UNION EXECUTIVE

THE PRESIDENT
 1st
FIRST PRESIDENT OF INDIA
Dr. Rajendra Prasad
26 Jan 1950- 13 May 1962 (2 terms)

14th PRESENT PRESIDENT OF INDIA

Shri Ram Nath Kovind
Sworn in on 25 July 2017
 PRESIDENTS OF INDIA

Dr. Rajendra Dr. Sarvepalli Dr. Zakir Husain Dr. Fakhruddin Ali
Shri Varahagiri
Prasad Radhakrishnan 13May1967-3May1 Ahmed
Venkata Giri
26 Jan 1950-13 13May1962- 969 24Aug1974-
24Aug1969-
May 1962 13May1967 11Feb1977
24Aug1974

Shri K.R. Narayanan Dr. Shankar Dayal Shri R

Giani Zail Singh Shri Neelam
25July1997-25July20 Sharma Venkataraman
25July1982-25July1 Sanjiva Reddy
02 25July1992-25July19 25July1987-25July19
987 25July1977-
97 92 25July1983

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Smt. Pratibha

Shri Pranab
Kalam Devisingh Patil Shri Ram Nath
Mukherjee
25July2002-25July20 25July2007-25July2 Kovind
25July2012-25July2
07 012 Sworn in on
017
25July2017
 ER
E MEMB
O R
I N TS T POSITION OF THE PRESIDENT
PO

Indian constitution declares India to be a Republic.

For securing the objective of making India a republic, it provides for an Elected head of state - the
President of India.
India, having adopted a parliamentary system of government, differentiates between nominal and
real executive in the country.
The Constitution makers made the President a nominal and constitutional head of state, whereas
the real executive powers were to be exercised by the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.

As the President was to be only a nominal or constitutional executive, it was thought best to lay
down an indirect method for the election of the President.

It was felt that a directly elected President could provide a challenge to the Prime Minister's
leadership of the government and hence pose a threat to the working of the Parliamentary system.
The President of India stands at the head of the Union Executive which includes, besides him, the
Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.
The President is the Embodiment of the ultimate authority of the Constitution.

Although labelled as a 'nominal head' he is required by oath "to preserve, protect

and defend the Constitution and the law" and "to devote himself to the service
and wellbeing of the people of India."

Article-52 provides, "There shall be President of India.“

According to Article-53, "The executive powers of the Union shall be vested in the
President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers
subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution."

NOTE- The President does not exercise these powers by himself.

Under Article-77 (1) the provision is made, "All executive actions of the
Government of India shall be expected to be taken in the name of the President."

While clarifying the position of the Indian President, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said, "The
President occupies the same position as the king under the British constitution. He
is head of the nation but not of the executive. He represents the nation but does
not rule the nation."
 Qualifications of the President
According to Article 58 of the Constitution
following qualifications are needed for the office of the President:

(1) He must be a citizen of India.

(2) He must be above 35 years of age.

(3) He must possess all qualifications prescribed for election as a member of Lok Sabha.

(4) He must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or any State Government or any
local authority subject to the control of State Government.

(5) He must not be a member of either house of Parliament or of any State Legislature. In case he is, he
must vacate his seat in that house before he assumes his office as the President of India.

The Presidential Election Act of 1974 which was amended in 1997, provides for a security deposit of Rupees
2,500/- along with the nomination paper of the candidate, proposed at least by 10 and seconded by 10
T E
NO other members of the electoral college (the elected members of the two houses of Parliament or the State
Legislative Assemblies.
Tenure of President
The President is elected for a term of five years.

His term commences from the date on which he enters upon his office.

If due to one reason or the other, the election of a new President cannot be completed before the expiry of
his term, the President continues to hold the office till the election of a new President gets completed.

Before the completion of his term, the President can resign his office by writing under his hand a resignation
letter addressed to the Vice-President.

Vacation of the office of the President

According of Article-56 (1) of the constitution, before the completion of tenure, the office of the President
can fall vacant under the following conditions:

1. If the President resigns on his own. The President sends his resignation to the Vice-President who in turn
informs the Speaker of the Lok Sabha about it.

2. In case the President dies in his office.

3. In case the President is removed through impeachment.

To fill the vacant Office
Article-62 provides that the election of the new President must be held before the completion of the
tenure of the former President.

