UNION EXECUTIVE

Election of the President

• Article 54 of the Indian Constitution discusses the election of the President.

• It says that the President shall be elected by the members of an
electoral college, which consists of the elected members of both the
Houses of Parliament, and the Legislative Assemblies of the States
and the two Union Territories, namely Delhi and Puducherry.
• The election of the President is held in accordance with a system of
proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. He
can be re-elected to the office of the President.
• The oath of the President is administered by the Chief Justice of India,
and in his absence, by the most senior judge of the Supreme Court.
Eligibility

Article 58 of the Indian Constitution says that the presidential candidate must:
a. Be a citizen of India.
b. Have completed the age of thirty-five years.
c. Be qualified for elections as a member of the Lok Sabha.
d. Not hold any office of profit under the Union or any State government, or any
local or other authority.
Term of office and Impeachment
• Term:
• Article 56 of the Indian Constitution says that the President shall hold
office for a term of five years from the date he takes up his post.
• He may resign from his office by writing his resignation to the Vice-
President of India.
• But, he will continue to hold his office, in spite of tendering his resignation,
until his successor takes up his office.
• And, before his office gets vacated, an election should be held for the
same.

• Impeachment:
• Article 61 provides for the manner in which he can be impeached on the
violation of the Constitution.
• The Vice-President acts as his substitute in case his office falls vacant on
the grounds of his death, resignation or impeachment or otherwise.
• Such a vacancy should be filled by an election necessarily taking place
within six months of his office falling vacant.
Power and Duties of the President

• Executive
• Legislative
• Emergency
• Diplomatic
• Judicial and
• Military powers
Executive powers

• All the executive powers of the Union shall be vested in him. (Article 53)
• Ram Jawaya Kapoor vs. Union of India 1955
• Executive power is the residue of all the governmental power that remains
after legislative powers and judicial powers.
• Union of India vs Shriharan 2014
• Executive power vested on the president should be exercised by him either
directly or through sub-ordinate officers.
• Apppointment Powers:
• He appoints the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers(Article 75)
• He also appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts in
the states, besides appointing the Attorney General and Comptroller and
auditor General of India.
• Conduct of Business: Article 77
• Every executive action will be carried in the name of the President.
 Legislative powers
• 1. President’s power to summon, prorogue and dissolve the
house-
• Article 85 of the constitution gives the President the authority to
summon what is called a meeting of both the Houses of Parliament,
proroguing the Houses of Parliament that end their session without
dissolving them.
• 2. Joint sitting of both houses of parliament-
• Under article 108 the President has the authority to call a joint
session of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in certain specific
situations, such as when a bill, except money bill is rejected by the
other house, when the other house disagrees with the amendments
made to the bill, or when a bill passed by either house remains in
that house for longer than six months due to any problem. The
Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over the joint session. The
purpose of the joint sitting is to break any deadlock that develops
between the two houses regarding the passage of a bill.
• 3. President's power to dissolve the Lok Sabha-
• Article 83 empowers the president to dissolve the Lok Sabha even
before the expiry of its term on the advice of the prime minister. He
may also dissolve it if he believes the Prime Minister is acting in an
unconstitutional manner, abusing his powers and majority in the
House.
• 4. Presidential assent to bills-
• When a bill is passed by both houses of parliament, the secretariat
of the house in possession of the bill has to obtain the president’s
assent. In case of money bills or bills passed in joint session the
secretariat of Lok Sabha attains the president’s assent for the bill to
become an act.
• Article 111 empowers the President to take the following actions
when a bill is presented for assent:
• Assent to the bill so that it becomes an Act.
• Refuse to sign the bill.
• If the bill is an ordinary bill, he or she may return it to the Houses for
reconsideration.
• 5. President’s right to address and sent message to both house
of parliament-
• Right to address- According to article 86, the President has the right
to address the Parliament's Houses individually or jointly at any
time. The presence of the Members of the Parliament is necessary
for this purpose whenever the President exercises this right.
• Right to send message- The president can send a message to
either house of parliament in matters relating to a pending bill or any
other matter which the house must consider with ‘all convenient
dispatch.
• 6. Nominating members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha-
• Article 80 gives power to the president to nominate 12 members to
the Rajya Sabha having substantive knowledge or special
experience in the field of art, literature, science and social service.
• 7. Appointment making power-

• When the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker become

vacant, the president has the authority to appoint any Lok Sabha
member to preside over its proceedings. Similarly, if both the
Chairman and Deputy Chairman positions become vacant, he can
appoint any Rajya Sabha member to preside over its proceedings
• 8. Special address by the president-
• According to Article 87, the President delivers a special opening
address to both houses of the Parliament when they are
assembled during the first session following each general
election after all members have taken their oaths and the Speaker
has been chosen, and at the start of the first session each year
where both houses are present together. The President discusses
the various policies and programs of the current administration in
this session while also highlighting some of their significant
accomplishments from the previous year.
• 9. President’s power to present reports to the house-
• In his power and duty, the President causes the following reports to
be laid before Parliament:
1. The Annual Financial Statement also known as the Budget and any
supplementary statements if present.
2. Auditor-General's report on the Indian Government's accounts.
3. Union Public Service Commission's annual report. In any case
where the UPSC's advice was not accepted, an explanation is
provided.
4. Finance Commission reports, along with an explanatory
memorandum of action taken in response to the Commission's
recommendations.
5. Reports of special officers on Scheduled Castes (SC) and
Scheduled Tribes (ST)
6. Report of special officers on the Linguistic Minorities and
Backward Classes.
• 10.. President's power to make special rules for the union
territories
• According to Article 239, the President has the authority to create
special rules for Union Territories. In certain circumstances, the
President has the authority to issue rules for the Union Territories of
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Pondicherry to ensure peace,
progress, and good governance. In the case of Pondicherry, the
President can make rules only after the assembly has been
dissolved and suspended.[9]
• 11. Ordinance making power of the president-

