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 THE PRESIDENT 4. The nomination of a candidate for election must be subscribed by at
least 50 electors as proposers and 50 electors as seconders.
(1) Article 52 – There shall be a President of India
5. Oath administered by the Chief Justice of India or in his absence the
(2) Article 53 – Executive power of the Union: The executive power shall senior-most judge of the Supreme Court available.
be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him either
6. Emoluments, allowances and privileges etc. as may be determined
directly or through officers’ sub-ordinate to him.
by the parliament and which can’t be diminished during his term.
(3) He is the supreme commander of the defense forces in India.
7. He is immune from any criminal proceeding during his term. He can’t
(4) Though he’s only the constitutional head, or titular head, de jure be arrested or imprisoned. However, after two-month’ notice civil
head or nominal executive or just a symbolic head. proceedings can be initiated against him during his term in respect
of his personal acts.
Election of the President
1. The President shall be elected by the members of an ELECTORAL Impeachment of the President (Article 61)
COLLEGE consisting of: 1. A formal removal of the President from his post by constitutional
(a) The ELECTED MPs means.
(b) The ELECTED MLAs of the states 2. He is impeached for the ‘Violation of the Constitution’. However, the
(c) The ELECTED MLAs of National Capital territory of Delhi (added term is defined nowhere in the constitution.
by 70th Amendment Act, 1992 and with effect from 1-06-1995) 3. The charges can be preferred by either house of the parliament.
and Union territory of Puducherry. However, a 14-days’ notice shall be served to the President before
2. Thus, nominated members of parliament and legislative assemblies the acceptance of such a resolution.
and members of legislative councils do not participate in 4. Also, that notice must be signed by at least one-fourth members of
presidential election. the total members of that house which initiated the charges.
3. Article-55 provides for manner of election and there should be 5. After the acceptance of that bill in that house, that impeachment bill
uniformity and representation throughout the Nation as per the must be passed by the majority of 2/3rd of the total membership of
constitution. Hence, MPs and MLAs have been assigned votes as per that house.
their representation. 6. Then that bill goes in another house which should investigate the
4. Election is held in accordance with system of proportional charges and the President shall have the right to appear and to be
representation by means of single transferable vote and voting is represented at such an investigation.
done by secret ballot. 7. If another house sustains the charges and finds the President of
5. All doubts and disputes arising out of the Presidential elections are violation, and passes that resolution by 2/3rd of the total
decided into and enquired by the Supreme Court whose decision is membership of that house, the President stands removed from the
final. date the resolution is so passed.
6. The elections are monitored and conducted by the Election 8. Hence, impeachment is a quasi-judicial process. And though, the
Commission of India. nominated members of Parliament do no participate in his election,
7. Only one President, that is, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy has been elected they take part in the impeachment process. Also, states’ legislatures
unopposed so far. do not have a role in the impeachment process.
8. Dr. Rajendra Prasad is the only President to have been elected twice.
9. Two Presidents – Dr. Zakir Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed have Powers of the President
died in the office. 1. Executive Powers
1. All executive actions are taken in his name. He is the formal,
Term of office (Article 56) and Re-election (Article 57) constitutional, titular head or de jure head of the Government.
1. Term – 5 years. 2. Appoints the P.M and other ministers on P.M’s advice.
2. Resignation is addressed to the Vice-President. 3. Appoints the Attorney General of India, CAG, Chief Election
3. The President is eligible for re-election for any number of terms. Commissioner and other Commissioners, the chairman and
members of UPSC, Governors of states, Chairman and members of
Qualification (Article 58), Conditions (Article 59) & Finance Commission etc.
Oath (Article 60) 4. He appoints Inter-State Council and he is the one who can declare
1. Eligibility - any area as scheduled area and decides on the matter of declaration
(a) citizen of India of any tribe as scheduled tribe.
(b) 35 years
(c) Is eligible for election as an MP of the House of the People. 2. Legislative Powers
2. Shouldn’t hold office of profit. 1. Summons and Prorogues the Parliament and dissolves the Lok
3. The President shall not be a member of either House of Parliament Sabha.
of any Legislature. Even if such a member is elected, he is deemed 2. Summons the joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament (which is
to have vacated that seat. presided over by the Speaker of Lok Sabha).
