Union Executive in the Indian Constitution

-President

Overview:

• Articles 52 to 78 in Part V of the Constitution deal with the Union Executive.
• The Union Executive consists of:
  • The President
  • The Vice-President
  • The Prime Minister
  • The Council of Ministers
  • The Attorney General of India
• The President is the first citizen of India and a symbol of the unity, integrity, and solidarity of the nation.

Election of the President:

• The President is elected not directly by the people but by members of an Electoral College.
• The Electoral College consists of:
  • The elected members of both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha).
  • The elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the states.
  • The elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and of the Union Territory of Puducherry (added by the 70th Amendment Act, 1992).
• Note: The nominated members of both the Houses of Parliament, the nominated members of the state legislative assemblies, and the members (both elected and nominated) of the state legislative councils do not participate in the election of the President.

Qualifications for Election as President (Article 58):

• He/She must be a citizen of India.
• He/She must be over 35 years of age.
• He/She must be otherwise qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha.
• He/She must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or any State or any other authority subject to the control of any of these governments.
• However, the offices of the President, the Vice-President, the Governor of any state, and a Minister for the Union or any state are not deemed to be offices of profit.

Election Process (Article 54 and 55):

• Article 54 provides for indirect election of the President through an Electoral College.
• The election of the President is held in accordance with the system of Proportional Representation by means of the single transferable vote.
• The voting is done by secret ballot.
• Value of Vote of an MLA: Value of vote of an MLA = $\frac{\text{Total Population of the State}}{\text{Total number of elected members in the state legislative assembly}} \times \frac{1}{1000}$
• Value of Vote of an MP: Value of vote of an MP = $\frac{\text{Total value of votes of all MLAs of all states}}{\text{Total number of elected members of Parliament}}$
• The quota for election is $50\% + 1$ of the total valid votes polled.

Impeachment of the President (Article 61):

• Article 61 lays down the procedure for the impeachment of the President.
• The only ground for impeachment is 'violation of the Constitution'.
• The charge against the President may be initiated in either House of Parliament.
• The notice for moving the resolution must be signed by not less than one-fourth of the total number of members of the House.
• Advance notice of 14 days is required before the resolution is moved.
• The resolution must be passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House.
• After the charge is so preferred, it is investigated by the other House.
• The President has the right to appear and be represented in such proceedings.
• If after investigation the House passes the resolution by a 2/3 majority and if the other House also passes this resolution by the same majority, the effect of the resolution would be that the President shall be removed from his office on the date on which the resolution is so passed.
• Note: No President has been impeached so far.

Powers and Functions of the President:

Executive Powers:

• All executive actions of the Government of India are formally taken in his name.
• He appoints the Prime Minister and other ministers. They hold office during his pleasure.
• He appoints the Attorney General of India, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, the Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission, Governors of states, etc.
• He can make rules for more convenient transaction of business of the Union Government.
• He can seek any information relating to the administration of affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation from the Prime Minister.
• He can require the Prime Minister to submit for consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been considered by the council.
• He appoints a commission to investigate into the conditions of SCs, STs and other backward classes.
• He can declare any area as a scheduled area and has powers with respect to the administration of scheduled areas and tribal areas.

Legislative Powers:

• He can summon or prorogue the Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha.
• He can summon a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, which is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• He addresses the Parliament at the commencement of the first session after each general election and the first session of each year.
• He can send messages to the Houses of Parliament, whether with respect to a bill pending in Parliament or otherwise.
• He nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha from persons having special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art, and social service.
• He can nominate two members to the Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian community (this power has been removed by the 104th Amendment Act, 2019).
• His prior recommendation or permission is needed to introduce certain types of bills in the Parliament (e.g., a bill involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, or a bill for the alteration of boundaries of states or creation of a new state).
• When a bill is presented to the President after it has been passed by both Houses of Parliament, he has three alternatives (Article 111):
  • He may give his assent to the bill.
  • He may withhold his assent to the bill.
  • He may return the bill for reconsideration of the Houses (except for money bills). If the bill is passed again by the Houses with or without amendments and presented to the President, he must give his assent to the bill.
• When a state bill is reserved by the Governor for the consideration of the President, the President has three alternatives (Article 201):
  • He may give his assent to the bill.
  • He may withhold his assent to the bill.
  • He may direct the Governor to return the bill (if it is not a money bill) for reconsideration of the state legislature. It is not obligatory for the President to give his assent even if the bill is passed again by the state legislature and sent to him for his reconsideration.
• He can promulgate ordinances when both the Houses of Parliament are not in session (Article 123). These ordinances have the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament but are temporary in nature. They must be approved by Parliament within six weeks of its reassembly.

