jbp123/hello · Datasets at Hugging Face

instruction stringlengths 1 84	input stringlengths 1 85	output stringlengths 1 83
10. Those nine states include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,	Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Orissa, Gujarat,	Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
11. S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994).	12. Constituent Assembly Debates, Volume IX, p. 133 and	177.
14. Constituent Assembly Debates, Volume X, p. 361–372.	15. Quoted from M.V. Pylee, India’s Constitution, S Chand,	Fifth Edition, 1994, p. 280.
16. Constituent Assembly Debates, Volume IX, p. 105.	17. Ibid, p. 123.	18. Ibid, p. 547.
19. Ibid, p. 177.	20. This was imposed in Andhra State.	21. This was imposed in Travancore-Cochin.
22. Vindhya Pradesh had President’s Rule from 1949–	1952. This state was merged into that of Madhya	Pradesh State in 1956.
23. In 1953, the President’s Rule was imposed in Patiala	and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) which was	merged into that of Punjab State in 1956.
24. The President’s Rule was imposed in the erstwhile state	of Jammu and Kashmir on 8 times, that is, in 1977,	1986, 1990, 2002, 2015, 2016, 2018.
PART-III	CENTRAL GOVERNMENT	17. President
18. Vice-President	19. Prime Minister	20. Central Council of Ministers
21. Cabinet Committees	22. Parliament	23. Parliamentary Committees
24. Parliamentary Forums	25. Parliamentary Group	26. Supreme Court
27. Judicial Review	28. Judicial Activism	29. Public Interest Litigation
17 President	A	rticles 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 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
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;	and
3. the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Union	Territories of Delhi and Puducherry1 .	Thus, the nominated members of both of Houses of Parliament, the
nominated members of the state legislative assemblies, the members	(both elected and nominated) of the state legislative councils (in case	of the bicameral legislature) and the nominated members of the
Legislative Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry do not participate in	the election of the President. Where an assembly is dissolved, the	members cease to be qualified to vote in presidential election, even if
fresh elections to the dissolved assembly are not held before the	presidential election.	The Constitution provides that there shall be uniformity in the scale
of representation of different states as well as parity between the	states as a whole and the Union at the election of the President. To	achieve this, the number of votes which each elected member of the
legislative assembly of each state and the Parliament is entitled to	cast at such election shall be determined in the following manner:	1. Every elected member of the legislative assembly of a state
shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousand	in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the state by	the total number of the elected members of the assembly2. This
can be expressed as:	2. Every elected member of either House of Parliament shall have	such number of votes as may be obtained by dividing the total
members of both the Houses of Parliament. This can be	expressed as:	The President’s election is held in accordance with the system of
proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote	and the voting is by secret ballot. This system ensures that the	successful candidate is returned by the absolute majority of votes. A
candidate, in order to be declared elected to the office of President,	must secure a fixed quota of votes. The quota of votes is determined	by dividing the total number of valid votes polled by the number of
candidates to be elected (here only one candidate is to be elected as	President) plus one and adding one to the quotient. The formula can	be expressed as:
Each member of the electoral college is given only one ballot paper.	The voter, while casting his vote, is required to indicate his	preferences by marking 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. against the names of
candidates. This means that the voter can indicate as many	preferences as there are candidates in the fray.	In the first phase, the first preference votes are counted. In case a
candidate secures the required quota in this phase, he is declared	elected. Otherwise, the process of transfer of votes is set in motion.	The ballots of the candidate securing the least number of first
preference votes are cancelled and his second preference votes are	transferred to the first preference votes of other candidates. This	process continues till a candidate secures the required quota.
All doubts and disputes in connection with election of the President	are inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court whose decision is	final. The election of a person as President cannot be challenged on
the ground that the electoral college was incomplete (ie, existence of	any vacancy among the members of electoral college). If the election	of a person as President is declared void by the Supreme Court, acts
