President of
India
The President of
India is the head of states of India and
the commander-in-chief of
the Indian Armed Forces.
The President
is indirectly elected by
an electoral college comprising the Parliament of India (both
houses) and the Legislative Assemblies of each of India's
states and territories, who themselves are all directly elected.
Although the Article
53 of the Constitution of India states
that the President can exercise his powers directly or by subordinate
authority, with few exceptions, all of the executive powers vested in the
President are, in practice, exercised by the Prime Minister(a
subordinate authority) with the help of the Council of Ministers. The President is bound by the
constitution to act on the advice of
the Prime Minister and Cabinet as long as the advice is not violating the
constitution.
Starting(Origin)
India achieved independence from the British on 15 August 1947,
initially as a Dominion within
the Commonwealth of Nations with George VI as king, represented in the country by
a governor-general. Still, following this, the Constituent
Assembly of India, under the leadership of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, undertook the process of drafting a
completely new constitution for the country. The Constitution of India was
eventually enacted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950, making India a republic. The offices of monarch and
governor-general were replaced by the new office of President of India,
with Rajendra Prasad as
the first incumbent.
The constitution of
the Republic of India (Articles 53,
74(2), 79 & 111) gave the President the responsibility and authority to
defend and protect the constitution of India and its rule of law.
Duty
The primary duty of
the President is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law
of India as made part of his oath (Article 60 of Indian constitution). The President is the common
head of all independent constitutional entities. All his actions, recommendations (Article
3, Article 111, Article 274, etc.) and supervisory powers (Article
74(2), Article 78 c, Article 108, Article 111, etc.) over the
executive and legislative entities of India shall be used in accordance to
uphold the constitution. There is no bar on the actions
of the President to contest in the court of law
Legislative powers
Legislative power is
constitutionally vested by the Parliament of India of
which the President is the head, to facilitate the law making process per the
constitution (Article 78, Article 86, etc.). The President of the Republic summons
both the Houses (The House of the People and 'The Council of States') of the Parliament and
prorogues them. He can dissolve the Lok
Sabha
All bills passed
by the Parliament can become laws only after receiving the assent of the
President per Article
111. After a bill is presented to him, the President shall declare
either that he assents to the Bill, or that he withholds his assent from it. As
a third option, he can return a bill to Parliament, if it is not a money bill, for reconsideration. President may be of
view that a particular bill passed under the legislative powers of
parliament is violating the constitution, he can send back the bill with his
recommendation to pass the bill under the constituent powers of parliament
following the Article
368 procedure. When, after reconsideration, the bill is passed
accordingly and presented to the President, with or without amendments, the
President cannot withhold his assent from it. The President can also withhold
his assent to a bill when it is initially presented to him (rather than return
it to Parliament) thereby exercising a pocket veto on the advice of prime minister or
council of ministers per Article
74 if it is inconsistent to the constitution. Article 143 gave power to the
president to consult the Supreme Court about
the constitutional validity of any issue. President shall assent the constitutional
amendment bills without power to withhold the bills per Article
368 (2).
When either of the
two Houses of the Parliament of India is
not in session, and if the government feels the need for an immediate
procedure, the President can promulgate ordinances which have the same force
and effect as an act passed by Parliament under its legislative powers. These
are in the nature of interim or temporary legislation and their continuance is
subject to parliamentary approval. Ordinances remain valid for no more than six
weeks from the date the Parliament is convened unless approved by it earlier.[ Under Article
123, the President as the upholder of the constitution shall be
satisfied that immediate action is mandatory as advised by the union cabinet
and he is confident that the government commands majority support in the
Parliament needed for the passing of the ordinance into an act and Parliament
can be summoned to deliberate on the passing of the ordinance as soon as
possible. The promulgated ordinance is treated as an act of Parliament when in
force and it is the responsibility of the President to withdraw the ordinance
as soon as the reasons for promulgation of the ordinance are no longer
applicable. Bringing laws in the form of ordinances has become a routine matter
by the government and President, but the provisions made in Article 123 are
meant for mitigating unusual circumstances where immediate action is inevitable
when the extant provisions of law are inadequate. Re-promulgation of ordinances
after failing to get approval within the stipulated time of both houses of
parliament is an unconstitutional act by the President. President should not incorporate any
matter in an ordinance which is violating the constitution or needs amendment
to the constitution. The President should take moral responsibility when an
ordinance elapses automatically or is not approved by the Parliament or
violating the constitution.
