Vice - President

 Art 63 :- There shall be a Vice – President of India.

 The second-highest constitutional office in India.
 Art 64: VP is also ex-officio chairperson of Rajya Sabha .

Note: Similar to Indian vice-president, the American vice-presidentalso acts as Chairman of the Senate (the Upper
House of the American legislature).

 He receives salary and other benefits not for being Vice President rather for being ex-officio chairman of RS.
 Working as President (Art 65) – In case of any emergent vacancy of Presidential post Vice- President will take
the charge of President. During this tenure of acting President, he shall be entitled to all Presidential Power,
salary, other previleges.
 He can act as President only for a maximum period of six months within which a new President has to be
elected. However, American Vice-President becomes President for the remaining term.
 Vice President is a member of neither Lok Sabha nor Rajya Sabha.

 Eligibility Art 66 (3)-

 Must be Indian citizen.
 Age 35 years.
 Qualified to become member of R.S.
 Not upon any office of profit.
 Election -
 MLAs do not vote.
 By members of L.S. & R.S. (Both elected & nominated).
 Secret Ballot (In President election also).
 By single transferable vote system on the basis of proportional representation.
 20 Proposers & 20 Seconders from the Electoral College (to be a successful nomination for election).
 Electoral disputes (Art 71): Same as of President (Only in SC + within 30 days + 20 electors signature + no
decision taken by VP will be invalid…). The election of a person as President or Vice-President cannot be
challenged on the ground that the electoral college was incomplete (i.e., the existence of any vacancy among the
members of the electoral college).
 Oath – Art 69 / By President or any other person assigned by him.
 Duration – 5 years. Even after expiring of his term he may remain on his post until his new successor is
elected.
 Resignation: To President
 He is also eligible for re-election to that office for any number of terms.
 If the office falls vacant by resignation, removal, death, or otherwise, then the election to fill the vacancy should
be held as soon as possible (no time limit) after the occurrence of the vacancy (In case of President within 6
months).
 In such cases, when a temporary vacancy in the office of the Vice President is created, the Deputy Chairman of
the Rajya Sabha takes over the role of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
 Removal Process:
 Ground:No ground has been mentioned in the Constitution for his removal.
 A formal impeachment is not required for his removal.
 Resolution for removal can be introduced only in the Rajya Sabha and not in the Lok Sabha, with at least
14 days’ advance notice has been given to Vice President.
 By the resolution passed by R.S. (Effective majority)& further ratified by L.S. (simple majority), he can be
removed.

Dhyeya Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. (1) Polity by Dr. Ritesh Upadhyay Sir
 strength  vaccancies
Note: RS = Effective majority = 1
2

LS = Simple majority (50% + 1 of present & voting)

Note :- Chancellor of all Central Universities = President

Note: Chancellor of State universities= Governor

Prime Minister (P.M.) & Council of Ministers (CoM)

(1) Cabinet
Minister of State (Independent charge)
CoM (2) Minister of State
Minister of State
(3) Deputy Minister
 Cabinet Minister: First rank minister. Always occupied one or more than one portfolio.
 Minister of State (Independent Charge): 2nd rank minister / occupies separate portfolio.
 Minister of State (without independent charge):- 2nd rank minister / But no separate portfolio. Attached with
any cabinet minister or with any ‘minister of State with Independent charge’.
 Deputy Minister:- 3rd Rank Minister. He never gets separate portfolio. Always attached with any cabinet
minister or with any ‘minister of State with Independent charge’.
 Art 74 (1):-
 There shall be a council of ministers headed by Prime Minister.
 This CoM will give aid and advice to the President to discharge his duties.
 President shall act in accordance with such advice.
 By 44th CAA 1978 – President may send back such advice for the reconsideration of CoM but if any such advice
comes back again to the President then President shall be bound to obey such advice.
 Art 74(2): Such adviceshall not be inquired into in any court.
 Art 75 :-
(1): The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers shall be appointed
by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
(1A): Added by 91st CAA 2003. Maximumsize of the CoM = 15% of total member of L.S (not RS).
(1B): Any MP who has been disqualified under Tenth Schedule (anti defection rules) cannot be appointed
as a Minister.
(2): The Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the President (It means that individually any
minister is responsible to President).
(3): The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People(not RS / not
Parliament).
(4):President shall administer to oaths of office and of secrecy as per the ‘Third Schedule’.
(5): A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of either House of
Parliament shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister.
(6): The salaries and allowances of Ministers shall be such as Parliament may from time to time by law
determine and, until Parliament so determines, shall be as specified in the Second Schedule.

