President and Vice-President

India has a parliamentary system, which means there are two 'heads' in the government. One is the head of the State, who represents the nation and signs the papers; the other is the head of the government, who actually runs the country every day. The President is the first, the Prime Minister is the second. This is borrowed from the British idea of a Crown that reigns but does not rule. Article 52 says 'There shall be a President of India', and Article 53 places the whole executive power of the Union in his hands. But Article 74 adds the key condition: he must act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

Why is the President not elected directly by the people? The framers feared that a President with a nationwide mandate would feel stronger than the Prime Minister, who is only the leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha, and the two would clash. They also considered a nationwide election too costly and too large for a new country. So they chose an indirect election by elected representatives, which gives the President dignity without giving him real power.

Qualifications (Article 58). A person can be a candidate for President only if he or she (1) is a citizen of India, (2) has completed 35 years of age, (3) is qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha, and (4) does not hold any office of profit under the Union or State Government or any local or other authority under their control. The President, Vice-President, Governors and Union or State Ministers are not treated as holding an office of profit for this purpose. Notice that 'a graduate' or 'a lawyer' is not required: no educational qualification is fixed.

Oath, term and vacancy. The oath (Article 60) is administered by the Chief Justice of India, or in his absence the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court available. The President swears to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law' and to devote himself to the service and well-being of the people. The term is five years from the day he enters office (Article 56), and he may be re-elected any number of times (Article 57); only Dr Rajendra Prasad has served two terms. He continues in office until his successor takes charge. He may resign by writing to the Vice-President, who informs the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

The President is chosen not by the voters directly but by an electoral college (Article 54). Think of it as a special jury made of the people's elected representatives. It has elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States. By the 70th Amendment (1992), the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry are also included. Left out are: the nominated members of Parliament, the members of the Legislative Councils (Vidhan Parishad) of the States, and the members of the Legislative Assemblies of other Union Territories.

One vote, unequal weight: Article 55. Delhi's lone MLA and Uttar Pradesh's MLA represent very different numbers of people, so the Constitution gives each vote a different value. Two ideas drive the formula: (1) uniformity among the States, so that an MLA from a populous State counts for more, and (2) parity between the States as a whole and the Union, so that all the MLAs together carry exactly as much weight as all the MPs together. The voting is by proportional representation through the Single Transferable Vote (STV) and by secret ballot.

The 1971 census is used because the 42nd Amendment (1976) froze population for this purpose, and the 84th Amendment (2001) extended the freeze until the first census taken after 2026. That is why the MLA value is calculated on 1971 figures even today. In the 2022 election, the value of one MP's vote was 700, and an MLA's vote was highest in Uttar Pradesh (208) and lowest in Sikkim (7).

Disputes (Article 71). All doubts and disputes about the election of the President or Vice-President are decided only by the Supreme Court, and its decision is final. The election is not invalid merely because some seats in the electoral college are vacant, and if the Court declares an election void, acts already done by that person in office remain valid. The Supreme Court must be approached by petition within 30 days of the result. Because the ballot is secret and each elector votes by conscience, the anti-defection law and party whips do not apply to this election.

Read the President's powers with one idea in mind: on paper they are huge, in practice almost all of them are used on the advice of the Council of Ministers (Article 74). The 42nd Amendment (1976) made this advice binding, and the 44th Amendment (1978) added that the President may ask the Council to reconsider its advice once, but must act on the advice given after reconsideration. So the powers below belong to the President's office, but the decisions belong to the government of the day.

The pardoning power (Article 72). It is the President's judicial power, and it is meant to correct human error and show mercy. It extends to all cases where the punishment is by a court martial, where the offence is against a Union law, and in all cases of a death sentence. The Governor has a similar power under Article 161, but a Governor can never pardon a death sentence or a court-martial sentence. The President exercises this power on the advice of the Council of Ministers, and the courts can review it only on narrow grounds such as arbitrariness or mala fide.