Executive powers
Per Article
53, the executive power of
the country is vested in the President and is exercised by President either
directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the
Constitution. When parliament thinks fit it may accord additional executive
powers to the president per Article
70 which may be further delegated by the president to the governors of states per Article
160. Union cabinet with Prime Minister as
its head, should aid and advice the President in performing his functions.
Per Article
74 (2), the council of ministers or Prime Minister are not
accountable legally to the advice tendered to the President but it is the sole
responsibility of the President to ensure compliance with the constitution in
performing his duties. President or his subordinate officers is bound by the
provisions of the constitution notwithstanding any advice by union cabinet.
Per Article
142, it is the duty of President to enforce the decrees of Supreme
Court.
Judicial powers
The primary duty of the President is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law of India per Article 60. The President appoints the Chief Justice of the Union Judiciary and other judges on the advice of the Chief Justice. He dismisses the judges if and only if the two Houses of the Parliament pass resolutions to that effect by a two-thirds majority of the members present.
Attorney General for India who
is the Indian government's chief
legal advisor, is appointed by the President of India under Article 76(1) and
holds office during the pleasure of the President. If the President considers a
question of law or a matter of public importance has arisen, he can also ask
for the advisory opinion of
the Supreme Court per Article
143. Per Article
88, President can ask the Attorney General to attend the
parliamentary proceedings and report to him any unlawful functioning if any.
Appointment powers
The President
appoints, as Prime Minister,
the person most likely to command the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha (usually the leader of the majority
party or coalition). The President then appoints the other members of the
Council of Ministers, distributing portfolios to them on the advice of the
Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers remains
in power at the 'pleasure' of the President.
The President
appoints 12 members of the Rajya Sabha from amongst persons who have
special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as
literature, science, art and social service. President may nominate not more
than two members of Anglo Indian community
as Lok Sabha members per Article
331
Governors of States are
also appointed by the President who shall work at the pleasure of the
President. Per Article
156, President is empowered to dismiss a governor who has violated
the constitution in his acts.
The President is
responsible for making a wide variety of appointments. These include:-
1
Chief Justice,
other judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts of
India
2
Chief Minister of
the National capital territory of Delhi (Article 239 AA 5 of
the constitution)
3
Attorney General
4
Comptroller
and Auditor General
5
Chief
Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners
6
Chairman and other
Members of the Union
Public Service Commission
7
Vice-Chancellor of the
central university and academic staff of the central university through his
nominee
8
Ambassadors and High Commissioners to other countries
(only through the list of names given by the Prime Minister)
Financial powers
·
A money bill can be
introduced in the Parliament only with the President’s recommendation.
·
The President lays the
Annual Financial Statement, i.e. the Union budget, before the Parliament.
·
The President can take
advances out of the Contingency Fund of India to meet unforeseen expenses.
·
The President
constitutes a Finance commission after every five years to recommend the
distribution of the taxes between the centre and the States.
Diplomatic powers
All international
treaties and agreements are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the President.However, in practice, such
negotiations are usually carried out by the Prime Minister along with his
Cabinet (especially the Foreign Minister). Also, such treaties are subject to
the approval of the Parliament. The President represents India in international
forums and affairs where such a function is chiefly ceremonial. The President
may also send and receive diplomats, i.e. the officers from the Indian Foreign Service. The President is the first
citizen of the country.
Military powers
The President is the
Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces.
