in another way.

• Article 360 Financial Emergency.

Pardoning Power of the President

In addition to pardoning in cases of death, other union law-related issues, and court martials, the President can also grant a reprieve, commute, remit, or respite. The Supreme Court has decided that although the court cannot set rules, it can decide which of the following principles should be applied:

• The convict has no right to an oral hearing

• It must act on the Council of Ministers' opinion.

Veto Power of the President

The three forms of veto power that the Indian President wields are as follows:

• Absolute Veto: To refuse to give the measure your permission (the bill dies then and then).

• Suspensive veto: A simple majority can override a suspensive veto.

• Pocket Veto: The President may stall the law for as long as he wants (the maximum difference in the US is ten years).

• If a law aims to modify the Constitution, the President is required to sign it after the 24th Amendment.

Ordinance-making power of the President

• It is an emergency provision rather than a statutory one.

• Only topics on the Union list or concurrent list, which are issues over which Parliament has the authority to enact legislation, may be covered by the ordinance.

• An ordinance cannot be used to implement a constitutional amendment.

• When both chambers are in session, the ordinance cannot be issued.

• The authority to make ordinances is subject to judicial review

• Ordinances are emergency measures that ought to be avoided in the ordinary course of things

• Their maximum duration is six months or six weeks.

• The President issues the ordinance based on the Cabinet's recommendation.

Conclusion

As the nation's highest constitutional authority, the President of India plays a crucial role in the democratic framework of the nation. Even though the President of India is just the head of state, he or she nonetheless has a big influence on Indian politics. He guarantees the efficient operation and cooperation of the three arms of the Union government through his many responsibilities.