But in case the office of the President falls vacant due to any of the above given reasons, then Vice-
President succeeds to the office of President. But the election must be held to elect the new President
within six months of the Vice-President's succession to the office.

Presidential Succession
In 1969, after the death of President Dr. Zakir Hussain, Vice-President Sh. V.V. Giri succeeded as
President. But later on Sh. V.V. Giri resigned to contest election for the office of President, so, the office of
Vice-President fell vacant.

The Parliament, faced with an unusual situation, passed the Presidential Succession Act, 1969 which
provided that in the event of the office of both the President and Vice-President falling vacant, the Chief
Justice of India in case he is not available, the next senior most judge shall succeed to the office.

In 1969 after the resignation of Sh. V.V. Giri, the Chief Justice of India, Sh. Hidayatullaha acted as the
President of India
 Method of Removal of President
The President of India may be removed by the process of impeachment for the violation of the Constitution.

Article-61 provides that any house of Parliament can prefer against the President a charge of the violation of the
constitution by bringing in a resolution moved after at least 14 days notice in writing, signed by at least 1/4 of the
total strength of the house and indicating their intention to move such a resolution.

This resolution must be passed by a majority of not less than 2/3 of the total members of the House.
When such a charge is preferred by either House of the Parliament, the other house will investigate the charge or
cause the charge to be investigated.

At this stage, the President shall have the right to appear personally or through his nominee in order to be
represented at such an investigation with a view to offer his defence.

If, after the investigation a resolution is passed by a majority of at least 2/3 of the total membership of the house in
which the charge was investigated, or which caused it to be investigated declaring that the charge levelled against
the President is sustained, the
President shall be removed from the office as from the date on which the
resolution is passed.

TE
NO
Criticism of the Method of Removal :

(1) The phrase 'violation of the constitution' is a vague concept. It is not clear as to what it includes and what it
excludes.

(2) The members of the state legislatures have been deprived of any part in this process in spite of the fact
that they have full part in the election of the President.

(3) Nominated members of the Parliament should not have been given a part in a process of impeachment as
they might support the President.

(4) It is not clear as to who will investigate the charges in the other house.

(5) It is also not clear as to what and how much time the investigating house will give to the President for
making his defence.

(6) As the President has the power to summon and prorogue the Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha, he
might make use of his power in this regard either to punish his opponents in the Parliament or take the benefit
of time by delaying the process of impeachment.

(7) The constitution makes no mention of the disqualifications that a person shall incur after his removal from
the office of the President.
 Salary and Allowances of the President
Under Article-59 (3) the power to fix the salary and allowances of the President is vested in the Parliament.
According to the President's Emoluments and Pension (Amendment) Bill passed by the Parliament on August
4,1998.

The President gets salary of Rs. 5,00,000 onwards per month.

After retirement he gets half of his monthly salary as pension and additional allowance per year for the
maintenance of his personal office.

He is also entitled to free accommodation, free electricity, telephone, medical facility, travelling etc. The
President's salary and pension is charged from the Consolidated Fund of India and cannot be reduced during
his tenure.
NOTE

Special privileges of the President

Under Article-361 the President is entitled to the following privileges :

1. He is not answerable to any court of law for the exercise of his powers and functions
2. He can neither be arrested nor can any criminal proceeding be initiated again him during his tenure.
3. No civil proceedings can be initiated against him except with a prior notice of two months.

.:
 METHOD OF THE ELECTION OF PRESIDENT
Most of the members of the constituent assembly were of the opinion that the directly elected President
would try to become real executive head and this will lead to a direct clash between the President and the
Prime Minister.

Method adopted for the election of the President : is known as "Nehru-Ambedkar Formula" mentioned in
Article-54 and 55 of the constitution.

T I C E-54President shall be elected by an electoral college consisting of:

LThe
AR (a) elected members of both the Houses of Parliament
(b) elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.

"The-5election of the President shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by
I C L E 5
T
AR means of single transferable vote system and voting in such election shall be through secret ballot."
 Uniformity in the scale of Representation : provided in Article-55

(a) Value of the votes of the members of State Legislative Assembly :

Population of the
.-.
M.L. = state 1000
A Total no. of elected
M.L.A
E
T-Total no. of votes of an elected M.L.A. is 1
NO -Value of vote for MLA’s of the same state remains same.
-Value of vote for MLA’s of differing states differs.