• The president can issue ordinance when the parliament is not in

session under article 123 of the constitution.
• These ordinances have the power of law.
• Ordinances can be issued on the recommendations of the union
cabinet on matters which the parliament can legislate. Ordinances
are issued on matters which require immediate action.
• Once the parliament comes into session, these ordinances need to
be approved by the parliament within 6 weeks from the date of start
of its session or else it will cease to function.
Ordinance:
ARTILCE 123
President can legislate by promulgating an ordinance only in exceptional
circumstance
Two conditions
(i) Both the Houses should not be in session.
(ii) Satisfaction for the need of the ordinance.
NOTE:
• Where one House is in session and one House is not, an ordinance can be
issued.
A House is said to be in session when it is neither dissolved or prorogued
Adjournment by the Speaker/ Chairman of the House does not entitle the
President to promulgate an ordinance because an adjourned House is
considered to be in session.
An ordinance my be promulgated just a day or two before the date on which
the Parliament is scheduled to meet.
• SATISFACTION FOR THE NEED OF THE ORDINANCE

President should be “satisfied that circumstances exist which render it

necessary for him to take immediate action”
President is to be satisfied in constitutional sense and act on the advice of the
CoMs.

• This has been clearly stated by the SC in

• RC Cooper v UOI, (1970) I SCC 248
• A K Roy v. Union of India, (1982) I SCC 271
• Art 123(2)- life of an ordinance may come to an end in three
possible ways
• It may be withdrawn by the President
• It may be disapproved by Parliament
• It may lapse if it is not ratified by the Parliament within the stipulated
period.
ORDINANCES HAS TO BE LAID BEFORE THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT
• It ceases to be operative if it is disapproved by passing resolutions to that
effect by Houses of Parliament.
• In the case of Parliament if the resolutions disapproving the ordinance are
passed on different dates, the ordinance becomes inoperative from the
latter of the two dates.
• Even when resolutions disapproving the ordinance are not passed, the
ordinance automatically lapses after six weeks from the date on which the
Houses reassemble.
 • D.C. Wadhwa v. State of Bihar (1987)I SCC378
Facts: The State of Bihar adopted a practice of repromulgating the ordinances
on a massive scale from time to time without their provisions being enacted into
acts of the legislature. The practice was that, after the session of the State
Legislature was prorogued, the same ordinances which had ceased to operate
were repromulgated containing substantially the same provisions almost in a
routine manner. The petitioners challenged the validity of this practice
• SC held that successive re-promulgation of ordinances by the State of Bihar
was a colourable exercise of power and as such a fraud on the Constitution
The Constitution fixes the maximum duration for which an ordinance can
remain operation. The device of successive repromulgation enables the govt. to
evade that limit
However, the SC is yet to indicate as to how many repromulgations would
constitute successive repromulgation
Pardoning Powers of President: Article 72

• The power of Presidential Pardon is found in Article 72 of the Indian

Constitution.
Power of President to grant pardons, etc, and to suspend, remit or
commute sentences in certain cases:
• In all cases where the punishment or sentence is by a court Martial;
• In all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence
against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of
the Union extends;
• In all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death

Noting in sub clause (a) of Clause (1 ) shall affect the power to

suspend, remit or commute a sentence of death exercisable by the
Governor of a State under any law for the time being in force.
Pardoning Powers
• Pardon:
• When the President pardons, both the sentence and the conviction of the
convict completely absolve the sentences, punishments and
disqualifications.
• Respite:
• When the President uses the pardoning power of ‘Respite’, he chooses to
award a lesser sentence in place of one originally awarded to the convict.
For example, due to some special fact, such as the physical disability of a
convict or the pregnancy of a woman offender, the President can use this
power
• Reprieve:
• When the President chooses the pardoning power of 'Reprieve'; he stays
the execution of a sentence for a temporary period. By doing this, he
enables the convict to have time to seek pardon or commutation from him.
• Remit:
When the President chooses the pardoning power of Remit, he acts to reduce
the period of the sentence, but the character of the sentence remains the same.
For example, a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for two years may be
remitted to rigorous imprisonment for one year but the imprisonment remains
rigorous.
• Commute:
When the President chooses to use this pardoning power of 'Commute; he
substitutes one form of punishment for a lighter form. For example, a death
sentence may be commuted to rigorous imprisonment, which in turn may be
commuted to simple imprisonment.
Judicial Review:

• Maru Ram v. Union of India (1980):

• The Supreme Court held that the power to pardon under Article 72
and 161 is not immune from judicial review. The Court stated that
the exercise of this power should be bona fide and not arbitrary or
mala fide.
Judicial Review of Presidents’s power :
• Kehar Singh v. Union of India (1989):

• This case established that the President's power to grant pardon is subject
to judicial review to ensure it is exercised fairly and reasonably. The
Supreme Court held that while the President's decision cannot be inquired
into by the courts, the manner of exercising the power can be reviewed if
there is arbitrariness, mala fides, or extraneous considerations.

• Epuru Sudhakar v. Government of Andhra Pradesh (2006):

• The Supreme Court reiterated that the President's pardoning power is
subject to judicial review. The Court laid down specific grounds for review,
including:
• If the order is passed without application of mind.
• If it is based on extraneous or irrelevant considerations.
• If it suffers from arbitrariness.
• If there is a failure to take into account relevant considerations.