The President in Constitution of India

THE PRESIDENT IN
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
India has a Parliamentary form of Government. The Constitutional Head of the State is
the President. The real executive power lies in the hands of the Council of Ministers
and they are headed by the Prime Minister. The President can exercise the executive
powers by the help of the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers are elected by
the people and are responsible to the House of People. According to Article 52 there
shall be a President of India and according to Article 53 the President has the
executive powers of the Union and it shall be exercised in accordance with the
Constitution either directly or through the subordinate officers.
Qualifications of the President
According to Article 58 the following shall be the qualifications of the

President:
1. He must be a citizen of India
2. He must have completed 35 years of age.
3. It is compulsory for him to be registered as a voter in any
Parliamentary Constituency.
4. Any office of profit under the Government of India, any State
Government, local or other authority subject to the control of the
Government of India or any State Government shall not be held by him
Conditions of the office of President
According to Article 59 the President cannot be a member of either

House of the Parliament or of a House of the State Legislature of any
State. If such a person is elected as the President, he shall be
considered to have vacated his seat in that House on the date on which
he enters upon his office as the President.
Emoluments
The President is granted a salary of Rs 150000, official residence free

of rent and other allowances as may be determined by the Parliament
by law. The salary and allowances of the President cannot be
diminished during his term of office.
Election of President
According to Article 54 the President shall be elected indirectly by an

Electoral College which consists of:
· Members elected from both the Houses of the Parliament
· Members elected from the Legislative Assembles of the States
‘State’ includes National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union

Territory of Pondicherry which means that the Electoral College
includes the MLAs of National Territory of Delhi and the Union
Territory.
Voting rights have not been given to the nominated members of the
Houses of the Centre and the States. According to Article 55 (3) the
election of the President shall be conducted according to the system
of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
The system of secret ballot is adopted for voting. According to Article
55 (1) in the election, there shall be uniformity in the scale of
representation among the State inter se and parity between the States
as a whole and the Union.
Disputes in the Election of President
All the disputes regarding the election of President is inquired and

decided by the Supreme Court. The decision of the Supreme Court is
final (Article 71). According to Article 71(3) the Parliament may
regulate any matter relating to the election of President and Article
71(4) says that the election of the President cannot be challenged due
to any vacancy in the Electoral College.
Oath by the President
The President has to take an oath in the presence of the Chief Justice
of India and in his absence, the senior most Judge of the Supreme
Court available before entering the office (Article 60). By making oath
the President swears:
· to execute the office of the President faithfully
· to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution
· to serve and work for the welfare of the people of India
Term of the President

According to Article 56 the President shall hold office for a term of 5
years and shall continue until his successor enters upon his office. The
President is eligible for re-election too. According to Article 62(1) the
elections to fill the vacancy caused by the expiry of the term of the
President must be completed before the expiration of the term.
According to Article 62(2) when the office of the President is vacated
due to death, resignation or removal election should be held as soon as
possible and in no case later than 6 months from the date of vacancy.
Privileges of the President

Article 361 provides the following privileges to the President:
· The President shall not be answerable to any Court regarding the
exercise of his powers or any act done in the exercise of such powers
but the conduct of the President can be reviewed by any Court,
tribunal or body appointed by either Houses of the Parliament for
investigation regarding impeachment proceedings.
· Any criminal proceedings shall not be instituted against him during
his term of office.
· Any Court shall not issue any process of arrest or imprisonment of the
President.
· Any Civil Proceeding in which relief is claimed against the President
shall not be instituted during his term of office in respect of any act
done by him in his personal capacity whether before or after entering
office until a notice in writing has been to the President, 2 months
have passed after the service of such notice and the notice states the
nature of the proceeding, name, residence, cause of action and
description of the party taking the proceeding and the relief claimed.
Impeachment of President
The procedure for impeachment of the President has been mentioned
under Article 61. Impeachment can be started by any House of the
Parliament at the initiative of 1/4th of its total membership who must
give 14 days’ notice. The President has the right to appear and be
represented at such investigation. If 2/3rd majority of the total
Membership of that House approves the charge, the other House will
discuss the same. If 2/3rd majority of the other House also approves
the resolution, the President shall be impeached.
Position of the President

On one hand the President is provided with various powers but on the
other hand he can exercise his powers only on the advice of the
Council of Ministers. He merely remains the Constitutional Head of the
State but the real executive powers rest in the hands of the Council of
Ministers. He cannot make decisions without the advice and approval
of the Parliament. Under the emergency provisions, the President has
been given a wide range of power but this power also requires
approval of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.
However, the 44th Amendment has empowered the President to refer
back any advice of the Council of Ministers for its reconsideration.
Whatever advice the Council of Ministers give after reconsideration,
the President is bound to accept accordingly. The President can
exercise his discretion for the appointment of the Prime Minister and
the dissolution of Lok Sabha. The position of President cannot be
considered merely a rubber stamp but he is only the Constitutional
Head of the State, not the real executive.
Powers of the President