Financial Powers:

• Money bills can be introduced in the Parliament only with his prior recommendation.
• He causes the Annual Financial Statement (Budget) to be laid before the Parliament.
• No demand for a grant can be made except on his recommendation.
• He can make advances out of the Contingency Fund of India to meet any unforeseen expenditure.
• He constitutes a Finance Commission after every five years to recommend the distribution of revenues between the Centre and the states.

Judicial Powers:

• He appoints the Chief Justice and the judges of the Supreme Court and high courts.
• He can seek advice from the Supreme Court on any question of law or fact (Article 143). However, the advice tendered by the Supreme Court is not binding on the President.
• He can grant pardons, reprieves, respites, remissions of punishment or suspend, remit, or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offense (Article 72). This power extends to:
  • Punishment or sentence by a court martial.
  • Punishment or sentence for an offense against a Union law.
  • Sentence of death.

Diplomatic Powers:

• International treaties and agreements are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the President. However, they are subject to the approval of Parliament.
• He represents India in international forums and sends and receives diplomats like high commissioners and ambassadors.

Military Powers:

• He is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.
• He appoints the chiefs of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.
• He can declare war or conclude peace, subject to the approval of Parliament.

Emergency Powers:

• He can declare National Emergency (Article 352) on grounds of war, external aggression, or armed rebellion.
• He can declare President's Rule (Article 356) in a state on the failure of constitutional machinery in the state.
• He can declare Financial Emergency (Article 360) if the financial stability or credit of India or any part of its territory is threatened.

Veto Power of the President:

• A bill passed by the Parliament can become an Act only if it receives the President's assent. The President has three types of veto powers over the bills passed by the Parliament:
  • Absolute Veto: Withholding of assent to the bill by the President. This veto is exercised in two cases:
    • With respect to Private Members' Bills (bills introduced by any member of Parliament who is not a minister).
    • With respect to the governmental bills when the cabinet resigns after the passage of the bill but before the President has given his assent to such a bill and the new cabinet advises the President not to give his assent to such bill.
  • Suspensive Veto: Returning the bill for reconsideration of the Parliament. If the Parliament passes the bill again with or without amendments and presents it again to the President, the President must give his assent to the bill. This veto can be overridden by a simple majority of the Parliament. The President does not have suspensive veto in case of Money Bills.
  • Pocket Veto: Taking no action on the bill passed by the Parliament. The President can neither ratify nor reject nor return the bill. This power is based on the fact that the Constitution does not prescribe any time limit within which the President has to declare his assent or refusal.
• Note: The President has no veto power in respect of a constitutional amendment bill. The 24th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1971 made it obligatory for the President to give his assent to a constitutional amendment bill.

Pardoning Power of the President (Article 72):

• The President's pardoning power is independent of the judiciary and is an executive power. It includes:
  • Pardon: Removes both the sentence and the conviction and completely absolves the convict from all sentences, punishments, and disqualifications.
  • Commutation: Denotes the substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter form (e.g., death sentence to rigorous imprisonment).
  • Remission: Denotes reducing the period of sentence without changing its character (e.g., rigorous imprisonment for two years to rigorous imprisonment for one year).
  • Respite: Denotes awarding a lesser sentence in place of one originally awarded due to some special fact (e.g., pregnancy of a female offender).
  • Reprieve: Denotes a stay of execution of a sentence (especially that of death) for a temporary period. Its purpose is to enable the convict to have time to seek pardon or commutation from the President.
• The President is not bound to give reasons for his decision and acts on the advice of the Union Cabinet.

Constitutional Position of the President:

• The Indian Constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government, which means the President is only a nominal (titular or constitutional) head of the executive. The real executive power vests with the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
• Article 74 states that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice.
• The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 made the advice of the Council of Ministers binding on the President.
• The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 provided that the President may require the Council of Ministers to reconsider such advice, but the President shall act in accordance with the advice tendered after such reconsideration.

The Vice-President of India:

• The Vice-President is the second highest office in India.
• He is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament (both elected and nominated members).
• His qualifications are similar to the President, except he should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
• He acts as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• He acts as the President when a vacancy occurs in the office of the President due to resignation, removal, death, or otherwise. He can act as President for a maximum period of six months.
• The Constitution has not assigned any specific functions to the Vice-President in that capacity. His only function is to act as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

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