Some members of the Constituent Assembly criticised the system	of indirect election for the President as undemocratic and proposed	the idea of direct election. However, the Constitution makers chose
the indirect election due to the following reasons3 :	1. The indirect election of the President is in harmony with the	parliamentary system of government envisaged in the
Constitution. Under this system, the President is only a nominal	executive and the real powers are vested in the council of	ministers headed by the prime minister. It would have been
anomalous to have the President elected directly by the people	and not give him any real power.	2. The direct election of the President would have been very costly
and time- and energy-consuming due to the vast size of the	electorate. This is unwarranted keeping in view that he is only a	symbolic head.
Some members of the Constituent Assembly suggested that the	President should be elected by the members of the two Houses of	Parliament alone. The makers of the Constitution did not prefer this as
the Parliament, dominated by one political party, would have invariably	chosen a candidate from that party and such a President could not	represent the states of the Indian Union. The present system makes
the President a representative of the Union and the states equally.	Further, it was pointed out in the Constituent Assembly that the	expression ‘proportional representation’ in the case of presidential
election is a misnomer. Proportional representation takes place where	two or more seats are to be filled. In case of the President, the	vacancy is only one. It could better be called a preferential or
alternative vote system. Similarly, the expression ‘single transferable	vote’ was also objected on the ground that no voter has a single vote;	every voter has plural votes.
QUALIFICATIONS, OATH AND CONDITIONS	Qualifications for Election as President	A person to be eligible for election as President should fulfil 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. A sitting President or VicePresident of	the Union, the Governor of any state and a minister of the Union
or any state is not deemed to hold any office of profit and hence	qualified as a presidential candidate.	Further, the nomination of a candidate for election to the office of
President must be subscribed by at least 50 electors as proposers and	50 electors as seconders. Every candidate has to make a security	deposit of ₹15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India. The security deposit
is liable to be forfeited in case the candidate fails to secure one-sixth	of the votes polled. Before 1997, number of proposers and seconders	was ten each and the amount of security deposit was ₹2,500. In 1997,
they were increased to discourage the non-serious candidates4 .	Oath or Affirmation by the President	Before entering upon his office, the President has to make and
subscribe to an oath or affirmation. In his oath, the President swears:	1. to faithfully execute the office;	2. to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law;
and	3. to devote himself to the service and well-being of the people of	India.
Table 17.1 Elections of the Presidents (1952–2017)	Sl. Election Victorious No. of Main Rival No. of	No. Year Candidate Votes Candidate Votes
secured secured	(%) (%)	1. 1952 Dr. Rajendra 507400 K.T. Shah 92827
Prasad (83.81) (15.3)	2. 1957 Dr. Rajendra 459698 N.N. Das 2000 (0.4)	Prasad (99.35)
3. 1962 Dr. S. 553067 Ch.Hari Ram 6341 (1.1)	Radhakrishnan (98.24)	4. 1967 Dr. Zakir 471244 K. Subba Rao 363971
Hussain (56.23) (43.4)	5. 1969 V.V. Giri 420077 N. Sanjeeva 405427	(50.22) Reddy (48.5)
6. 1974 Fakhruddin Ali 756587 Tridev 189186	Ahmed (80.18) Chaudhuri (19.8)	7. 1977 N. Sanjeeva — Unopposed —
Reddy	8. 1982 Giani Zail 754113 H.R. Khanna 282685	Singh (72.73) (27.6)
9. 1987 R. 740148 V.Krishna 281550	Venkataraman (72.29) Ayyer (27.1)	10. 1992 Dr. Shankar 675564 George Swell 346485
Dayal Sharma (65.86) (33.21)	11. 1997 K.R. 956290 T.N. Sheshan 50431	Narayanan (94.97) (5.07)
12. 2002 Dr. A.P.J. 922844 Laxmi Sehgal 107366	Abdul Kalam (89.58) (10.42)	13. 2007 Ms. Pratibha 638116 B.S. 331306
Patil (65.82) Shekhawat (34.17)	14. 2012 Pranab 713763 P.A. Sangma 315987	Mukherjee (68.12) (30.15)
15. 2017 Ram Nath 702044 Meira Kumar 367314	Kovind (65.65) (34.35)	The oath of office to the President is administered by the Chief
Any other person acting as President or discharging the functions	of the President also undertakes the similar oath or affirmation.	Conditions of President’s Office
The Constitution lays down the following conditions of the President’s	office:	1. He should not be a member of either House of Parliament or a
House of the state legislature. If any such person is elected as	President, he is deemed to have vacated his seat in that House	on the date on which he enters upon his office as President.
2. He should not hold any other office of profit.	3. He is entitled, without payment of rent, to the use of his official	residence (the Rastrapathi Bhavan).
4. He is entitled to such emoluments, allowances and privileges as	may be determined by Parliament.	5. His emoluments and allowances cannot be diminished during
