The Union Executive consists of the President, the Vice President, the Prime Minister with his council of Ministers and the Attorney General. Article 52 to 78 in Part V Chapter 1 of the Indian Constitution deals with the Union Executive.
Article 52 – President
The President is the Head of the State, Nominal head of the State & de jure Head of the State. He is the First citizen of India and acts as the symbol of unity, integrity and solidarity of the nation.
Article 53 – Executive Powers of the President
- The executive power 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.
- Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the supreme command of the Defence Forces of the Union Shall be vested in the President and the exercise thereof shall be regulated by law.
- Nothing in this article shall –
(a) be deemed to transfer to the President any functions conferred by any existing law on the Government of any State or other authority; or
(b) prevent Parliament from conferring by law functions on authorities other than the President.
Article 54 – President Election
The president election is an Indirect Election and shall be elected by the member of
- both the Lok Shaba and Rajya Shaba
- Legislative Assemblies of the states
- Legislative Assemblies of the Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry
Who does not take part in President’s Election
- Nominated member of both the Lok Shaba and Rajya Shaba.
- Nominated member of state legislative assemblies.
- Member of legislative councils (Both elected and nominated) in bicameral legislature.
- Nominated members of union territories of Delhi and Puducherry.
Article 55 – Manner of President’s Election
The President is elected by proportional representation with single transferable vote system. Proportional Representation means that in order to get number of votes need to to win is one more than 50% of the valid votes. Under the Single Transferable Vote System, an elector can indicate more that one preference on his ballot paper.
- Value of the vote of an MLA = Total population of state is divided by the total number of elected members in the State Legislative Assembly is multiplies by 1 divided by 1000.
- Value of the vote of an MP = Total value of votes of all MLAs of all states is divided by the total number of elected Members of Parliament.
- Electoral Quota = (Total number of valid votes polled is divided 2 ) + 1
Article 56 – Term of the President’s Office
- The President shall hold office for a term of five years
- the President may, for violation of the Constitution, be removed from office by impeachment in the manner provided in article 61
Article 57
Article 57 deals with the eligibility for re-election. A person who hold or who has held, office as President shall, subject to the other provisions of this constitution be eligible for re-election to that office
Article 58 – Qualifications for the President
No person shall be eligible for election as President unless he
- is a citizen of India.
- has completed the age of thirty-five years.
- is qualified for election as a member of the House of the People.
Article 59 – Conditions of President’s Office
- The President shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State
- The President shall not hold any other office of profit
Article 60 – OATH OR AFFIRMATION BY THE PRESIDENT
- President swears
- To faithfully execute the office
- To preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law
- To devote himself to the service and well-being of the people of India
- Oath of office to the president is administered by the chief justice of India and in his absence, the senior most judge of the supreme court.
Article 61 – Impeachment of a President
- This procedure is borrowed from USA
- The only condition for the initiation of impeachment of the Indian president is the “Violation of the constitution”
- There will be 14 days notice period to prove himself
- We have taken Lok Shaba as the first house to initiate the impeachment charge, however, Rajya Sabha too can initiate the impeachment charges against president and in that case, it will pass the resolution and send the charges to Lok Sabha which will investigate and pass it if in finds those charges valid.
Article 62 – Can President’s office be Vacant
- Vacancy occurs in the president office in the following ways :
- On the expiry of his tenure for 5 years
- By his resignation
- On his removal by the process of impeachment
- By his death
- His election is declared void.
- Election to fill the vacant must be held before the expiration of the term
- If office falls vacant by resignation, removal, death, then election to fill the vacancy should be held within 6 months. Until that Vice-President acts as President.