President of India – Article 52-62 of Indian constitution

Table of Contents

President of India – Article 52-62 of Indian constitution

Introduction

President of India is the Head of the state and the Commander in Chief of the Indian Armed forces. The post of President of India is created ON 26 January 1947-1950, when India become Republic. President of India is also a part of Union Executive along with Vice-President, Prime Minister, Council of Minister and Attorney General of India. Article 52-62 of Indian Constitution tell us about the powers of President, Election process, Removal process, Eligibility for election, Qualification of the President, conditions of the President.

Article 52 of Indian Constitution informs us that There Shall Be a President of India

Article 60 of Indian Constitution deals with the Oath of the President.

Election of President of India

Article 54 and 55 of Indian Constitution informs us the manner and the election process of President of India.

According to article 54 of Indian Constitution the president can be elected by the members of electoral college consisting the elected members of both the houses i.e.; Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, Legislative Assemblies of States and Legislative Assemblies of Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry.

According to Article 55 of Indian Constitution tells us the process of election and votes,

Value of vote of MLA, that is the Member of Legislative Assembly is counted as total population of a state is divided by total number of elected members in the state legislative assembly is multiplied by 1 by 1000

Total population of State × 1

Total number of elected members 1000

In the State Legislative assembly

Value votes of a Member of parliament, that is the total value of votes of all the MLAs of all the state is divided by total number of elected members of parliament

Total value of votes of all the MLAs of all the state

Total number of elected members of parliament

According to Article 54 clause 3, the Election of President shall be held in accordance of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be done by secret ballot.

Term of President office

Once President was elected, he holds the office for 5 years.
He will also the president even after 5 years till the next election takes place or till the next President gets elected.
Article 56 tells us about the President’s term in the office.
The President can be removed through impeachment (as implied in Article 61) for the violation of Constitution

Article 57 of the Indian Constitution says that a person who has held, office as President shall, subject to the other provision s of this constitution be eligible for re-election to that office.

Removal Process or Impeachment Process of the President (Article 61)

President of India is Impeached when there is ‘violation of Constitution’. There is no definition given in Indian Constitution for the violation of constitution. When the President is charged for the violation of constitution then the process of the impeachment is: –

The charge of violation of constitution is preferred by either of the houses that is Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
The charge shall not proceed further till

The charge shall not proceed further till a notice or resolution moved to The President for at least 14 days written and signed by the two-third member of the House.
The resolution must pass by the majority of two-third of the house.

The other House starts investigation of the Charge preferred by the House of Parliament
If the result of the investigation is passed by the majority of two-third of the House preferred against the President, then the President will be removed from the day the Resolution is passed.
Till now No President of India is impeached.

Qualification of The President (Article 58)

Article 58 of Indian Constitution tells us about the Qualification of the President. A Candidate need some qualification to be elected as the President

Candidate need to be the citizen of India.
The Candidate should be minimum 35 years old.
The Candidate should be qualified for the election as a member of the House of People.
The Candidate should not be eligible for the election of the President, if the candidate holds any office under Central Government, State Government, or any public authority.

Condition for The President Office (Article 59)

There are some conditions for the candidate for The President of India as given in Article 59 of Indian Constitution.

The Candidate should not be the member of any of the House of Parliament or House of the Legislature of any State, if the any member of House of Parliament or House of the Legislature of any State elected as a President, the Candidate must have to vacant his seat in that house on the date in which he enters upon his President Office.
The Candidate should not hold any Office of Profit.
Rashtrapati Bhawan will be the Residence of The President of India, there will be no payment of rent of the house.
Parliament decides the President’s emoluments, allowances and privileges (as given In second schedule).
The President shall not diminish the emoluments and allowances during his term of his office.
The President is given the immunity from any criminal proceedings, even in the respect of his personal acts.
President cannot be arrested or imprisoned. Only Civil proceedings can take place for his personal acts, after giving two months prior notice.

The President’s office can be Vacant for certain scenario (Article 62)

When the President completed his 5year tenure in his office.
If the President gives his Resignation to the Vice-President of India.
If the House of Parliament initiates the Impeachment process against the President and he is removed.
If the President Died in the Office, or during his tenure.
If the Supreme Court declares his election invalid.