Cabinet Council of Minister

 15-20 members.  Around 60-75
 Only cabinet ministers are included.  Cabinet is an important vital part of council of
 Most important unit for policy formulation. minister.
 There is no detail in constitution with respect to  All types of ministers (all 3 types) are included.
their formulation & structure.  Implementation of Policies.

Dhyeya Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. (2) Polity by Dr. Ritesh Upadhyay Sir
 However, once it is mentioned under Art 352 in  Specific provision in constitution related with them
relation with National Emergency (by 44th CAA (Art 74 & Art 75).
1978).

Note:

 Art 88: Every minister shall have the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of either House, any
joint sitting of the Houses and any Committee of Parliament of which he may be named a member. But he
shall not be entitled to vote.
 In Britain, every order of the King for any public act needs to be countersigned by a minister. If the order
is in violation of any law, the minister would be held responsible and would be liable in the court. Unlike
Britain, in India there is no provision for the system of legal responsibility of a minister mentioned in the
constitution.
 KITCHEN CABINET: Every Prime Minister in India has had his ‘Inner Cabinet’–a circle within a circle.
During the era of Indira Gandhi, the ‘Inner Cabinet’ which came to be called the ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ was
particularly powerful. Not only cabinet ministers but also outsiders like friends and family members of the
Prime Minister can include.
 2nd ARC report on size of cabinet: Smaller is better.
 In some situations like formation of a coalition government, it is inevitable that the Cabinet be relatively
large so that all the parties that form the coalition are represented. While a reasonable (small) sized Cabinet
proves effectual due to splitting of and equal sharing of responsibilities, a large Cabinet results in chaos.
 Note:Kitchen Cabinet’ - by Indira Gandhi
‘Dehradun Brigade’ - by Rajiv Gandhi
‘Grand Council of India’ - by L. B. Shastri

Prime Minister

 If any functionary under our constitution is to be compared with the US President, he is the Prime Minister
and not the President of the Union” -- B.R. Ambedkar.
 De Facto head or Real Head of country
 Head of Government.
 The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the selection and appointment of the PM. It is
by and large, governed byParliamentary Conventions.
 As per the conventions of parliamentary system - The President has to appoint the leader of the majority
party in the Lok Sabha (not necessarily the member of LS) as the Prime Minister.
 When no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, then the President may exercise his personal
discretion in the selection and appointment of the PM. In such scenario, the President usually appoints the
leader of the largest party or coalition in the Lok Sabha as the PM and asks him to seek a vote of
confidence in the House (in LS only) within a month (time not mentioned in constitution).
 Constitutionally, the PM may be a member of any of the two Houses of parliament. For e.g. Indira Gandhi
(1966), Deve Gowda (1996) and Manmohan Singh (2004), were members of the Rajya Sabha. However, in
Britain, the Prime Minister should definitely be a member of the Lower House (House of Commons).
 Oaths of office and secrecy: By President
 There is no provision of separate oath for Prime Minister in the constitution. He/she takes oath as a
Minister.
 Oath of Secrecy” should be replace by “Oath of Transparency” – Second ARC
 The term of the PM is not fixed and he holds office during the pleasure of the President. However, as long
as the PM enjoys the majority support in the Lok Sabha, he cannot be dismissed by the President.
 PM gets the salary and allowances that are payable to a member of Parliament.
 PM as ‘primus inter pares’ (first among equals)
 PM as ‘inter stellas luna minores’ (a moon among lesser stars)
Dhyeya Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. (3) Polity by Dr. Ritesh Upadhyay Sir
  PM is the chairperson of Cabinet, CoM, important cabinet committees.
 The resignation or death of an incumbent PM automatically dissolves the CoM and thereby generates a
vacuum (swim together-sink together)
 However,the resignation or death of any other minister, merely creates a vacancy, which the PM may or
may not like to fill.
 He is the chairperson of high-powered bodies like NITI Aayog, National Integration Council (NIC), Inter-
State Councils (ISC), National Water Resource Council etc.
 He is the chief spokesman of the Union government.
 He is leader of the party in power.
 PM becomes leader of house of which he is member.

ROLE OF THE PRIME MINISTER:

Role of the PM w.r.t. the CoM:

 He allocates and reshuffles various portfolios among the ministers.

 He can ask a minister to resign or advise the President to dismiss him in case of difference of opinion.
 He presides over the meeting of CoMand cabinet meetings and influences its decisions.
 His death or resignation from office can bring the collapse of the whole CoM .