The President can declare war or conclude peace, on the advice of the Union Council of
Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. All important treaties and contracts
are made in the President's name. He also appoints the chiefs of the
service branches of the armed forces.
Powers of Pardoning
As mentioned
in Article
72 of the Indian Constitution,
the President is empowered with the powers to grant pardons in
the following situations:
·
Punishment is for an
offence against Union Law
·
Punishment is by a Military Court
·
Sentence is that of death
The decisions
involving pardoning and other rights by the President are independent of the
opinion of the Prime Minister or the Lok Sabha majority. In most cases,
however, the President exercises his executive powers on the advice of the
Prime Minister and the cabinet.
Emergency powers
The President can
declare three types of emergencies: national, state and financial, under
articles 352, 356 & 360 in addition to promulgating ordinances under
article 123.
National emergency
A national emergency
can be declared in the whole of India or a part of its territory for causes of
war or armed rebellion or an external aggression. Such an emergency was
declared in India in 1962 (Indo-China war), 1971 (Indo-Pakistan war),and 1975 to 1977 (declared by Indira Gandhi).
Under Article
352 of the India Constitution, the President can declare such
an emergency only on the basis of a written request by the cabinet of ministers
headed by the Prime Minister.
Such a proclamation must be approved by the Parliament with two thirds majority
within one month. Such an emergency can be imposed for six months. It can be extended
by six months by repeated parliamentary approval-there is no maximum duration.
In such an
emergency, Fundamental Rights of
Indian citizens can be suspended. The six freedoms under Right to Freedom are automatically suspended.
However, the Right to Life and Personal Liberty cannot be suspended (Article
21).
The President can
make laws on the 66 subjects of the State List (which contains subjects on
which the state governments can make laws). Also, all money bills are referred to
the President for approval. The term of the Lok Sabha can be extended by a period of up to
one year, but not so as to extend the term of Parliament beyond six months
after the end of the declared emergency.
National Emergency
has been proclaimed 3 times in India till date. It was declared first in 1962
by President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan,
during the Sino-Indian War.
This emergency lasted through the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and
up to 1968. It was revoked in 1968. The second emergency in India was
proclaimed in 1971 by President V. V. Giri on the eve of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
The first two emergencies were in the face of external aggression and War. They
were hence external emergencies. Even as the second emergency was in progress,
another internal emergency was proclaimed by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed,
with Indira Gandhi as
Prime Minister in 1975. In 1977, the second and the third emergencies were
together revoked.
State emergency
If the President is
fully satisfied, on the basis of the report of the Governor of the concerned
state or from other sources that the governance in a state cannot be carried
out according to the provisions in the Constitution, he can proclaim under
Article 356 a state of emergency in the state. Such an emergency must be approved by
the Parliament within
a period of 2 months.
Under Article
356 of the Indian Constitution,
it can be imposed from six months to a maximum period of three years with
repeated parliamentary approval every six months. If the emergency needs to be
extended for more than three years, this can be achieved by a constitutional amendment,
as has happened in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
During such an
emergency, the President can take over the entire work of the executive, and
the Governor administers the state in the name of the President. The
Legislative Assembly can be dissolved or may remain in suspended animation. The
Parliament makes laws on the 66 subjects of the state list.
A State Emergency
can be imposed via the following:
1.
By Article 356 – If
that state failed to run constitutionally, i.e. constitutional machinery has
failed. When a state emergency is imposed under this provision, the state is
said to be under "President's rule.
2.
By Article 365 – If
that state is not working according to the direction of the Union Government
issued per the provisions of the constitution.
This type of emergency
needs the approval of the parliament within 2 months. It can last up to a
maximum of three years via extensions after each 6-month period. However, after
one year it can be extended only if
1.
A state of National
Emergency has been declared in the country or in the particular state.
2.
The Election Commission
finds it difficult to organise an election in that state.