A Bill passed by Parliament becomes law only after the President gives his assent (Article 111). What the President can do with a Bill is called his veto power. The word does not mean he can kill any Bill whenever he likes. It means he has three choices when a Bill reaches him: give assent, withhold assent, or return it (except a Money Bill) for reconsideration. Combining these choices gives the three types of veto that textbooks name: absolute, suspensive and pocket. A fourth, the qualified veto, exists in the USA but not in India.

Why 'pocket'? Because the Bill is put in the President's pocket and never comes out. Why is there no 'qualified veto' in India? In the USA, the President returns a Bill and Congress can overrule him only by a two-thirds majority. In India, an ordinary majority is enough to overrule the President's return, so his veto is only suspensive, never qualified. Also remember: the President cannot return a Money Bill, and he must give assent to a Constitution Amendment Bill (24th Amendment, 1971).

Ordinance-making power (Article 123). If Parliament is not sitting and something urgent has to be done, the President may promulgate an Ordinance. The conditions are: (1) either House is not in session, and (2) the President is satisfied that circumstances require immediate action. An Ordinance has the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament, but only on matters on which Parliament can legislate, and it cannot amend the Constitution or take away Fundamental Rights. It must be laid before both Houses when they reassemble, and it ceases to operate six weeks after Parliament reassembles, or earlier if both Houses pass resolutions disapproving it, or if the President withdraws it. Since two sessions can be six months apart, an Ordinance can live for a maximum of about seven and a half months.

Where does the President act on his own judgement? Almost nowhere, but a few situations leave room for discretion: (1) appointing a Prime Minister when no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha; (2) dismissing a Council of Ministers that has lost the Lok Sabha's confidence but refuses to resign; (3) dissolving the Lok Sabha if the Council has lost its majority; (4) returning a Bill or advice once; and (5) the pocket veto. In everything else he acts on advice.

The President is elected for five years, but he is not above the Constitution. If he breaks it, Parliament can remove him through impeachment under Article 61. Notice the careful design: the only ground is 'violation of the Constitution', and the Constitution does not define the phrase. The process is quasi-judicial: one House brings the charge, the other House acts like a court, and the President himself has the right to appear or be represented. The provision is borrowed from the USA, and 'impeachment' is the word used in the Constitution only for the President.

Impeachment is different from the ordinary vote of no-confidence. The Council of Ministers falls by a simple majority of the Lok Sabha, because the government must have the House's confidence. The President is a constitutional head and is not responsible to Parliament for policy; he can be removed only for breaking the Constitution, and by a much higher bar. That is why the number is two-thirds of the total membership.

The Vice-President is India's second-highest constitutional office. Article 63 says 'There shall be a Vice-President of India'. He has a very simple double job: he is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Article 64), and he steps in as President when that office is vacant or the President cannot work (Article 65). That is why the Vice-President is called a part of both the Legislature and the Executive. The idea comes from the USA, but with a difference: the American Vice-President can vote only to break a tie, while the Indian Vice-President, as Chairman, also has only a casting vote.

Term, removal and roles. The Vice-President's term is five years (Article 67), and he may continue until his successor takes charge. He resigns by writing to the President. He can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of all its then members and agreed to by the Lok Sabha, after 14 days' notice; no ground such as 'violation of the Constitution' is needed. He must not be a member of either House of Parliament or a State Legislature; if he is, the seat falls vacant when he takes office. While acting as President he does not perform the duties of Chairman, but he gets the President's powers, immunities and salary. As Chairman of the Rajya Sabha he draws a salary of Rs 4 lakh a month (since 2018).

Why does the Vice-President preside over the Rajya Sabha but is not its member? Because the Constitution wanted a neutral umpire. As a non-member he has no party loyalty to a State seat and votes only when there is a tie (casting vote, Article 100). When he removes himself from the chair to act as President, the Deputy Chairman presides instead. The Vice-President is not elected by the House he presides over, which is unlike the Speaker, who is elected by the Lok Sabha from among its members.

Lists look boring, but this is where easy marks hide. The trick is to learn the Presidents and Vice-Presidents together, because many of them held both offices, and to attach one 'first' to each name. The tables below are correct as of 2025. Count carefully: Droupadi Murmu is the 15th President, and C. P. Radhakrishnan is the 15th Vice-President. Acting Presidents are not counted in the numbering.