Note:

 In Britain, PM comes from House of Commons (Lower House).

 In Germany, federal chancellor comes from lower house (Bundestag).
 Japanese PM comes from lower house, called as Diet.
 H. V Kamath introduced ‘Constitutional Amendment Bill (in 1966)’ to codify the same provision.
Congress broadly agreed with the same but held that it should evolve as convention rather than statute.

 Cabinet Committees -
 The Cabinet Committee are institutional arrangements to reduce the workload of the Cabinet.
 Extra - Constitutional bodies (Not mentioned in the constitution)
 However, these are related with constitution indirectly.
 Article 77(3) of the Constitution, which states: “The President shall make rules for the more convenient
transaction of the business of the GoI, and for the allocation among Ministers of the said business”.
 In 1961, by using the powers under Art 77(3) President (not Parliament) ordered for “Indian Govt. (Conduct of
Business) Rules 1961”.
Standing Committee (8)
 Cabinet Committee (C.C.)
Ad hoc Committee (…..)
 Today = 8 Standing committees (Before 2019 = only 6)
 Their membership varies from three to eight.
 They usually include only Cabinet Ministers. However, the noncabinet Ministers are not debarred from their
membership.
 They are mostly headed by the Prime Minister. In case the Prime Minister is a member of a committee, he
invariably presides over it.
 They not only sort out issues and formulate proposals for the consideration of the Cabinet, but also take
decisions. However, the Cabinet can review their decisions

Standing Cabinet Committee (Total = 8):-

(1) Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs - (PM chairman). Known as ‘Super Cabinet’ (most important of
all).
(2) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs -(PM chairman).
Dhyeya Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. (4) Polity by Dr. Ritesh Upadhyay Sir
 (3) Cabinet Committees on Appointment -PM chairman
(4) Cabinet Committee on Security- Chairman = PM. NSA also is member of this committee (National
Security Advisor = Ajit Doval). He has been given the status of a cabinet minister.
(5) Cabinet Committee on Parliamentry Affairs -Chairman = Home Minister. State bills reserved by
Governor for the consideration of President are discussed here only.
(6) Cabinet Committee on Accommodation -It’s chairman is not fixed.
(7) Cabinet Committees on Employment & Skill Development -Chairman = PM
(8) Cabinet Committees on Investment and Growth Chairman= PM

 Cabinet Secretariat :-
 Governor-General-in Council (earlier name of Cabinet Secretariat) procedure was formally established by the
Councils Act of 1861.
 Staff agencies of Cabinet.
 It functions directly under the Prime Minister
 Conduct of business & meetings of Cabinet and cabinet commitees
 Preparation of the agenda and record of discussions of cabinet meetings
 The Cabinet Secretariat derives its validity from is responsible for the administration of the ‘GoI (Allocation of
Business) Rules 1961’.
 Head of Cabinet Secretariat is the ‘Cabinet Secretary’. He is also the ex-officio Chairman of “Civil Services
Board”. As chairperson of Civil Services Board, he makes recommendations w.r.t appointments of joint
secretary in cabinet secretariat.
 In the order of seniority (precedence) Cabinet Secretary = 11th position
 However, these days informally the ‘Principle secretary’ is also behaving as Principle advisor of PM.

PMO (Prime Minister Office) :-

 Prime Minister’s Secretariate(1947) converted into PMO in 1977.

 PMO is one of the youngest organisation of union government, but has tended to emerge as tallest at different
points of times
 Extra constitutional body.
 Under [Art 77(3) / Indian govt. (conduct of business) rules 1961]
 Chief Executive / Head or Chairman = Principle Secretary.
 NSA (National Security Advisor) sits here only.
 Experts say that in reality, PMO has become more powerful than Cabinet secretariat.
 In media Principle secretary is called as “Ear of PM” because all the information related with governance &
administration is given by him to the PM.
 Helps the PM in discharging of his overall responsibilities.
 PM is the Ex-office chairman of NITI Aayog, PM relief Fund, PM National Security Fund.
 All these above works are finalized / handled in PM office only.

 Group of Ministers / EGoM (Empowered Group of Ministers_ :-

 For the conduct of the business of govt.
 Apart from cabinet committee.
 On specific issues & subjects some group of ministers are allocated to manage these issues.
 Some group of ministers have full independence to take decisions& they do not need to any approval from
cabinet. These group of ministers are called as Empowered group of ministers (EGoM).
 Non-permanent nature.
 Ad hoc bodies.
 Note:-2nd ARC commission on Group of Ministers has given following recommendations –
1) Government should try to keep it as a rare mechanism to deal with issues.

