President

Art 52 : There shall be a President for the Republic of India .

Note : The office of the President can never be vacant.
President (Discharge of Duties) Act , 1969 :
If the posts of both the President and Vice President are vacant, then Chief
Justice of the India will act as Acting President.
Objective : To maintain continuity of governance in India.
Importance of the Post of President :
• Symbol and head of the Republic of India
• Head of State of India
• First citizen of India : Guardian of India act as an elder Person of
Family
• Represents the unity, integrity and strength of India
• First place in the order of Protocol
Art 361 : Privileges and Immunities enjoyed by the President
Comparison of the President's Office :
The post of the President of India is similar to that of the King of Britain,
i.e. both are constitutional heads.
Whereas the post of the King of Britain is hereditary but the post of the
President in India is elected.
Qualifications of President of India: Art 58
1. Must be a citizen of India.
2. Minimum Age : 35 years
3. He must not be Unsound or bankrupt
4. Must be qualified to be elected as a member of the Lok Sabha.

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Note :
There is no maximum age limit for the post of President
There is No provision for educational qualification.
Others Qualification :
Must not hold any office of profit .
Note : Office of the President, the Vice President, the Governor or the
Ministers of Union or State is not considered as an office of profit.
Election of the President (Art 54)
The President of India is not elected directly by the people of India but by
an electoral college.
Note : The method of election of the President has been taken from the
Constitution of Ireland.
Electoral college includes :
▪ Elected Members of both houses of Parliament (Loksabha &
Rajyasabha)
▪ Elected members of state legislative assemblies
▪ The elected members of the legislative assembly of the Union territory
of Delhi, Puducherry Jammu and Kashmir (J&K Assembly not
constituted yet).
Note :
The Members of the Legislative Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry have
been given the right to participate in the election of the President by the
70th Constitutional Amendment Act 1992
Not eligible to vote in the elections for President of India?
1. State Legislative Council
2. Nominated members of Loksabha, Rajya Sabha and State assemblies

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Important Facts :
The Legislative Council does not have the right to participate in the
election of the President.
Because only six states have a Legislative Council:
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana
Role of Centre and states in Election of President
The Centre as well as the states have been given a role in the election of
the President.
The reasons for which are as follows:
Wide representation : The President is the head of the whole of India.
Freedom from party loyalty : The election of the President should not be
on the basis of party loyalty.
Complicating the electoral process : all parties have a role in the election
of the President, elections by any one party are not possible.
Art 55 : Election Process in India
Indirect Election
Proportional representation System by means of a single transferable vote
and voting by secret ballot.
It is managed by the Election Commission of India.
Why is the President elected indirectly ?
President , Nominal head : The President is the nominal head of the
executive, it is not practical to hold direct elections.
To Avoid of power struggle: A situation of power struggle can arise
between the directly elected President and the Head of the Council of
Ministers, the Prime Minister.

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Expensive and and time-consuming process : The process of direct
election is expensive and time-consuming process. It would be imprudent
to invest so much resources, given the ceremonial position of the President.
Regulation of President :
The Parliament has the authority to regulate the election of the President.
Parliament has enacted the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections
Act, 1952 to regulate the elections of the President and Vice-President.
Election Commission of India Conducts Election.
Time for Campaigning : 14 days
Conditions for nomination of a presidential candidate :
▪ 50 proposers and 50 Seconders
Proposers and Supporters must be Electors / members of the electoral
college. Proposers and seconders should be Different persons .
(Before 1997, the number of proposers and supporters was 10-10.)
▪ Security Amount : 15000/- (with RBI)
If the candidate does not secure one sixth of Valid Votes, his/her
security deposit will be forfeited.
Value of the vote:
The principle of equality and equivalence is followed in the election of
the President:
Equal representation to the Centre and States : Value of votes of all
MPs = Value of votes of all MLAs
The Constitution provides for the value of the vote in the election of the
President rather than the number of votes.
Parity has been established between the value of the vote of all the MLAs
and the value of the vote of all the MPs.
The 1971 census is followed in the election of the President.

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Electoral Quota:
The winning candidate must secure more than 50% of the total valid votes
polled.
This amount of vote is called the ‘Electoral Quota’.

Single transferable Vote System:

▪ Each voter registers his preference according to preference.
▪ Priority based System
▪ Each voter registers a priority equal to the number of candidates i.e. as
many candidates as there are.

