President and Vice President
Chapter
I The Executive
Article
52 The President of India
There shall be a President of
India.
Article
53 Executive power of the Union
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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 Election of President
The President shall be elected by
the members of an electoral college consisting of -
(a) the
elected members of both Houses of Parliament; and
(b) the
elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.
Explanation: In this article and in article 55 ,
"State" includes the National Capital Territory of Delhi
and the Union territory of Pondicherry.
Article
55 Manner of election of President
(1) As far as
practicable, there shall be uniformity in the scale of representation
of the different States at the election of the President.
(2)
For the purpose of securing such uniformity among the States inter se
as well as parity between the States as a whole and the Union, the
number of votes which each elected member of Parliament and of the
legislative Assembly of each state is entitled to cast at such
election shall be determined in the following manner; -
(a)
every elected member of the Legislative Assembly of a State shall
have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousand in the
quotient obtained by dividing the population of the State by the
total number of the elected members of the Assembly;
(b) if,
after taking the said multiples of one thousand, the remainder is not
less than five hundred, then the vote of each member referred to in
sub-clause (a) shall be further increased by one;
(c) each
elected member of either House of Parliament shall have such number
of votes as may be obtained by dividing the total number of votes
assigned to the members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States
under sub-clauses (a) and (b) by the total number of the elected
members of both Houses of Parliament, fractions exceeding one-half
being counted as one and other fractions being disregarded.
(3)
The election of the President shall be held in accordance with the
system of proportional representation by means of the single
transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret
ballot.
Explanation: In this article, the expression
"population" means the population as ascertained at the
last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been
published:
Provided that the reference in this Explanation to
the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been
published shall, until the relevant figures for the first census
taken after the year 2000 have been published, be construed as a
reference to the 1971 census.
Article
56 Term of office of President
(1) The President shall
hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters
upon his office:
Provided that - (a) the President may, by
writing under his hand addressed to the Vide-President, resign his
office;
(b) the President may, for violation of the
Constitution, be removed from office by impeachment in the manner
provided in article 61 .
(c)
the President shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his term,
continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his
office.
(2) Any resignation addressed to the Vice-President
under clause (a) of the proviso to clause (1) shall forthwith be
communicated by him to the Speaker of the House of the People.
Article
57 Eligibility for re-election
A person who holds, 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 election as President
(1) No
person shall be eligible for election as President unless he -
(a)
is a citizen of India;
(b) has completed the age of thirty-five
years, and
(c) is qualified for election as a member of the
House of the People.
(2) A person shall not be eligible for
election as President if he holds any office of profit under the
Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local
or other authority subject to the control of any of the said
Governments.
Explanation: For the purposes of this article, a
person shall not be deemed to hold any office of profit by reason
only that he is the President or Vice-President of the Union or the
Governor of any State or is a Minister either for the Union or for
any State.
Article
59 Conditions of President's office
(1) The President
shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of
the Legislature of any State, and if a member of either House of
Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State be elected
President, he shall be deemed to have vacated his seat in that House
on the date on which he enters upon his office as President.
(2)
The President shall not hold any other office of profit.
(3) The
President shall be entitled without payment of rent to the use of his
official residences and shall be also entitled to such emoluments,
allowances and privileges as may be determined by Parliament by law
and until provision in that behalf is so made, such emoluments,
allowances and privileges as are specified in the Second
Schedule.
(4) The emoluments and allowances of the President
shall not be diminished during his term of office.
Article
60 Oath or affirmation by the President
Every President and
every person acting as President or discharging the functions of the
President shall, before entering upon his office, make and subscribe
in the presence of the Chief Justice of India or, in his absence, the
senior most Judge of the Supreme Court available, an oath or
affirmation in the following form, that is to say - "I, A.B.,
do swear in the name of God / solemnly affirm that I will faithfully
execute the office of President (or discharge the function of the
President) of India and will to the best of my ability preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution and the law and that I will
devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of India."
Article
61 Procedure for impeachment of the President
(1) When
a President is to be impeached for violation of the Constitution, the
charge shall be preferred by either House of Parliament.
(2) No
such charge shall be preferred unless -
(a) the proposal to
prefer such charge is contained in a resolution which has been moved
after at least fourteen days' notice in writing signed by not less
than one-fourth of the total number of members of the House has been
given of their intention to move the resolution, and
(b) such
resolution has been passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds
of the total membership of the House.
(3) When a charge has been
so preferred by either House of Parliament, the other House shall
investigate the charge or cause the charge to be investigated and the
President shall have the right to appear and to be represented at
such investigation.
(4) If as a result of the investigation a
resolution is passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the
total membership of the House by which the charge was investigated or
caused to be investigated, declaring that the charge preferred
against the President has been sustained, such resolution shall have
the effect of removing the President from his office as from the date
on which the resolution is so passed.
Article
62 Time of holding election to fill vacancy in the office of resident
and the term of office or person elected to fill casual vacancy
(1)
An election to fill a vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of
office of President shall be completed before the expiration of the
term.
(2) An election to fill a vacancy in the office of
President occurring by reason of his death, regsignation or removal,
or otherwise shall be held as soon as possible after, and in no case
later than six months from, the date of occurrence of the vacancy;
and the person elected to fill the vacancy shall, subject to the
provisions of article 56 ,
be entitled to hold office for the full term of five years from the
date on which he enters upon his office.
Article
63 The Vice-President Of India
There shall be a
Vice-President of India.
