Election and Impeachment of The President. A Critical Analysis

LAW 112
ELECTION AND IMPEACHMENT OF THE

PRESIDENT. A CRITICAL ANALYSIS.
SUBMITTED TO: MRS.NEERU MITTAL
SUBMITTED BY: SAGORIKA BASU
RL2004A22
Acknowledgment
At the outset, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and thank my Course
Instructor, MRS. NEERU MITTAL, for instilling confidence in me. I am indeed
privileged having been taught in a prestigious institution like LOVELY
PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY. I would also like to express my gratitude to my other
Course Instructors and Mentor, family, and friends for their help and support.
-SAGORIKA BASU
RL2004A22
INTRODUCTION
India achieved independence from the Britishers on 15 August 1947. The Constituent
Assembly of India, under the leadership of 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 its first incumbent.
ARTICLE 52 states that there shall be a President of India.
ARTICLE 53 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 and officially
the President of the Republic of India is the ceremonial head of state of India and the
Commander in chief of the Indian Armed Forces and also the 1st citizen of the
REPUBLIC OF INDIA.
MR. RAMNATH KOVIND is the 14th and the current serving PRESIDENT of INDIA.
ARTICLE 54:-ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT

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 (MLAs) of union territories with legislatures, i.e., National Capital
Territory (NCT) of Delhi and Puducherry.
The election process of the President is a more extensive process than the Prime Minister
who is also elected indirectly (not elected by people directly) by the Lok Sabha members
only. Whereas President being the 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 only by the 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 with the system of proportional representation (PR) by
means of the single transferable vote (STV) method. The voting takes place by a secret ballot
system. The manner of election of the President is provided by Article 55 of the
constitution.
Election Procedure
(I). The processes followed in the ELECTORAL COLLEGE are:-

● The value of the vote of an MLA is given below:
By using the formula, the value of the vote of each MLA of each state is calculated
and then the total value of votes of all the MLA of all the States is aggregated.
The Constitution (Eighty-fourth) Amendment Act, 2001 provides that until the
relevant population figures for the first census to be taken after the year 2026 have
been published, the population of the States for the purpose of calculation of the
value of votes for the Presidential election shall mean the population of 1971.
(ii).There is parity in the value of votes of all the MPs and all the MLAs.
For securing the parity between the States and the Union, it has been laid down that
the total value of votes of all the elected members of Parliament (MPs) shall be equal
to the total value of votes of all the elected MLAs of all the states.
● The value of the vote of MP is given below:
(iii). A Fixed Quota of Votes for a win:

In order to win a Presidential election, a candidate has to secure a minimum fixed quota of
voted which is calculated as follows:
Winning/Electoral Quota = Total number of valid votes Polled +1

No. of vacancies +1
(iv). Single Transferable Voting System:-

In the Presidential Election, each voter casts only one vote. However, its value differs from
voter to voter. The value of the vote of an MP is uniformly the same while the value of the
vote of an MLA differs from State to State. For instance, the value of the vote of an MP from
Uttar Pradesh, like every other MP is the same (around 708) but the value of the vote of an
MLA from Uttar Pradesh is different.
(v).Indication of Preferences by the Electors:-
Each member of the Presidential Electoral College while casting his vote also indicates his
preferences like I, II, III, IV, and so on. His vote goes to the candidate to whom he gives his
first preference.
But in case, that candidate fails to win the required winning quota and no other candidate also
gets the required winning quota of votes, his vote is transferred to the candidate to whom he
has given his second preference vote and so on.
(vi).Provision for Transfer of Votes in case no candidate gets the required winning
quota of votes:-
When, in a Presidential Election, no candidate gets the required winning quota of votes in the
First Count, which is done by counting the first preference votes secured by each candidate,
the candidate with the lowest number of votes polled gets eliminated. His votes are then
transferred to the remaining candidates on the basis of the second preferences as recorded by
his ‘voters’. The same process is repeated until one of the contesting candidates, secures the
required winning quota.
This transferable system of voting was used only once at the time of the 5th Presidential
Election held in 1969. It has not been in use thereafter because since then each
Presidential Election gets a clear majority candidate.
In the recent Presidential Election which was held on 17th July 2017 with the votes counted,
and the results were announced on 20th July 2017. Mr. Ram Nath Kovind became the 14th
President of India.
Candidate Individual Votes Electoral college %

votes
Ram Nath Kovind 2390 700,244 65.65%
Meira Kumar 1844 367,314 34.35%
Invalid 77 20,942 -
During 2017, the following was the programme for the Presidential
Election:
• a) Issue of Notification 14-06-2017
• b) Last date for making nominations 28-06-2017
• c) Scrutiny of nominations 29-07-2017
• d) Last date for the withdrawal of candidatures 01-07-2017
• e) Date of Poll 17-07-2017
• f) Counting of Votes 20-07-2017
Stages in a Presidential Election:
1. Notification of Election and Appointment of the Returning Officer: Art. 324-