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Counting :
▪ In the first phase of counting, only the first preference votes are
counted. If a candidate has secured 50% of votes in the first count, s/he
is declared elected.
▪ Otherwise, the candidate who receives the least first preference votes is
eliminated from the race and his/her votes are distributed among the
remaining candidates according to the second preference marked on
these ballot papers.
▪ This redistribution of votes continues until one candidate secures the
electoral quota.
Note :
It is not mandatory to fill out more than one preference; an elector can
provide a single preference as well.
So far, since Independence, the second preference votes have been counted
once.
Ex : [Link]
Art 71: Electoral Diputes
Disputes in the election of President and Vice President are resolved by the
Supreme Court only. (Exclusive Jurisdiction of SC)
Electoral Petition :
Ground : Nomination and Census
An election dispute petition can be filed only by a candidate or a group of
20 or more electors.
The petition can be filed within 30 days of declaration of election result.
If the election of a sitting President is declared void by the Court, acts done
by him before such declaration remain valid.

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Note : If the electoral college is incomplete, then the election of the
President will not be considered invalid . (11th CA Act 1961)
Incomplete Electoral College :
▪ Vacancy in seats of State LAs.
▪ Vacancy in Parliament
▪ Dissolution of the Legislative Assembly of a State
Art 60 : Oath and affirmations by the President of India
▪ President takes oath before Chief Justice of India (CJI) (or in his
absence, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court) .
▪ Oath : Protection, Preservation and Compliance of the Constitution and
Welfare of the People
▪ Provision of Oath of President is not mentioned in Schedule III .
Conditions to the President’s Office: Art 59
▪ Should not be a member of Parliament or state assembly.
▪ Entitled to use Rashtrapati Bhavan as official residence without
payment of rent.
▪ President’s salary : 5 lakh per month ; Pension : 50 % of Last Month
Salary
Remunerations, allowances and privileges are fixed by the Parliament.
Salary and emoluments cannot be diminished during term.
Art 56 : Term of President’s Office
5 years from the date s/he assumes Office.
Vacancy in the President’s Office :
On the expiry of his/her term : The President remains in office until his
successor assumes office.

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By his/her resignation : The President submits his resignation in writing
to the Vice President
The Vice-President informs the Speaker of the resignation of the President
to the Speaker.
When Election is declared void : If the Supreme Court Declares election
of the President unconstitutional, then the act done by the President will
not be considered valid.
By his/her death during the term : When the office of the President is
vacant, the Vice President acts as the Acting President.
Example :
First Acting President : V.V. Giri
Second : Mohammad Hidayatullah
Third : B.d. Jatti
By process of impeachment ; Art 61
Art 57 : Eligibility for re-election
The President is eligible for re-election for any number of times.
i.e. any person can become president any number of times.
Art 62 : Vacancy of Post of President
In case of Vacancy of the President’s Office,Election must be conducted
within 6 months of such occurrence.
Art 61 : Impeachment of the President
Provision has been Borrowed from USA.
Process : Quasi Judicial Process
Ground : Violation of the Constitution (This Term is not defined in
Constitution of India.
Who participates in the process of impeachment :
All members of both Houses of Parliament ( elected and nominated)
Note :
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1. The Legislative Assembly of the State does not participate in the process
of impeachment whereas it participates in the process of election.
2. No President has been impeached in India so far.
Process:
▪ The resolution of the impeachment can be moved into any of the houses
of the Parliament.
▪ It should be moved by at least 1/4th of the members of the house, and a
14-day notice should be given to the President.
▪ The resolution must be passed by not less than 2/3rd majority of the
total members of the house.
▪ After the resolution is passed in one house, it is moved to the second
house for investigation.
▪ The President is allowed to defend himself/herself either personally or
through his/her counsel.
▪ If the second house investigates the charges and passes the resolution by
the 2/3rd majority of the house, then the impeachment process
completes, and the President stands removed from his/her Office on the
date of passing of the resolution.

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Important facts:
▪ Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected unopposed by the Constituent
Assembly in its last sitting (24 January 1950) as the Interim President of
India (from 26 January 1950 till the first election for the post of
President).
▪ The name of Dr. Rajendra Prasad as President was proposed by
Jawaharlal Nehru and seconded by Sardar Patel.
▪ Dr. Zakir Hussain was the first Muslim President of India. Dr. Zakir
Hussain had served as the Governor of Bihar before being elected
President
▪ Dr. Zakir Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed died during his tenure.
▪ The only President of the Republic of India to be elected unopposed (in
1982) is Neelam Sanjiva Reddy. (Lost in the 1969 election; youngest
president)

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▪ Dr. V.V. Giri is the only President of India who was successful after the
second round of counting. He is also the president who won with the
lowest margin of 50.2% of the votes ever.
▪ The President of India, Dr. V.V. Giri was associated with the 'Trade
Union Movement'.
▪ V.V. Giri is the only President who contested for the post of President
by resigning from the post of 'Acting President'.
▪ Justice M. Hidayatullah was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
who assumed the office of Acting President of India (from 20 July 1969
to 24 August 1969).
▪ Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Neelam Sanjiv Reddy,
Jani Zail Singh, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh,
Patil Pranab Mukherjee, Ram Nath Kovind and the present President
Draupadi Murmu are the Presidents who were not Vice Presidents in the
past.

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