Module – 3

The Union Executive,

The Parliament &
The Union Judiciary
 The Union Executive
• 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 and the Attorney General of India.
 The President
• The President is the head of the Indian State.

• He is the first citizen of India and acts as the symbol of unity,

integrity and solidarity of the nation.

Article 52 to 62

52. The President of India.—There shall be a President of India

53. Executive power of the Union.

• 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.
54. Election of The President
• The President is elected not directly by the people but by
members of electoral college consisting of:
1. The elected members of both the Houses of
Parliament.
2. The elected members of the legislative assemblies of
the states.
3. The elected members of the legislative assemblies of
the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry.
• Veto power: A bill passed by the Parliament can become
an act only if it receives the assent of the president.
56. Term of President’s Office
• The President holds office for a term of five years

• He can resign from his office at any time by addressing the

resignation letter to the Vice President.

• Further, he can also be removed from the office before completion

of his term by the process of impeachment.
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.
 58. Qualifications for Election as President of India
A person to be eligible for election as President should fulfill 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 Lok 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.
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.

• The President shall be entitled without payment of rent

• The emoluments and allowances of the President shall not

be diminished during his term of office.
60. Oath or affirmation by the President

• Every President, 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, ……., do swear in the name of God that I will faithfully execute the
office solemnly affirm of President (or discharge the functions 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 wellbeing of the people of India.".
61. Procedure for impeachment of the President.
• The President can be removed from office by a process of impeachment.
• The impeachment charges can be initiated by either House of Parliament.
• These charges should be signed by one-fourth members of the House and a 14
days’ notice should be given to the President.
• 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.

• After the impeachment resolution is passed by a majority of two-thirds of the

total membership of both Houses, then the President stands removed from his
office from the date on which the resolution is so passed.
62. Time of holding election to fill vacancy in the office of
President and the term of office of person elected to fill
casual vacancy.

• 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.

• An election to fill a vacancy in the office of President occurring by reason

of his death, resignation 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;
 Powers and Functions of The President
• Executive powers: He appoints the prime minister and the other ministers, attorney
general of India, the chief election commissioner, administers the union territories

• Legislative powers: He can summon the Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha and can
hold Joint sessions of both houses. He nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha
(Various fields) and nominate two members to the Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian
Community

• Financial powers: He constitutes a finance commission after every five years and make
advances out of the contingency fund
• Judicial powers: He appoints the Chief Justice and the judges of Supreme
Court and high courts.

• Diplomatic powers: He represents India in international forums and

affairs and sends and receives diplomats like ambassadors, high
commissioners, and so on.
• Military powers: He is the supreme commander of the defense forces of
India. In that capacity, he appoints the chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the
Air Force.

• Emergency powers: (a) National Emergency (Article 352); (b) President’s

Rule (Article 356 & 365); and (c) Financial Emergency (Article 360)
 The Vice-President
• The Vice-President occupies the second highest office in the country.

• 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.
• First Vice President of India : Dr. S. Radhakrishnan.
• Article 63 to 69

63. The Vice-President of India.—There shall be a Vice-President of

India.
64. The Vice-President to be ex officio Chairman of the Council of
States
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.
66. Election of Vice-President

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 the single transferable
vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.
Qualifications

• To be eligible for election as Vice-President, a person

should fulfill the following qualifications:
[Link] should be a citizen of India.
[Link] should have completed 35 years of age.
[Link] should be qualified for election as a member of the
Rajya Sabha.
[Link] should not hold any office of profit under the Union
government or any state government or any local authority
or any other public authority.
67. Term of Office (Vice President)
• The Vice-President holds office for a term of five years.
• 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 at least 14 days’
advance by a majority of all the members of the Rajya Sabha and
agreed to by the Lok Sabha.
 Powers and Functions - VP
• He acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya [Link] this capacity, his
powers and functions are similar to those of the Speaker of Lok
Sabha.

• While acting as President or discharging the functions of the

President, the Vice-President does not perform the duties of the
office of the chairman of Rajya [Link] this period, those duties
are performed by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

• He acts as President when a vacancy occurs in the office of the President due
to his resignation, impeachment, death or otherwise.
• Maximum period for which Vice-President can act as President: He
can act as President only for a maximum period of six months, within
which a new President has to be elected.

• Discharges Functions of President: 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.
• 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
• 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.

• 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
• 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, ……., do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and
solemnly affirm allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law
established and that I will faithfully discharge the duty upon which I
am about to enter.”.
Council of Ministers
• 74. Council of Ministers to aid and advise President.
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 Prime Minister
• According to Indian constitution, president is the head of the
State while Prime Minister is the head of the government.

• The President has to appoint the leader of the majority

party in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister. (Article 75)

• Constitutionally, the Prime Minister may be a member of any

of the two Houses of parliament.
 Central Council of Ministers
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, while the
other ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of
the Prime Minister.

• The council of ministers consists of three categories of ministers,

namely,

1. Cabinet ministers (Important ministries)

2. Ministers of state (Independent charge of ministries)
3. Deputy ministers
75. Other provisions as to Ministers
• 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.