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3. Nominates 12 members to Rajya Sabha from amongst people having 2. It is an executive power. And the Governor also has those powers
achievements in art, literature, science and social service and may under Article 161, however, the Governor can’t pardon a death
nominate 2 members to Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian sentence nor can he interfere in court martial cases.
Community. 3. The President exercises this power on the advice of the Union
4. His prior recommendation is required in case of presentation of Cabinet.
certain types of bills such as money bills, bills seeking expenditure
from the consolidated fund of India etc. 8. Discretionary Powers of the President
5. He can withhold his assent to bills, return the bills to the legislatures, 1. Appointment of the P.M when no party has a clear majority in the
apply pocket veto to bills etc. Lok Sabha or when the P.M in office dies suddenly and there’s no
obvious successor.
6. He can promulgate ordinances when the parliament is not in
2. Dismissal of the council of ministers when it can’t prove the
session.
confidence of the Lok Sabha.
7. He lays the reports of Finance Commission, CAG, and UPSC etc.
3. Dissolution of the Lok Sabha if the council of ministers has lost its
before the Parliament.
majority.
8. No demand for grant can be made except on his recommendation. 4. Use of Suspensive Veto in case of bills.
Also, he constitutes a Finance Commission every five years for
distribution of revenues between center and states.
THE VICE-PRESIDENT: IMPORTANT POINTS
3. Judicial Powers 1. The second highest post in the Indian polity and second in order of
1. Appoints the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court precedence and the post have been inspired from the US’s
and High courts. Constitution.
2. Seeks advice from the Supreme Court on any question of law. 2. He is the ex-officio chairman of the council of states or Rajya Sabha.
3. He can grant pardon etc. 3. Acts as the President during casual vacancy, removal, death or
impeachment when the President’s post falls vacant.
4. Emergency Powers 4. The V.P gets the salary, allowance and remuneration etc. as the
1. National Emergency (Article 352) chairperson of the Rjaya Sabha.
2. President’s Rule (Article 356)
5. Vice-President is elected by members of an electoral college
3. Financial Emergency (Article 360)
consisting of the members of both the Houses of the Parliament.
5. Veto Powers The election is held in accordance with the system of proportional
representation and voting is done by the secret ballot.
The President of India has three types of Veto powers, namely
6. Also no person shall be eligible for election as the Vice-President
1. Absolute Veto- Withholding the assent to the bill. The bill then ends
unless he is a citizen of India and has completed the age of 35 years
and does not become an act. Example- in 1954, Dr. Rajendra Prasad
and is qualified of being a member of Rajya Sabha and should not
withheld his assent to the PEPSU Appropriation Bill. Also, in 1991 R.
hold any office of profit.
Venkataram withheld his assent to the MPs Salaries, allowances bill.
7. Term is of five years from the date on which he enters upon his
2. Suspensive Veto- Returning the bill for reconsideration. In 2006,
office.
President APJ Abdul Kalam used suspensive veto in office of profit
bill. However, the President can return the bill for reconsideration 8. May be removed from his office by a resolution of the Council of
to the legislature only once, after which he has to give his consent. States passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council
and agreed to by the House of the People; but no resolution for the
3. Pocket Veto- Taking no action on the bill sent to the President.
purpose of this clause shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’
There’s no time limit provided in the constitution within which the
notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution
President has to give his assent or sign the bill. Hence, he has a
(Article 67(b)).
‘bigger pocket’ than the American President. In 1986, President Zail
Singh applied Pocket Veto to Indian Post Office Amendment bill. 9. Oath administered by the President, or some person appointed in
that behalf by him, an oath or affirmation.
NOTE: The President has no veto power in case of a constitutional 10. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was the first V.P of India.
amendment bill. He is bound to give his assent to such bills. 11. The V.Ps who went on to become the Presidents – Dr. S.
Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain, V.V. Giri, R. Venkataraman, S.D.
6. Ordinance Making Powers (Article 123)
Sharma, K.R. Narayanan.
1. An ordinance can be issued by the President only when both houses
of Parliament are not in session or when only one house is in session. 12. Because of the limited powers and functions the V.P of India is also
2. The ordinance must be approved by the Parliament within six weeks at times termed as “HIS SUPERFLUOUS HIGHNESS”.
of its reassembly.
