PART V : THE UNION
Vice President
The Vice-President occupies the second highest office in the
country. He is accorded a rank next to the President in the
official warrant of precedence. This office is modelled on the
lines of the American Vice- President.
ELECTION
The Vice-President, like the president, is elected not directly by
the people but by the method of indirect election. He is elected
by the members of an electoral college consisting of the
members of both Houses of Parliament.
Thus, this electoral college is different from the electoral
college for the election of the President in the following two
respects:
1. It consists of both elected and nominated members of the
Parliament (in the case of president, only elected members).
2. It does not include the members of the state legislative
assemblies (in the case of President, the elected members of
the state legislative assemblies are included).
The manner of election is same in both the cases. Thus, the
Vice- President’s election, like that of the President’s election,
is held in accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of the single transferable vote and
the voting is by secret ballot.
All doubts and disputes in connection with election of the
Vice President are inquired into and decided by the
Supreme Court whose decision is final.
The election of a person as Vice-President cannot be
challenged on the ground that the electoral college was
incomplete (i.e., existence of any vacancy among the
members of electoral college).
QUALIFICATIONS, OATH AND CONDITIONS
Qualifications
To be eligible for election as Vice-President, a person should
fulfil the following qualifications:
1.He should be a citizen of India.
2.He should have completed 35 years of age.
3.He should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya
Sabha.
4.He should not hold any office of profit under the Union
government or any state government or any local authority or any
other public authority.
Further, the nomination of a candidate for election to the
office of Vice- President must be subscribed by at least 20
electors as proposers and
20 electors as seconders. Every candidate has to make a
security deposit of ₹15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India.
Oath or Affirmation
Before entering upon his office, the Vice President has to
make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation. In his oath, the
Vice President swears:
1.to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India; and
2. to faithfully discharge the duties of his office. The oath of office
to the Vice-President is administered by the President or some
person appointed in that behalf by him.
Conditions of Office
The Constitution lays down the following two conditions of
the Vice- President’s office:
1. He should not be a member of either House of Parliament or a
House of the state legislature. If any such person is elected Vice-
President, he is deemed to have vacated his seat in that House on
the date on which he enters upon his office as Vice-President.
2.He should not hold any other office of profit.
TERM AND VACANCY
Term of Office
The Vice-President holds office for a term of five years from
the date on which he enters upon his office. However, he can
resign from his office at any time by addressing the
resignation letter to the President. He can also be removed
from the office before completion of his term.
A formal impeachment is not required for his removal. He
can be removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the
then members of the Rajya Sabha and agreed to by the Lok
Sabha.
This means that this resolution should be passed in the Rajya
Sabha by an effective majority and in the Lok Sabha by a
simple majority.
This resolution can be introduced only in the Rajya Sabha and
not in the Lok Sabha. But, no such resolution can be moved
unless at least 14 days’ advance notice has been given.
Notably, no ground has been mentioned in the Constitution
for his removal.
Vacancy in Office
A vacancy in the Vice-President’s office can occur in any of the
following ways:
1.On the expiry of his tenure of five years.
2.By his resignation.
3.On his removal. 4. By his death.
5. Otherwise, for example, when he becomes disqualified to hold
office or when his election is declared void.
When the vacancy is going to be caused by the expiration of
the term of the sitting vice president, an election to fill the
vacancy must be held before the expiration of the term.
If the office falls vacant by resignation, removal, death or
otherwise, then election to fill the vacancy should be held as
soon as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy. The
newly elected vice-president remains in office for a full term of
five years from the date he assumes charge of his office.
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS
The functions of Vice-President are two-fold:
1. He acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. In this
capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of the
Speaker of Lok Sabha. In this respect, he resembles the American
vice president who also acts as the Chairman of the Senate-the
Upper House of the American legislature.
2. He acts as President when a vacancy occurs in the office of the
President due to his resignation, impeachment, death or
otherwise. He can act as President only for a maximum period of
six months within which a new President has to be elected.
Further, when the sitting President is unable to discharge his
functions due to absence, illness or any other cause, the Vice-
President discharges his functions until the President resumes his
office.
The Constitution has not fixed any emoluments for the
VicePresident in that capacity.
He draws his regular salary in his capacity as the ex-officio
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
In 2018, the Parliament increased the salary of the Chairman
of the Rajya Sabha from ₹1.25 lakh to ₹4 lakh per month.
Earlier in 2008, the pension of the retired Vice-President was
increased from ₹20,000 per month to 50% of his salary per
month.