Powers and Function of President (Article 53)

Every person has some powers and function as there are some powers and functions of the President also there are different powers of the President of India

Executive Power
Legislative Power
Financial Power
Judicial Power
Diplomatic Power
Military Power
Emergency Power
Ordinance Making Power

Executive Power of President

Article 53 of Indian Constitution gives us an insight of Executive Powers of the President.

Every Executive action taken by Indian Government, is to be taken by the President’s name
He can make the rules to simplify the Business transaction of the Central Government.
He appoints the Attorney General of India and he also decided his remuneration.
The President of India appoints the following people
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
Chairman and members of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
State Governors.
Finance Commission of India Chairman and Members.
President sees the Administration Information from Union Government.
He appoints the National commission of : –
Schedule Caste (SC)
Schedule Tribe (ST)
Other Backward Class (OBC)
President appoints inter- state council.
President can declare any area as Scheduled area and he also has a power to respect the administration of Schedule area and tribal areas.

Legislative Powers of The President

The President can summon the Parliament and can also dissolve the Lok Sabha.
He Address the Indian Parliament’s First session after every General Election.
He appoints the: –
Speaker, Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha.
Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
The President of India appoints 12member of Rajya Sabha.
He can also nominate 2 Anglo-Indian as a member of Lok Sabha.
He permits the certain types of new bills.

Financial Power of President

President’s recommendation is must prior to introduce Money Bill.
President cause Union Budget laid before the Parliament.
President recommendation is a pre-requisite to make a demand for grants
Contingency Fund of India is under the President’s control.
President constitute the Finance Commission every 5 years

Judicial Power of President

President appoints Chief Justice, judges of Supreme Court and High Court.
President has Pardoning Power under Article 72, he has conferred with power to grant pardon against punishment for an offence against the Union law, punishment by a marital court, or death sentence.

Diplomatic Power of President

International Treaties, and agreements approved by Parliament are negotiated and concluded by the President’s name.
President is the Representative of India in International Forums and Affairs.

Military Power of President

President is the Commander of the Defence Forces of India. He

Appoints: –

C of the Army.
C of the Navy.
C of the Air Force.

Emergency Powers of President of India

The President of India deals with three types of Emergency given in the Indian Constitution.

National Emergency (Article 352)
President’s Rule (Article 356 & 365)
Financial Emergency (Article 360)

Ordinance Making Power of President

Article 123 of Indian Constitution deals with Ordinance making power of the President. President promulgates an ordinance of the Union Cabinet.

List of President of India since Independence 1947

No	Name (Birth-Death)	Term of office
1.	Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963)	26 Jan. 1950 – 12 May 1962
2.	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888- 1975)	13 May1962- 12 May 1967
3.	Zakir Hussain (1897-1969)	13May 1967- 3 May 1969
Acting	Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1894- 1980)	3 May 1967-20 July 1969
Acting	Mohmmad Hidayatullah (1905- 1992)	20 July 1969- 24 August 1969
4.	Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1894- 1980)	24 August 1969- 24 August 1974
5.	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905-1977)	24 August 1974- 11 February 1977
Acting	Basappa Danappa Jatti (1912-2002)	11 February 1977- 24 July 1977
6.	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913-1996)	25 July 1977- 24 July 1982
7.	Giani Zail Singh (1996- 1994)	25 July 1982- 24 July 1987
8.	Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1910-2009)	25 July 1987- 24 July 1992
9.	Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918-1999)	25 July 1992- 24 July 1997
10.	Kocheril Raman Narayanan (1921- 2005)	25 July 1997 – 24 July 2002
11.	Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (1931- 2015)	25 July 2002- 24 July 2007
12.	Pratibha Devisingh Patil (1934-)	25 July 2007- 24 July 2012
13.	Pranab Kumar Mukherjee (1935- 2020)	25 July 2012- 24 July 2017
14.	Ram Nath Kovind (1945-)	(term ends on 25 July 2022)

Conclusion

Every country has their own rules and regulations for their President, in India we have seen what are the powers of the Indian president since in India we don’t have that much role of the President, in the Countries like America there is much wider and broader role for their President, it depends on the laws and history of the law in their country. As the President of India has powers and roles as given in the Indian Constitution from Article 52-62.

Author: Nishika Bharadwaj,
Symbiosis Law School Nagpur