3. Hence, maximum life of an ordinance is – six months + six weeks. THE PRIME MINISTER & THE COUNCIL OF
4. He can issue an ordinance only on the advice of the council of MINISTERS
ministers headed by the P.M The Prime Minister
1. India has had 14 Prime Ministers so far and Shri Narendra Modi is
7. Pardoning power of the President (Article 72) the 14th P.M of India of the 16th Lok Sabha.
1. The President has the power to grant pardon, reprieve, 2. The P.M is the real executive authority or the de facto head in the
commutation, remission, respite to any persons convicted in any Indian form of parliamentary governance. He is appointed by the
Union Law, or by a court martial or in cases of death penalty. President (Article 75).
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3. The leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha, or the party who The Composition of Rajya Sabha
comes into power after people’s mandate forms the government in 1. The maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha is fixed at 250, out of
the center and the leader is the P.M. Hence, he is the head of the which, 238 are to be the representatives of the states and union
government. territories (elected indirectly) and 12 are nominated by the
4. If there’s no clear majority in the Lok Sabha by any party, then president.
Presidential discretion comes into action in the selection and 2. At present, the Rajya Sabha has 245 members. Of these, 229
appointment of the Prime Minister. Under these circumstances, the members represent the states, 4 members represent the union
President usually appoints the leader of the largest party or coalition territories and 12 members are nominated by the president.
in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister and asks him to seek a vote 3. The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the allocation of
of confidence in the House within a month. seats in the Rajya Sabha to the states and union territories.
5. The Prime Minister may be a member of any of the two Houses of 4. The representatives of states in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the
parliament. elected members of state legislative assemblies. The seats are
6. If a person isn’t an MP, he still can be appointed as the P.M (or any allotted to the states in the Rajya Sabha on the basis of population.
minister for that matter), however he can remain so only for a NOTE – Population as ascertained on the basis of 2001 census as per
period of six consecutive months. After that he must become a 87th Amendment Act, 2003.
member of either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
7. The longest tenure so far has been of Pt. Nehru of around 16 years The Composition of Lok Sabha
and the shortest one of Mr. A.B Vajpayee of 16 days. 1. The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is fixed at 552. Out of this,
8. The no confidence motion was first used against Pt. Nehru in 1963 530 members are to be the representatives of the states, 20
and was proposed by Acharya Kriplani and for the first time it was members are to be the representatives of the union territories and
successful against A.B Vajpayee in 1996. Though, it was used in 2 members may be nominated by the president from the Anglo-
Morarji Desai’s tenure as well, however he resigned before it could Indian community.
be moved. 2. At present, the Lok Sabha has 545 members.
9. The oath to the P.M is administered by the President and he holds 3. The representatives of states in the Lok Sabha are directly elected
office during the pleasure of the President. by the people from their respective constituencies.
10. He is the chairman of the Planning Commission, NDC, National 4. The voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 years by the 61st
Integration Council, Inter-State Council and National Water Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988.
Resources Council.
Duration of the two Houses of Parliament
The Central Council of Ministers 1. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and not subject to dissolution.
1. Article 74- Council of Ministers to aid and advise the President. The However, one-third of its members retire every second year. The
advice shall not be enquired into any court and the President may retiring members are eligible for re-election and re-nomination any
require the advice to be reconsidered, however he shall act as per number of times.
the reconsidered advice. 2. Unlike the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha is not a continuing chamber.
2. Article 75- Other provisions as to the Ministers. Its normal term is five years from the date of its first meeting after
3. The P.M shall be appointed by the President and other Ministers the general elections, after which it automatically dissolves.
shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the P.M.
4. The maximum strength of Ministers, including the P.M in the council
Qualification, disqualifications etc. to be an MP
of ministers should not be more than 15% of the total number of
1. Eligibility
members of the House of the People. This was added by 91 st
(a) Citizen of India.
Amendment Act, 2003.
(b) Minimum age – 30 years in Rajya Sabha and 25 years in Lok
5. A member who stands disqualified as per the provisions of 10th
Sabha.
Schedule shall also cease to be a Minister. This was also added by
(c) He must possess other qualifications prescribed by Parliament.