(b) Value of the vote an elected member of Parliament :

Total votes of the

Value of the = M.L.A’s
vote
Value ofof
vote
anof M.P.
all MP’s
isis equal. Total no. of the elected
M.P’s
NOTE
7Stages of Election :-
The law concerning the election of the President passed in 1952 and amended in
1977 and 1997 provides for the procedure to be followed as under:

1. Notification of the election of the President

2. Nomination of Returning Officers

3. Filling of nomination Papers

4. Scrutiny of nomination Papers

5. Polling:- On the date decided for the purpose, the M.P.'s can cast their votes in Delhi and
the M.L.A.'s in their respective state capitals. The M.P.'s can cast their votes in their state
capitals with the prior permission of the Election Commission.

(a) Method of Voting :- Ballot paper

(b) Method to fix Quota:- Total no. of valid votes
Requirement = + 1
1+1

(c) Counting of votes:- if no candidate is able to secure the required quota in the first
counting subsequent rounds shall be made
 t
No In India, in the election to the office of the President in India held in 1969, the require quota
e
was secured by Mr. V.V. Giri in the second counting.

Unanimously Elected President : Mr. Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was unanimously elected as the sixth
President of India in July, 1977.

6. Counting of votes and declaration of Results

7. Oath taking by the President

Disputes about the election of President

Article-71 makes provision that disputes regarding the election of the President can be filed only in the Supreme
Court whose decision will be final.

Till today, the election of Sh. Zakir Hussain in 1967,

election of Sh. V.V. Giri in 1969 and
election of Sh. Zail Singh in 1982 was challenged in the Supreme Court, but all the three election petitions were
rejected by the Supreme Court.

In 1969, President Sh. V.V. Giri appeared in person before the Supreme Court and thus, he created history.
 E M BER
REM
Some important points in regard to the election of the President :

(i) The President is elected indirectly.

(ii) The nominated members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are not given part
in the election of the President.

(iii) The members of the Legislative Assemblies of the Union Territories are also not
given part in the election of the President. A Constitutional Amendment passed in
1992 provided a right to the elected members of Legislative Assemblies of Union
Territories of Pondicherry and Delhi to participate in Election of the President.

(iv) Election to the new President in essential before the completion of the tenure of
the President.

(v) In case due to any reason the office of the President falls vacant, than the election
of the new President must take place within six months.

(vi) The election of the President and Vice-President can be challenged in the
Supreme Court only.
CRITICISM OF ELECTION PROCEDURE
1. It is not a system of Proportional Representation.

2. It is a very complex System.

3. Lack of uniformity in representation to States.

4. Undemocratic Method.

5. It is not a Single Transferable Vote System.

6. Crisis situation can arise in case voters have not given then second Preference.

7.Holding of the election despite vacancies in the Electoral College.

8. State Legislative Assemblies cannot move resolution to remove the President.

9. Participation of nominated members in the impeachment proceedings.

10. No bar on Re-election.

Despite these criticisms, the Presidential election system and the other provisions connected with the
organization of the office of the President have been working successfully since the inauguration of the
Constitution. The method is certainly the best and in the words of Dr. K.R. Bombwal, "It is the original
contribution to constitutional practices."
 POWERS OF THE INDIAN PRESIDENT

Article 53 declares, "the executive powers of the Union shall be vested in the President and
shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance
wit the constitution.“

The powers of the President are given in various parts of the constitution and there are more
than one hundred articles and three schedules which either wholly or partially deal with
them.

However, being the head of a Parliamentary System, he is only a Constitutional head with
nominal powers and he exercises these powers through the Council of Ministers an
consultation with it.

After the 42nd Amendment, Article 74 of the Constitution clearly states that it is mandatory
for the President to act in accordance with the advice of the Coue Ministers which is headed
by the Prime Minister

Despite such a limitation, the President holds the highest office in India, represents the
sovereignty of India, enjoys the highest position and plays a valuable role in the Indian
Constitutional System
CLASSIFICATION
1

EXECUTIVE POWERS
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1. Executive Powers
According to the Article 53 of the Constitution, all the executive powers of the Union are
vested in the President, and he can exercise these powers directly or through officers
subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution. The 'executive power' primarily
means the execution of the laws exacted by the legislature and 'the power of carrying on the
business of government' or the administration of the affairs of the state.'