Dhyeya Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. (5) Polity by Dr. Ritesh Upadhyay Sir
 2) Govt should not form them more than required.
3) This should not be treated as any parallel organization before the cabinet.

Attorney General of India

 Art 76.
 Advocate of Central govt. / Govt. of India.
 1st law officer of country.
 Appointed by President.
 He must be qualified to become judge of S.C. (Citizen of India + At least 5 years as a judge of any H.C. or At
least 10 years as lawyer in any H.C./S.C or an eminent jurist in the view of President).
 His tenure is not fixed. Usually he resigns after the change in government.
 He remains at his post until he enjoys the pleasure of the President.
 Receives remuneration as President may determine.
 Duties :
 Legal advisor of Central Govt.
 To defend Central Govt. in all the courts of India.
 Helping in the process of President taking advice from Supreme Court.
 Right of Audience in all the courts.
 Right to participate in the proceeding of both the houses. (Even right to speak). However, he does not have
any right to vote on any bill or proposals.
 He enjoys all privileges and immunities that are available to a member of parliament.
 He cannot advise anyone against the central govt.
 Without the permission of President (Govt. of India) he cannot advise or defend anyone involved in criminal
offences.
 This post does not come in the category of govt. employees. Therefore, he is allowed to practice his litigation
works (Advocacy) in his personal capacity.
 But he should not accept appointment as director in any company or corporation without government
permission.
 To furnish his official responsibilities solicitor general & additional solicitor general are appointed.
 Art. 76 does not mention about ‘solicitor general’.

State Executive
 Part - 6
 Governor -
 Art 153 – There shall be Governor in each state. However, there can be only 1 Governor in two or more state.
 He is the constitutional head of the state.
 Art 155 – Appointment by President.
 Eligibility :-Indian citizen + 35 years age (minimum). No other qualification needed.
 As per the report of SARKARIYA COMMISSION Chief Minister should be consulted before the appointment
of Governor.
 He remains at his post until he enjoys the pleasure of President. For his removal there is no ground or process
mentioned in the constitution. (Tenure is not fixed)
 Art 159 / (Oath) –Chief Justice of H.C. (in his absence, any other senior most Judge of H.C.)
 Executive Powers :-
 Art 166 (1) – All executive actions of the state govt. are taken in the name of Governor.
 Art 166(3)- He shall make rules to ease the process of government of state. .

Dhyeya Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. (6) Polity by Dr. Ritesh Upadhyay Sir
 Governor appoints the following– Chief minister & other ministers+Advocate General+State election
commissioner+Chairman & member of PSC+Judges of subordinate courts+The appointment of vice-chancellors
in state university.
 Legislative Powers :-
 Art 168 – State Legislature = Governor + Vidhan Sabha + Vidhan Parishad (If any)
 Art 174- Here also the session of state legislature is ‘summoned’ & ‘prorogue’ by the Governor with a gap of not
more than 6 months (at such time and place, he thinks fit). And he may dissolve the Legislative assembly.
 Art 176 – Special address to state legislature (same as of President / on two occasions).
 Art 200 :-A state Bill becomes on Act only after the assent of the Governor.
 Veto Power of Governor:- Already studied.
 Ordinace Making Power (Art 213) :- Already studied.

 Pardoning Power of Gvernor (Art 161): Already studied.

 On punishment given for violation of state laws.
 No right on the decision of military courts.
 He cannot pardon in case of death punishment. But he can commute, reprive, respite….
 Governor has 2 types of Discretionary Power :-
(1) Situational Discretionary Powers(same as of President)
(2) Constitutional Discretionary Power(President does not have any such constitutional discretionary
powers) :
 To recommend for President rule in the state.
 Art 200 – He shall reserve any bill for consent of President if such bill derogates the powers of HC.
 In the autonomous district council of few states, he may regulate the process of giving licenses related with
mining, land acquisition, etc.