91st AA, 2003.
(Hence, the Representation of People Act, 1951).
6. The Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the President
2. For being disqualified for being elected as an MP:
and they shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
(a) if he holds any office of profit under the Union or state
7. A Minister can continue being a Minister without being a member
government
of either house of parliament for a consecutive period of six months
(b) If he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a court.
only.
(c) If he is an un-discharged insolvent.
8. The phrase ‘Council of Ministers’ is mentioned in Article 74 whereas
(d) if he is not a citizen of India or has voluntarily acquired the
the word Cabinet is mentioned in Article 352.
citizenship of a foreign state or is under any acknowledgement
of allegiance to a foreign state; and
THE PARLIAMENT (ARTICLES 79-122) (e) If he is so disqualified under any law made by Parliament (RPA,
The Organization of the Parliament 1951).
1. The Parliament consists of the President, the Lok Sabha and the 3. The Constitution also lays down that a person shall be disqualified
Rajya Sabha. from being a member of Parliament if he is so disqualified on the
2. Lok Sabha is the Lower House (First Chamber or Popular House) and ground of defection under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule.
Rajya Sabha is the Upper House (Second Chamber or House of 4. Double Membership - A person cannot be a member of both Houses
Elders). of Parliament at the same time.
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5. A House can declare the seat of a member vacant if he is absent from 3. Quorum is the minimum number of members required to be
all its meetings for a period of sixty days without its permission. present in the House before transaction of any business. It is one-
tenth of the total number of members in each House including the
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presiding officer. It means that there must be at least 55 members
1. The Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha from amongst its members present in the Lok Sabha and 25 in the Rajya Sabha.
(as soon as may be, after its first sitting). The date of election of the 4. Every minister and the attorney general of India have the right to
Speaker is fixed by the President. speak and take part in the proceedings of either House, any joint
2. The Speaker offers his resignation to the Deputy Speaker and he can sitting of both the Houses and any committee of Parliament of which
be removed by a resolution passed by a majority of members of Lok he is a member, without being entitled to vote.
Sabha, however, only after giving him a 14-day notice. 5. Lame-Duck session refers to the last session of the existing Lok
3. He presides over a joint setting of the two Houses of Parliament. Sabha, after a new Lok Sabha has been elected.
Such a sitting is summoned by the President to settle a deadlock 6. Question Hour is the first hour of every parliamentary sitting.
between the two Houses on a bill. 7. A starred question (distinguished by an asterisk) requires an oral
4. He decides whether a bill is a money bill or not and his decision on answer and hence supplementary questions can follow.
this question is final. 8. An unstarred question, on the other hand, requires a written
5. He can’t vote in the first instance, though can vote in the event of a answer and hence, supplementary questions cannot follow.
tie. When his removal motion is under consideration, he can take 9. A short notice question is one that is asked by giving a notice of less
part and speak in the proceedings and can vote as well but not in than ten days. It is answered orally.
the case of a tie. He can’t preside in that case. However, his motion 10. The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts
can be passed by an absolute majority only and can be considered until the agenda for the day (that is, regular business of the House)
only if it has the support of at least 50 members. is taken up. In other words, the time gap between the question hour
6. G.V Mavalankar was the first Speaker of Lok Sabha. and the agenda is known as zero hour. It is an Indian innovation in
7. The longest serving Speaker of Lok Sabha so far has been Balram the field of parliamentary procedures and has been in existence
Jakhar. since 1962.
8. NOTE – There’s also a post known as Speaker Pro Tem, appointed by 11. Adjournment Motion It is introduced in the Parliament to draw
the President himself. He is usually the oldest member of the last Lok attention of the House to a definite matter of urgent public
Sabha and he presides over the first session of the incoming Lok importance, and needs the support of 50 members to be admitted.
Sabha. President administers him the oath. Rajya Sabha isn’t permitted to make use of this device and the
discussion should last for not less than two hours and thirty minutes.