The Sarkaria Commission held
that presidents have unconstitutionally misused the provision of Article 356
many times for achieving political motives, by dismissing the state governments
although there was no constitutional break down in the states. During 2005, President's rule was
imposed in Bihar state, misusing Article 356
unconstitutionally to prevent the democratically elected state legislators to
form a government after the state elections.
There is no
provision in the constitution to re-promulgate president's rule in a state when
the earlier promulgation ceased to operate for want of parliaments approval
within two months duration. During 2014 in Andhra Pradesh, president's rule was
first imposed on 1 March 2014 and it ceased to operate on 30 April 2014.
President's rule was promulgated after being fully aware that the earliest
parliament session is feasible in the end of May 2014 after the general elections.
It was reimposed again unconstitutionally on 28 April 2014 by the president.
Financial emergency
Article 282 accords
financial autonomy in spending the financial resources available with the
states for public purpose. Article
293 gives liberty to states to borrow without any limit to its
ability for its requirements within the territory of India without any consent
from the union government. However union government can insist for compliance
of its loan terms when a state has outstanding loan charged to the consolidated
fund of India or an outstanding loan in respect of which a guarantee has been
given by the Government of India under the liability of consolidated fund of
India.
Under article 360 of
the constitution, President can proclaim a financial emergency when the
financial stability or credit of the nation or of any part of its territory is
threatened. However, until now no guidelines
defining the situation of financial emergency in the entire country or a state
or a union territory or a panchayat or a municipality or a corporation have
been framed either by the finance commission or
by the central government.
Such an emergency
must be approved by the Parliament within two months by simple majority. It has
never been declared. A state of financial emergency
remains in force indefinitely until revoked by the President.
The President can
reduce the salaries of all government officials, including judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, in
cases of a financial emergency. All money bills passed by the State
legislatures are submitted to the President for approval. He can direct the
state to observe certain principles (economy measures) relating to financial
matters.
Selection process
Eligibility
Article
58 of the Constitution sets
the principle qualifications one must meet to be eligible to the office of the
President. A President must be:
·
a citizen of India
·
of 35 years of age or
above
·
qualified to become a
member of the Lok Sabha
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.
Certain
office-holders, however, are permitted to stand as Presidential candidates.
These are:
·
The current Vice-President
·
The Governor of any
state
·
A Minister of the Union
or of any state (including Prime Minister and Chief Ministers)
In the event that
the Vice-President, a State Governor or a Minister is elected President, they are
considered to have vacated their previous office on the date they begin serving
as President.
A member of
Parliament or of a State Legislature can seek election to the office of the
President but if he is elected as President, he shall be deemed to have vacated
his seat in Parliament or State Legislature on the date on which he enters upon
his office as President [Article 59(1)].
Article
57 provides that 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.
Under The
Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, a candidate to be nominated for the
office of president needs 50 electors as proposers and 50 electors as seconders
for his name to appear on the ballot.
Time of election
Article 56(1) of the
Constitution provides that the President shall hold office for a term of five
years from the date on which he enters upon his office. According to Article
62, 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. 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. To meet the contingency
of an election to the office of President not being completed in time due to
unforeseen circumstances like countermanding of election due to death of a
candidate or on account of postponement of the poll for any valid reason,
Article 56(1)(c) provides that the President shall, notwithstanding the
expiration of his term, continue to hold office until his successor enters upon
his office.
Conditions for the Presidency
Certain conditions,
per Article
59 of the Constitution, debar an otherwise eligible citizen
from contesting the presidential elections. The conditions are:
·
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.
·
The President shall not
hold any other office of profit.
·
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.
·
The emoluments and
allowances of the President shall not be diminished during his term of office.[
Election process
Whenever the office
becomes vacant, the new President is chosen by an electoral college consisting
of the elected members of both houses of Parliament (M.P.s),
the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies(Vidhan Sabha) of all States and the elected members
of the legislative assemblies (M.L.A.s) of two Union Territories (i.e.,
National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and
Union Territory of Puducherry). The
election process of President is more extensive process than Prime Minister who
is also elected indirectly (not elected by people directly) by the Lok Sabha members only. Whereas President being
constitutional head with duties to protect, defend and preserve the
constitution and rule of law in
a constitutional democracy with constitutional supremacy, is elected in an extensive
manner by the members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and state legislative assemblies in a secret ballot
procedure.