ISSUES WITH RESPECT TO GOVERNOR:

 Appointment by centre: The post has been reduced to becoming a retirement package for politicians for
being politically faithful to the government of the day.
 Arbitrary removal before the expiration of their tenure
 Misuse of discretionary powers
 Governor’s discretionary powers to invite the leader of the largest party/alliance, post-election, to form
the government has often been misused to favour a particular political party.
 The Governor has the power to withhold the assent to a bill along with reserving the bill for the
consideration of the President (Art. 200 and 201).
 Art. 356: To recommend the imposition of constitutional emergency in a state. For political gains, this
power has been abused by central governments more than 120 times till date.
 Abuse of position- As Central Government’s agent.
 Mere rubber stamp or puppet → Governor’s work is bound by the aid and advice of his council of
ministers, this has brought down the significance of the office to a mere rubber stamp or mere in the role
of ‘Postman’ between centre and state government.

S. R. BOMMAI Case JUDGEMENT OF SUPREME COURT 1994:

 Laid emphasis on floor test in the house within 48 hours (although it can be extended to 15 days) so that
legislature should decide the matter
 The Supreme Court classified the instances of ‘failure of constitutional machinery’ into four heads:
 Political crises.
 Internal subversion.
 Physical breakdown.
 Non-compliance with constitutional directions of the Union Executive

Dhyeya Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. (7) Polity by Dr. Ritesh Upadhyay Sir
NABAM REBIA JUDGMENT (2016): Supreme Court emphasized that the exercise of Governor’s discretion is
limited and his choice of action should not be arbitrary or fanciful. It must be a choice dictated by reason, actuated
by good faith and tempered by caution.

Following Committees have also recommended the rational reforms regarding the role the performance of
duties by Governor:

1. RAJAMANNAR COMMITTEE (1971)

2. SARKARIA COMMISSION (1983)
3. JUSTICE V. CHELLIAH COMMISSION (2002)
4. Second ARC Report 2011
5. M. M. Punchi Commision Report 2007 (still under consideration in ‘Inter State Council Meetinngs’)

Chief Minister / Council of Minister

 The position of the Chief Minister at the state level is analogous to the position of prime minister at the
Centre.
 Art 163 – To assist or advise to the Governor, there shall be council of minister headed by Chief Minister. The
advice tendered by Ministers to the Governor shall not be inquired into in any court
 Oath- By Governor.
 Art. 164 → Appointed by the Governor (No procedure mentioned in constitution / Same as of PM)
 Art 164: The CoM shall be collectively responsible to the legislative assembly of the state.
 CM is the head of the government. (Governor is the head of the State).
 A minister, individually is responsible to Governor. However, the council of minister is responsible to Vidhan
Sabha collectively.
 Max. no. Minister (including CM)= 15% of total Vidhan Sabha members (But for Delhi, maximum 10 %).
 CM may be a member of any of the two Houses of state legislature. Within 6 month any minister will have to
become the member of any house of the State Legislature.
 CM is the principal channel of communication (Art. 167) between the governor and CoM.
 The resignation or death of an incumbent CM automatically dissolves the CoM and thereby generates a
vacuum.
 He is the chief spokesman of the state government. He is leader of the party in power in state.
 The CM is the leader of the state legislative assembly (if he is the member of that house).
 He summons cabinet meeting and also chairs and decides agenda of meeting.
 He is a member of the Inter-State Council and the Governing Council of NITI Aayog (both headed by the
prime minister)
 CM is chairman of the State Planning Board.
 CM is vice-chairman of the concerned zonal council by rotation, holding office for a period of one year at a
time.
 CM is Chairperson of State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).
 In most of the states, ‘deputy minister’ rank is not present. Only CM, Cabinet ministers, Minister of State
(independent charge), and Minister of State exists.

 Advantages and functions of cabinet: Same as of Union cabinet

 Cabinet Committees: May be different in number and in terms of format but their objective is same as of Union
Cabinet Committees. No need to study state wise system of governance. Focus on Union Government only.

ADVOCATE GENERAL
 Art 165
 All provisions similar to the Attorney General of India
 Advocate or legal advisor of the state government.

Dhyeya Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. (8) Polity by Dr. Ritesh Upadhyay Sir
 1st law officer of the state.
 Eligibility – Eligible to become H.C. Judge.
 Appointed by – Governor.
 Tenure – At the pleasure of Governor / No fixed tenure. But usually he resigns when the government changes.
 Salary & Emoluments – Decided by Governor.
 He may also do his personnel practice but he cannot take any case against the state govt.
 In such cases where state govt. is a party, he represents the state govt.
 Art 177 – He may participate in the proceedings of any house of the state legislature (but cannot vote).
 Art 194:He also gets all privileges similar to the other members of the houses.

******

Dhyeya Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. (9) Polity by Dr. Ritesh Upadhyay Sir