Article
64 The Vice-President to be ex-officio Chairman of the Council of
States
The Vice-President shall be ex-officio Chairman of
the Council of States and shall not hold any other office of profit:
Provided that during any period when the Vice-President acts as
President or discharges the functions of the President under article
65 ,
he shall not perform the duties of the office of Chairman of the
Council of States and shall not be entitled to any salary or
allowance payable to the Chairman of the Council of States under
article 97 .
Article
65 The Vice-President to act as President or to discharge his
functions during casual vacancies in the office, or during the
absence, of President
(1) In the event of the
occurrence of any vacancy in the office of the President by reason of
this death, resignation or removal, or otherwise, the Vice-President
shall act as President until the date on which a new President
elected in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter to fill
such vacancy enters upon his office.
(2) When the President is
unable to discharge his functions owing to absence, illness or any
other cause, the Vice-President shall discharge his functions until
the date on which the President resumes his duties.
(3) The
Vice-President shall, during, and in respect of, the period while he
is so acting as, or discharging the functions of, President have all
the powers and immunities of the President and be entitled to such
emoluments, allowances and privileges
as may be determined by
Parliament by law and, until provision in that behalf is so made,
such emoluments, allowances and privileges as are specified in the
Second Schedule.
Article
66 Election of Vice-President
(1) The Vice-President
shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of
the members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the
system of proportional representation by means of a single
transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret
ballot.
(2) The Vice-President shall not be a member of either
House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State,
and if a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the
Legislature of any State be elected Vice-President, he shall be
deemed to have vacated his seat in that House on the date on which he
enters upon his office as Vice-President.
(3) No person shall be
eligible for election as Vice-President unless he -
(a) is a
citizen on India;
(b) has completed the age of thirty-five
years; and
(c) is qualified for election as a member of the
Council of States.
(4) A person shall not be eligible for
election as Vice-President if he holds any office of profit under the
Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local
or other authority subject to the control of any of the said
Governments.
Explanation: For the purposes of this article, a
person shall not be deemed to hold any office of profit by reason
only that he is the President of Vice-President of the Union or the
Governor of any State or is a Minister either for the Union or for
any State.
Article
67 Term of office of Vice-President
The Vice-President shall
hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters
upon his office:
Provided that - (a) A Vice-President may, by
writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his
office;
(b) a Vice-President may be removed from his office by a
resolution of the Council of 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 purpose of this clause shall be moved
unless at least fourteen days' notice has been given of the intention
to move the resolution;
(c) A Vice-President shall,
notwithstanding the expiration of his term, continue to hold office
until his successor enters upon his office.
Article
68 Time of holding election to fill vacancy in the office of
Vice-President and the term of office of person elected to fill
casual vacancy
(1) An election to fill a vacancy
caused by the expiration of the term of office of Vice-President
shall be completed before the expiration of the term.
(2) An
election to fill a vacancy in the office of Vice-President occurring
by reason of his death, resignation or removal, or otherwise shall be
held as soon as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy, and the
person elected to fill the vacancy shall, subject to the provisions
of article 67 ,
be entitled to hold office for the full term of five years from the
date on which he enters upon his office.
Article
69 Oath or affirmation by the Vice-President
Every
Vice-President shall, before entering upon his office, make and
subscribe before the President, or some person appointed in that
behalf by him, an oath or affirmation in the following form, that is
to say - "I, A.B., do swear in the name of God /solemnly
affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution
of India as by law established and that I will discharge the duty
upon which I am about to enter."
Article
70 Discharge of President's functions in other
contingencies
Parliament may make such provision as it
thinks fit for the discharge of the functions of the President in any
contingency not provided for in this Chapter.
Article
71 Matters relating to, or connected with, the election of a
President or Vice-President
(1) All doubts and
disputes arising out of or in connection with the election of a
President or Vice-President shall be inquired into and decided by the
Supreme Court whose decision shall be final.
(2) If the election
of a person as President or Vice-President is declared void by the
Supreme Court, acts done by him in the exercise and performance of
the powers and duties of the office of President or Vice-President,
as the case may be, on or before the date of the decision of the
Supreme Court shall not be invalidated by reason of that
declaration.
(3) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution,
Parliament may by law regulate any matter relating to or connected
with the election of a President or Vice-President.
(4) The
election of a person as President or Vice-President shall not be
called in question on the ground of the existence of any vacancy for
whatever reason among the members of the electoral college electing
him.
Article
72 Power of President to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit
or commute sentences in certain cases
(1) The
President shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites
or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the
sentence of any persons convicted of any offence - (a) in all cases
where the punishment of sentence is by a Court Martial;
(b) in
all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence against
any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the
Union extends;
(c) in all cases where the sentence is a sentence
of death.
(2) Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall
affect the power conferred by law on any officer of the Armed Forces
of the Union to suspend, remit or commute a sentence passed by a
Court martial.
(3) Nothing in sub-clause (c) of clause (1) shall
affect the power to suspend, remit or commute a sentence of death
exercisable by the Governor of a State under any law for the time
being in force.
Article
73 Extent of executive power of the Union
(1) Subject
to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive power of the
Union shall extend -
(a) to the matters with respect to which
Parliament has power to make laws; and
(b) to the exercise of
such rights, authority and jurisdiction as are exercisable by the
Government of India by virtue of any treaty of agreement:
Provided
that the executive power referred to in sub-clause (a) shall not,
save as expressly provided in this Constitution or in any law made by
Parliament, extend in any State to matters with respect to which the
Legislature of the State has also power to make laws.
(2) Until
otherwise provided by Parliament, a State and any officer or
authority of a State may, notwithstanding anything in this article,
continue to exercise in matters with respect to which Parliament has
power to make laws for that State such executive power or functions
as the State or officer or authority thereof could exercise
immediately before the commencement of this Constitution.
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