• The total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the

Council of Ministers shall not exceed fifteen percent of the total
number of members of the House of the People.

• The Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.

• The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the

House of the People.
• Before a Minister enters upon his office, the President shall
administer to him the oaths of office and of secrecy according to the
forms set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule.

• 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.

• 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.
 Powers and Functions of the Prime Minister
(Art 78)
In Relation to Council of Ministers
1. Head of the Union council of ministers
2. Recommends ministers to be appointed by the president
3. Allocates and reshuffles various portfolios
4. He guides, directs, controls, and coordinates the activities of all the
ministers.
In Relation to the President
1. To communicate to the President all decisions of the council of ministers
relating to the administration.
2. Advises the president with regard to the appointment of important officials
like attorney general of India, Comptroller and Auditor General of India,
chairman and members of the UPSC, election commissioners etc.,
In Relation to Parliament
• Prime Minister is the leader of the Lower House
• Summoning and dissolution of the Lok Sabha,

Other Powers & Functions

• Chairman of the NITI Ayog.
• National Integration Council, Interstate Council, National
Water Resources Council and some other bodies.
• Chief spokesman of the Union government, leader of the party
in power, crisis manager-in-chief during emergencies etc.,
 Attorney General of India
• The Constitution (Article 76) has provided for the office of the
Attorney General for India.
• He is the highest law officer in the country.
• The Attorney General (AG) is appointed by the president.
• He must be a citizen of India and he must have been a judge of
some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court
for ten years or an eminent jurist.
• He holds office during the pleasure of the president. ( No
fixed term)
 Duties and Functions of AG
• To give advice to the Government of India upon
legal matters.
• To perform duties of a legal character that are
assigned to him by the president.
• To appear on behalf of the Government of India in all
cases in the Supreme Court in which the Government
of India is concerned.
• He has the right to speak and to take part in the
proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament
 The Parliament

• The Parliament is the legislative organ of the Union government.

• Articles 79 to 122 in Part V of the Constitution deal with the organisation,

composition, duration, officers, procedures, privileges, powers of the
Parliament
79. Constitution of Parliament.
Under the Constitution, the Parliament of India consists of three parts:

1. The President,
2. The Council of States(‘Rajya Sabha’) and
3. The House of the People (‘Lok Sabha’)
• The Rajya Sabha is the Upper House (Second Chamber or House of Elders)
and the Lok Sabha is the Lower House (First Chamber or Popular House).

• Though the President of India is not a member of either House

of Parliament, he is an integral part of the Parliament. This is
because a bill passed by both the Houses of Parliament cannot
become law without the President’s assent.
 Rajya Sabha (Upper House)
80: Composition of Rajya Sabha

• The maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha(Fourth Schedule of the Constitution) is

fixed at 250, out of which,

238 are to be the representatives of the states and union territories

(elected indirectly) and

12 are nominated by the president.(persons having special

knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the
following, namely:— Literature, science, art and social service.)
[Link] of States: Elected by Elected members of
state legislative assemblies. The seats are allotted to the
states in the Rajya Sabha on the basis of population.

[Link] of Union Territories: Indirectly elected by

members of an electoral college specially constituted for the
purpose.

[Link] Members:The president nominates 12 members

to the Rajya Sabha from people who have special
knowledge or practical experience in art, literature, science
and social service.
• The tenure of upper house is 6 years.

• The Rajya Sabha (first constituted in 1952) is a continuing

and permanent body and not subject to dissolution.
 Lok Sabha (Lower House)
81:Composition of Lok Sabha

• The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is fixed at 552. Out of this,
530 members are to be the representatives of the states, 20 members
are to be the representatives of the union territories and 2 members
are to be nominated by the president from the Anglo Indian
community.

• Its normal term is five years from the date of its first meeting after
the general elections
1. Representation of States: Directly elected by the people from the
territorial constituencies in the states. (Universal Adult Franchise)

2. Representation of Union Territories: The Constitution has

empowered the Parliament to choose the method for electing
the representatives of the union territories in the Lok Sabha.
Accordingly, the parliament has enacted the Union Territories
(Direct Election to the House of the People) Act, 1965, by which
the members of Lok Sabha from the union territories are also
chosen by direct election.

3. Nominated Members: The president can nominate two members

from the Anglo-Indian community.
82. Readjustment after each census.