The nomination of a
candidate for election to the office of the President must be subscribed by at
least 50 electors as proposers and 50 electors as seconders. Each candidate has
to make a security deposit of Rs.15,000 in
the Reserve Bank of India. The security deposit is liable to be
forfeited in case the candidate fails to secure one-sixth of the votes polled.
The election is held
in accordance to the system of Proportional representation by
means of the Single transferable vote method.
The voting takes place by secret ballot system. The manner of election of
President is provided by Article
55 of the Constitution.
Each elector casts a
different number of votes. The general principle is that the total number of
votes cast by Members of Parliament equals the total number of votes cast by
State Legislators. Also, legislators from larger states cast more votes than
those from smaller states. Finally, the number of legislators in a state
matters; if a state has few legislators, then each legislator has more votes;
if a state has many legislators, then each legislator has fewer votes.
The actual
calculation for votes cast by a particular state is calculated by dividing the
state's population by 1000, which is divided again by the number of legislators
from the State voting in the electoral college. This number is the number of
votes per legislator in a given state. Every elected member of the parliament
enjoys the same number of votes, which may be obtained by dividing the total
number of votes assigned to the members of legislative assemblies by the total
number of elected representatives of the parliament.
Although Indian
presidential elections involve actual voting by MPs and MLAs,
they tend to vote for the candidate supported by their respective parties.
Oath or affirmation
The President is
required to make and subscribe in the presence of the Chief Justice of India (or
in his absence, the senior-most Judge of the Supreme Court), an oath or
affirmation that he/she shall protect, preserve and defend the Constitution as
follows:
I, (name), do swear in the name of God (or solemnly affirm) that
I will faithfully execute the office of President (or discharge the functions
of the President) of the Republic of India, and will to the best of my ability
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 the Republic of
India.
— Article
60, Constitution of India
Emoluments
The President of India used to receive Rs.10,000 per month per the Second Schedule of the Constitution. This amount was increased to Rs.50,000 in 1998. On 11 September 2008 the Government of India increased the salary of the President to Rs.1.5 lakh . The Government allots for him / her upkeep.Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President's official residence, is the largest Presidential Palace in the world. The Rashtrapati Nilayam at Bolarum, Hyderabad and Retreat Building at Chharabra, Shimla are the official Retreat Residences of the President of India. The official state car of the President is a custom-built heavily armoured Mercedes Benz S600 (W221) Pullman Guard.
The former
presidents and spouses of deceased Presidents are eligible for pension,
furnished accommodation, security, various allowances, etc.
List Of Presidents Till Now
| No. | Name | Tenure |
| 1 | Rajendra Prasad | 1950 to 1962 |
| 2 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 1962 to 1967 |
| 3 | Zakir Hussain | 1967 to 1969 |
| - | VV Giri (Acting President) | 1969 to 1969 |
| - | Mohammad Hidayatullah (Acting President) | 1969 to 1969 |
| 4 | V.V Giri | 1969 to 1974 |
| 5 | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | 1974 to 1977 |
| - | Basappa Danappa Jatti (Acting President) | 1977 to 1977 |
| 6 | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 1977 to 1982 |
| 7 | Giani Zail Singh | 1982 to 1987 |
| 8 | R Venkataraman | 1987 to 1992 |
| 9 | Shankar Dayal Sharma | 1992 to 1997 |
| 10 | K R Narayanan | 1997 to 2002 |
| 11 | APJ Abdul Kalam | 2002 to 2007 |
| 12 | Pratibha Patil | 2007 to 2012 |
| 13 | Pranab Mukherjee | 2012 to 2017 |
| 14 | Ram Nath Kovind | 2017 to Present |
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