The following are the powers of the President:
EXECUTIVE POWERS
The Constitutional provisions make the President the supreme
executive of the Union Government. His executive powers are either
exercised by him or by his subordinates in his name. He appoints the
Prime Minister and on his advice the other ministers, the Governor,
Ambassadors, Judges of Supreme Court and the High Court,
Comptroller and Auditor General, Chairman and members of the
Public Service Commission, Members of Finance Commission and
Official Commission. These officers hold office during the pleasure
of the President. He has the power to remove these officers from
their posts. President can exercise all these powers with the help of the
Council of Ministers.
DIPLOMATIC POWERS
Treaties and international agreements are negotiated and signed in
his name but it is subject to ratification by the Parliament. He sends
and receives Ambassadors.
MILITARY POWERS
The President is empowered to be the Supreme Commander of the
Defence Forces of the Country. War and Peace can be declared and
concluded in his name. Such power is regulated by law and on the
advice of the Cabinet.
LEGISLATIVE POWERS
The President is an integral part of the legislative process and without
his assent no bill can be passed by the Parliament (Article 111). He
may give or withhold his assent and when it is a bill other than a money
bill, he may return it to the House for reconsideration. According to
Article 3 a bill for alteration of State boundaries or recognition of a new
state can be introduced in either House of the Parliament after his
recommendation. He has the power to summon and prorogue the
Houses of the Parliament and may also dissolve the House of People
According to Article 85(1) it is compulsory for him to summon the
Parliament within 6 months from the last sitting of the former session.
The President shall call a joint sitting of both the Houses of the
Parliament in order to resolve a deadlock. It is mandatory for him to
address each House in the first session of the year. 12 members from
among people having special knowledge in the fields of literature,
science, art or social services are nominated by him to the Rajya Sabha
(Article 80(3)) He nominates 2 members to the Lok Sabha from the
Anglo Indian Community if it is not adequately represented (Article
331).
ORDINANCE MAKING
Article 123 deals with the Ordinance making power of the President.
The President may issue an ordinance when both the Houses of the
Parliament are not in session and he is satisfied that a circumstance
requires immediate action. The Ordinances must be laid before both
the Houses of the Parliament. It ceases to operate at the expiry of 6
weeks from the date of reassembly of the Parliament unless a
resolution disapproving it is passed by both the Houses before the
expiry of 6 weeks. An Ordinance is as effective as an Act of the
Parliament. The President has the power to withdraw it anytime he
wants.
PARDONING POWER
Article 72 includes the power of the President to grant pardons,
reprieves, respites or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any
person convicted of any offence by Court Martial, an offence relating to
matters to which the executive powers of the Union extends and in cases
in which death sentence is awarded. In case of a pardon the offender is
completely forgiven and he is not subject to any punishment or
sentence. Commutation refers to substitution of one punishment for
another and in the process of Remission the term of sentence is reduced
without changing its character. Respite and Reprieve mean awarding a
lesser punishment on special grounds and temporary suspension of
death sentence respectively.
EMERGENCY POWERS
Three kinds of Emergencies have been mentioned in the Constitution.
They are:
National Emergency – Article 352 of the Constitution speaks about
National Emergency. According to it the President may make a
Proclamation of Emergency in respect of whole or any part of India, if he
is satisfied that a grave emergency exists which threatens the security of
India or any part of India by War or External Aggression or Armed
Rebellion. Such Proclamation of Emergency can be made even before
the event mentioned in Article 352 has actually occurred, provided the
President is satisfied that there is the danger of a war, external
aggression or rebellion.
State Emergency – According to Article 356, on receiving a report from

the Governor of a State or otherwise if the President is satisfied that there
is a situation in which the Government of a State cannot be carried in
accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, he may issue a
Proclamation.
Financial Emergency – According to Article 360 if the President is

satisfied that there is a situation where the financial stability of India or
any part of the territory is threatened; a Proclamation of Financial
Emergency may be issued.
Cases
DR. N.B.KHARE VS. ELECTION COMMISSIONER OF INDIA
The election of the President was challenged on the ground that the
general election had not taken place in some parts of Punjab and
Haryana and as a result the Electoral College would be incomplete.
The Supreme Court held that the election of the President can be
challenged only after the completion of the election. Moreover,
Article 71(4) made it clear that the election of the President cannot
be challenged due to any vacancy in the Electoral College.
R.K.GARG VS UNION OF INDIA
It was held that the object behind issuing Ordinance is to enable the
Executive is to deal with the urgent matters and it may also include a
situation created by a law being declared void by a Court.
KEHAR SINGH V UNION OF INDIA
The petitioner was convicted of murder for assassinating the Prime

Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi. He was awarded death sentence. He
presented a petition for pardon and to allow his representatives to
meet the President in order to explain the case. His petition was
rejected without going into the merits of the decision of the Supreme
Court. It was held that consideration of a petition to pardon lies
completely within the discretion of the President. The power of the
President under this Article is of widest amplitude and he does not
need to specify reasons for his decisions under this Article.

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THE PRESIDENT IN

According to Article 58 the following shall be the qualifications of the

Conditions of the office of President

According to Article 59 the President cannot be a member of either

The President is granted a salary of Rs 150000, official residence free

According to Article 54 the President shall be elected indirectly by an

‘State’ includes National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union

Disputes in the Election of President

All the disputes regarding the election of President is inquired and

Term of the President

Privileges of the President

Position of the President

Powers of the President

State Emergency – According to Article 356, on receiving a report from

Financial Emergency – According to Article 360 if the President is

DR. N.B.KHARE VS. ELECTION COMMISSIONER OF INDIA

R.K.GARG VS UNION OF INDIA

KEHAR SINGH V UNION OF INDIA

The petitioner was convicted of murder for assassinating the Prime

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