• Upon the completion of each census, the allocation of seats in the

House of the People to the States and the division of each State into
territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in
such manner as Parliament may by law determine:
• Provided that such readjustment shall not affect representation in
the House of the People until the dissolution of the then existing
House
83. Duration of Houses of Parliament

• Rajya Sabha

• Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not subject to

dissolution.
• However, one third of the members retire every second year,
and are replaced by newly elected members. Each member
is elected for a term of six years.
• Loksabha

• The House of the People, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for
five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer
and the expiration of the said period of five years shall operate as a
dissolution of the House:
 Membership of Parliament
(Rajya Sabha & Lok Sabha)
84:Qualifications
• The Constitution lays down the following qualifications for a
person to be chosen a member of the Parliament (MP)
• He must be a citizen of India.
• He must be not less than 30 years of age in the case of the Rajya
Sabha and not less than 25 years of age in the case of the Lok
Sabha.
• He must be a member of a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe in
any state or union territory, if he wants to contest a seat reserved
for .
 Disqualifications
Under the Constitution, a person shall be disqualified for
being elected as a member of Parliament:
➢ If he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a court.
➢ If he is not a citizen of India or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship
of a foreign state
➢ If he is so disqualified under any law made by Parliament.
➢ He must not have been found guilty of certain election offences or
corrupt practices in the elections.
➢ He must not have been convicted for any offence resulting in
imprisonment for two or more years.
➢ He must not have been dismissed from government service for
corruption or disloyalty to the State etc.,
Note: Facts
• There is a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker for the Lok Sabha
and a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman for the Rajya Sabha.

• The Speaker and Deputy Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha

from amongst its members.

• The presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha is known as the

Chairman. The vice-president of India is the ex-officio Chairman
of the Rajya Sabha.

• The Deputy Chairman is elected by the Rajya Sabha itself

from amongst its members
 Functions of Parliament
1. Legislative Powers and Functions: The primary function of Parliament is to
make laws for the governance of the country.

2. Executive Powers and Functions: It also supervises the activities of the

Executive with the help of its committees like committee on government
assurance, committee on subordinate legislation, committee on petitions, etc.

3. Financial Powers and Functions: The enactment of the budget, Tax Matters
etc.,
4. Constituent Powers and Functions: Amendment of the Constitution requires
consent from parliament
[Link] Powers and Functions : Impeach the President,
Removal of the Vice-President etc.,

6. Electoral Powers and Functions: Election of the President

and Vice-president. The Lok Sabha elects its Speaker and
Deputy Speaker, while the Rajya Sabha elects its Deputy
Chairman.

7. Other powers and functions: Approves all the three types

of emergencies, It can increase or decrease the area, alter
the boundaries and change the names of states of the
Indian Union.
 Union Judiciary
• The Indian Constitution has established an
integrated judicial system with the Supreme Court at
the top and the high courts below it.

• Under a high court (and below the state level), there

is a hierarchy of subordinate courts, that is, district
courts and other lower courts.
 Supreme Court of India
• The Supreme Court of India was inaugurated on
January 28, 1950.
• Articles 124 to 147 in Part V of the Constitution
deal with the organisation, independence,
jurisdiction, powers, procedures and so on of the
Supreme Court.
124. Establishment and constitution of Supreme
Court
• At present, the Supreme Court consists of thirty-four judges
(one chief justice and thirty three other judges).

Appointment of Judges
• The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the
president. The chief justice is appointed by the president
after consultation with such judges of the Supreme Court
and high courts as he deems necessary.
• The other judges are appointed by president after
consultation with the chief justice.
Qualifications of Judges

• A person to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court

should have the following qualifications:
1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. (a) He should have been a judge of a High Court for five years; or
(b) He should have been an advocate of a High Court for ten
years; or
(c) He should be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the
president.
 Jurisdiction and Powers of Supreme Court
The jurisdiction and powers of the Supreme Court can be classified
into the following:

1. Original Jurisdiction: The Supreme Court decides the

disputes between different units of the Indian Federation.

2. Writ Jurisdiction: The Supreme Court is empowered to issue

writs including habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo
warranto and certiorari for the enforcement of the
fundamental rights.
3. Appellate Jurisdiction: The Supreme Court is primarily a
court of appeal and hears appeals against the judgments
of the lower courts.

4. Advisory Jurisdiction: The Constitution (Article 143)

authorizes the president to seek the opinion of the
Supreme Court.

5. A Court of Record: The judgments, proceedings and acts

of the Supreme Court are recorded for perpetual
memory and testimony
6. Power of Judicial Review: It is the power of the Supreme Court
to examine the constitutionality of legislative enactments and
executive orders of both the Central and state governments.

7. Constitutional Interpretation : The Supreme Court is the

ultimate and final interpreter of the Constitution. It is the
guardian of the Constitution and guarantor of the fundamental
rights of the citizens.

8. Other Powers: It decides the disputes regarding the election of

the president and the vice-president. It enquires into the
conduct and behaviour of the chairman and members of the
Union Public Service Commission on a reference made by the
president. Its law is binding on all courts in India
 Appeal by Special Leave

• It is a special power of Supreme court.

• The Supreme Court is authorised to grant in its discretion special leave

to appeal from any judgement in any matter passed by any court or
tribunal in the country (except military tribunal and court martial).
.
• This provision contains the four aspects as under:
➢ It is a discretionary power and hence, cannot be claimed
as a matter of right.
➢ It can be granted in any judgement whether final or
interlocutory.
➢ It may be related to any matter–constitutional, civil,
criminal, income-tax, labour, revenue, advocates, etc.
➢ It can be granted against any court or tribunal and not
necessarily against a high court (of course, except a
military court).
➢ Thus, the scope of this provision is very wide and it vests
the Supreme court with plenty of jurisdiction to hear
appeals.