The election is notified by the President and the responsibility for conducting it is with the
Election Commission of India. The Election Commission appoints a Returning Officer and
fixes the date for filing the nomination papers, the last date for withdrawal, and the polling
schedule. The Election Commission, in consultation with the Central Government, appoints
the Secretary General of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, by rotation, as the Returning Officer.
Poll for the election will be taken in the Parliament House and in the premises of the State
Legislative Assemblies.
2. Filing of Nomination Papers, Scrutiny and Withdrawals: By the stipulated date

each candidate has to file his nomination papers with the Returning Officer. Each name has to
be proposed by 50 electors and seconded by another 50 electors. Along with it, a sum of Rs.
15,000 has to be deposited as security money. The nomination papers are then scrutinized for
determining the eligibility of all candidates. All incomplete and wrong nominations get
rejected. The candidates are then permitted to voluntarily withdraw from the contest by a
stipulated date.
3. Election Campaign: Thereafter all eligible candidates conduct their election

campaigns mostly through their respective political parties. Since it remains confined only to
the members of the Electoral College, the general public gets involved in a minimum way.
4. Polling: On the fixed day, the polling is held. Each voter casts one vote and indicates his
preferences on the ballot paper. The voting is totally secret.
5. Counting of Votes: After the polling, the counting of votes takes place. The valid votes
polled are counted. The quota is determined. The votes polled (First Preference Votes) of
each candidate are counted and calculations are done taking into account the value of each
vote as stands determined on the basis of the formulas discussed. The candidate completing
the quota or surpassing it gets elected. In case no candidate gets the fixed minimum quota of
votes, he transfer of votes takes place in accordance with the prescribed procedure. A
candidate who secures less than 1/6th of the votes necessary to win the election forfeits his
security money.
6. Notification of the Result: The result of the election is then notified in the Gazette of
India.
7. Oath-taking and Installation: The day the term of the previous President expires or
on a fixed date, the oath-taking and installation of the new President takes place. The
President-elect takes the oath of his office in the presence of the Chief Justice of India, and in
his absence in the presence of the available senior-most judge of the Supreme Court.
Method of settlement disputes regarding the Presidential Election:

Any dispute arising out of the election of the President is enquired into and finally decided by
the Supreme Court of India as per the Article 71. An election petition can be filed only
within 30 days of the declaration of the result. The Supreme Court then conducts the hearing
and gives its verdict.
Tenure of the President: The President is elected for a term of five years. His term
commences from the date on which he enters the office. However, in case due to one reason
or the other, the election of a new President cannot be completed before the expiry of his
term, the existing President continues to hold the office till the election of a new President
gets completed.
Provision for Resignation: Before the completion of his term, the President can resign
his office by writing a resignation letter by hand and addressing it to the Vice-President of
India.
Impeachment of the President (ARTICLE 61)

Article 61 of the constitution provides for the provision that the President can also be
removed from office through a process of impeachment on grounds of violation of the
Constitution.However; the Constitution does not define the meaning of the phrase ‘violation
of the Constitution’.
Initiation of Proposal of Impeachment and Leveling Charges:

• The impeachment proceedings can be initiated by either House of the Union Parliament.
• For initiating the impeachment proceedings, one-fourth of the total members of a House,
in which the proposal was raised, have to give a written signed notice at least 14 days in
advance.
• If the House after putting up the allegations, passes the resolution by a majority of 2/3rd of
Its total membership; it goes to the other House.
Investigation Of Charges:
• The other House investigates the charges.
• The President has the right to appear in person or through an advocate, to defend
himself.
• If after investigation, the second House also passes the resolution
by not less than 2/3rd majority of the total membership of the House, the
President gets impeached and goes out of office.
• No President of India has, till today, faced an impeachment proceeding.
Conclusion
The word 'Impeachment' is an origin of British convention which means to remove a

Government official without any official agreement and after the impeachment conviction
has been provided to that official. In India, it is a quasi-judicial procedure and President can
only be impeached on the ground of violation of the Constitution.

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LAW 112

ELECTION AND IMPEACHMENT OF THE

SUBMITTED TO: MRS.NEERU MITTAL

SUBMITTED BY: SAGORIKA BASU

ARTICLE 54:-ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT

(I). The processes followed in the ELECTORAL COLLEGE are:-

(iii). A Fixed Quota of Votes for a win:

Winning/Electoral Quota = Total number of valid votes Polled +1

(iv). Single Transferable Voting System:-

Candidate Individual Votes Electoral college %

Ram Nath Kovind 2390 700,244 65.65%

Meira Kumar 1844 367,314 34.35%

Stages in a Presidential Election:

1. Notification of Election and Appointment of the Returning Officer: Art. 324-

2. Filing of Nomination Papers, Scrutiny and Withdrawals: By the stipulated date

3. Election Campaign: Thereafter all eligible candidates conduct their election

Method of settlement disputes regarding the Presidential Election:

Impeachment of the President (ARTICLE 61)

Initiation of Proposal of Impeachment and Leveling Charges:

The word 'Impeachment' is an origin of British convention which means to remove a

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