The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha 12. No-Confidence Motion Article 75 of the Constitution says that the
1. Like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker is also elected by the Lok council of ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok
Sabha itself from amongst its members. Sabha. It means that the ministry stays in office so long as it enjoys
2. The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker. confidence of the majority of the members of the Lok Sabha. In
The removal process is same as that of speaker and he offers his other words, the Lok Sabha can remove the ministry from office by
resignation to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. passing a no-confidence motion. The motion needs the support of
3. Madabhushi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar was the first Deputy 50 members to be admitted.
Speaker of Lok Sabha. 13. A bill is a proposal for legislation and it becomes an act or law when
4. He presides over the joint sitting in case of absence of the Speaker. duly enacted. It could be classified as a private member bill or a
public bill. A public bill is the one introduced by any minister and a
private bill is the one which is otherwise.
Sessions of Parliament
14. Bills can be ordinary, money or financial and constitutional
amendment bills. Money bills are the ones which are concerned
A ‘session’ of Parliament is the period spanning between the first sitting
with taxation, money matters which are specifically mentioned in
of a House and its prorogation (or dissolution in the case of the Lok
article 110. Financial bill are also concerned with such matters
Sabha). The time period between the prorogation of a House and its
though with slight differences and are mention in articles 117(1) and
reassembly in a new session is called ‘Recess’. There are usually three
117(3). Constitution amendment bills, which are concerned with the
sessions. The budget session is the longest and winter is the shortest.
amendment of the provisions of the Constitution.
15. The Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend a money bill. It can only
1. The Budget Session (February to May);
make the recommendations. It must return the bill to the Lok Sabha
2. The Monsoon Session (July to September); and
within 14 days, wither with or without recommendations. The
3. The Winter Session (November to December).
decision of the speaker is final in deciding a bill is money bill or not.
Also, every such bill is deemed to be a public bill.
Important parliamentary terms, points, motions, 16. The provision of joint sitting is applicable to ordinary bills or financial
bills, questions and Committees bills only and not to money bills or Constitutional amendment bills.
In the case of a money bill, the Lok Sabha has overriding powers,
1. The maximum gap between two sessions of Parliament cannot be while a Constitutional amendment bill must be passed by each
more than six months. House separately.
2. The President summons and prorogues the two houses of
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17. The term ‘budget’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution. It is 22. Public Accounts Committee - It consists of 22 members (15 from the
the popular name for the ‘annual financial statement’ that has been Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha). Term of members – 1 year.
dealt with in Article 112 of the Constitution. A minister cannot be elected as a member of the committee. The
18. The Railway Budget was separated from the General Budget in 1921 chairman of the committee is appointed by the Speaker from
on the recommendations of the Acworth Committee. From the year amongst its members. Until 1966–67, the chairman of the
2017, the railway budget and the main financial budget were again committee belonged to the ruling party. However, since 1967 a
merged and in 2017 the budget was presented on the 1st February, convention has developed whereby the chairman of the committee
2017. is selected invariably from the Opposition. The function of the
19. Consolidated Fund of India - It is a fund to which all receipts are committee is to examine the annual audit reports of the comptroller
credited and all payments are debited. In other words, (a) all and auditor general of India (CAG), which are laid before the
revenues received by the Government of India; (b) all loans raised Parliament by the president.
by the Government by the issue of treasury bills, loans or ways and 23. Estimates Committee – The largest committee of the Parliament.
means of advances; and (c) all money received by the government Present number of members is 30. All the thirty members are from
in repayment of loans forms the Consolidated Fund of India. Lok Sabha only. The term of office is one year. A minister cannot be
Mentioned in article 266. elected as a member of the committee. The chairman of the
20. Public Account of India - All other public money (other than those committee is appointed by the Speaker from amongst its members
which are credited to the Consolidated Fund of India) received by or and he is invariably from the ruling party.
on behalf of the Government of India shall be credited to the Public 24. Committee on Public Undertakings – Present number of members
Account of India. is 22 (15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha). The term
21. Contingency Fund of India - The Constitution authorised the of office of the members is one year. A minister cannot be elected
Parliament to establish a ‘Contingency Fund of India’, into which as a member of the committee. The chairman of the committee is
amounts determined by law are paid from time to time. Accordingly, appointed by the Speaker from amongst its members who are
the Parliament enacted the contingency fund of India Act in 1950. drawn from the Lok Sabha only.
This fund is placed at the disposal of the president, and he can make
advances out of it to meet unforeseen expenditure pending its
authorisation by the Parliament.

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