These executive powers can be divided into the following headings:-

1. Administrative Powers

2. Power of Appointment and Removal

3. Administration of Union Territories and Tribal Areas

4. Diplomatic Powers

5. Military Powers

6. Powers in regard to State Government

7. Powers in regard to Scheduled Castes

8. Power to be Informed
2. Legislative Powers
In the legislative field too the President has important powers.

The President is not a member of either of the two Houses of Parliament, nevertheless, he is the integral
part of the legislative process.

Article 79 of the Constitution states that, "There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of
the President and the two Houses...?“ It means that without becoming a member of the Parliament, the
President is an inseparable part of the Parliament and wields extensive legislative powers

No Bill passed by the Parliament becomes an Act without the signatures of the President

The following are the legislative powers of the President:-

1. To Convene and Prorogue the session of Parliament

2. To inaugurate the Parliament

3. To address and send messages to the Parliament

4 Power to nominate members in the two Houses of the Parliament

5. To dissolve the Lok Sabha

6. Prior permission to introduce certain Bills

7. Assent over Bills

8. To Issue Ordinances

9. Power over certain bills passed by State Legislatures

10. Power to lay reports before Parliament

11. Power to appoint acting Chairman of Rajva Sabha.

3. Financial Powers

1. No money Bill can be introduced in the Parliament (Lok Sabha) without the prior consent of
the President.

2. At the commencement of each financial year, the President causes to be laid before the
Parliament the Annual Financial Statement (Budget) showing an estimate of the revenue and
expenditure of the Union for the coming financial year.

3. The President controls the Contingency Fund of India. He has the power to order an
expenditure out of it for meeting an unforeseen expenditure.

4. He appoints the members of the Finance Commission after every five years. This
commission makes recommendations for the distribution of revenue between the Centre and
the States.

5. To the States of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa he allocates grants in lieu of their
shares in export duty on jute and jute products.

6. He gets the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India laid before the
Parliament.
4. Judicial Powers

1. As Head of the State, the President has the unfettered power to grant pardon, reprieve,
respite, suspension, commutation or remission in respect of;
(a) Criminals facing death sentence,
(b) Offences against laws made under the Union and Concurrent List,
(c) All cases of punishment by Court Martial.

2. He appoints the Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.

3. He can seek the advice of the Supreme Court of India over any legal matter or a bill of
public importance. The Supreme Court is bound to give such an advice. However, the
President is not bound to accept the advice given by the Supreme Court.

4. It can be included here that the President is above law. He can not be tried in any Court
of Law and cannot be arrested. A civil suit can, however, be filed against him only after
giving a two months notice.
5. Emergency Powers

The President has been given wide powers to meet emergency situations in country.

In this regard, our constitution makers were influenced by the Weimer Constitution of
Germany.

A separate chapter on Emergency Powers was included in our Constitution.

In the Part XVIII of the constitution the articles (352 to 360) are exclusively devoted to the
Emergency Powers of the President.

Three kinds of emergencies are listed in Constitution :

(a) National Emergency (Art 352), i.e. : an emergency caused by war, external aggression or
internal armed rebellion or threat thereof.

(b) Constitutional Emergency (Art 356), i.e. an emergency arising out of the fail the
constitutional machinery in a State.

(c) Financial Emergency (Art 360), i.e. ; an emergency arising out of a financial in the country.
 CRITICAL EVALUATION OF EMERGENCY POWERS

1. 1. Anti-federal
Critics-
H.V.Kamath
2. 2. Against democratic Principles Prof. K.T.Shah

3. 3. Suspension of Fundamental Rights

4. Attack of State Autonomy

4.

5. Misuse of the Powers

5.

6. Can be used as political Weapon

6.

O TE
N
Misuse of articles
352 & 256 during the
past
5. JUSTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY PROVISIONS

1. Historical Necessity

2. National security is more imp. than individual rights

3. Little chance of Authoritarianism

4. Provision for the impeachment of the president

5. Safeguards provided for preventing the improper use of

emergency provisions.
THANK
YOU