his term of office.	In 2018, the Parliament increased the salary of the President from	₹1.50 lakh to ₹5 lakh per month4a. Earlier in 2008, the pension of the
retired President was increased from ₹3 lakh per annum to 50% of his	salary per month5. In addition, the former Presidents are entitled to	furnished residence, phone facilities, car, medical treatment, travel
facility, secretarial staff and office expenses upto ₹1,00,000 per	annum. The spouse of a deceased President is also entitled to a	family pension at the rate of 50% of pension of a retired President,
furnished residence, phone facility, car, medical treatment, travel	facility, secretarial staff and office expenses upto ₹20,000 per annum.	The President is entitled to a number of privileges and immunities.
He enjoys personal immunity from legal liability for his official acts.	During his term of office, he is immune from any criminal proceedings,	even in respect of his personal acts. He cannot be arrested or
imprisoned. However, after giving two months’ notice, civil	proceedings can be instituted against him during his term of office in	respect of his personal acts.
TERM, IMPEACHMENT AND VACANCY	Term of President’s Office	The President holds office for a term of five years from the date on
which he enters upon his office. However, 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.	The President can hold office beyond his term of five years until his	successor assumes charge. He is also eligible for re-election to that
office. He may be elected for any number of terms6. However, in USA,	a person cannot be elected to the office of the President more than	twice.
Impeachment of President	The President can be removed from office by a process of	impeachment for ‘violation of the Constitution’. However, the
Constitution does not define the meaning of the phrase ‘violation of	the Constitution’.	The impeachment charges can be initiated by either House of
Parliament. These charges should be signed by one-fourth members	of the House (that framed the charges), and a 14 days’ notice should	be given to the President. After the impeachment resolution is passed
by a majority of two-thirds of the total membership of that House, it is	sent to the other House, which should investigate the charges. The	President has the right to appear and to be represented at such
investigation. If the other House also sustains the charges and passes	the impeachment resolution by a majority of two-thirds of the total	membership, then the President stands removed from his office from
the date on which the resolution is so passed.	Thus, an impeachment is a quasi-judicial procedure in the	Parliament. In this context, two things should be noted: (a) the
nominated members of either House of Parliament can participate in	the impeachment of the President though they do not participate in his	election; (b) the elected members of the legislative assemblies of
states and the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry do not	participate in the impeachment of the President though they	participate in his election.
No President has so far been impeached.	Vacancy in the President’s Office	A vacancy in the President’s office can occur in any of the following
ways:	1. On the expiry of his tenure of five years.	2. By his resignation.
3. On his removal by the process of impeachment.	4. By his death7 .	5. Otherwise, for example, when he becomes disqualified to hold
office or when his election is declared void.	When the vacancy is going to be caused by the expiration of the	term of the sitting President, an election to fill the vacancy must be
held before the expiration of the term. In case of any delay in	conducting the election of new President by any reason, the outgoing	President continues to hold office (beyond his term of five years) until
his successor assumes charge. This is provided by the Constitution in	order to prevent an ‘interregnum’. In this situation, the VicePresident	does not get the opportunity to act as President or to discharge the
functions of the President.	If the office falls vacant by resignation, removal, death or otherwise,	then election to fill the vacancy should be held within six months from
the date of the occurrence of such a vacancy. The newly-elected	President remains in office for a full term of five years from the date he	assumes charge of his office.
When a vacancy occurs in the office of the President due to his	resignation, removal, death or otherwise, the Vice-President acts as	the President until a new President is elected. Further, when the sitting

10. Those nine states include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Orissa, Gujarat,

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

11. S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994).

12. Constituent Assembly Debates, Volume IX, p. 133 and

177.

14. Constituent Assembly Debates, Volume X, p. 361–372.

15. Quoted from M.V. Pylee, India’s Constitution, S Chand,

Fifth Edition, 1994, p. 280.

16. Constituent Assembly Debates, Volume IX, p. 105.

17. Ibid, p. 123.

18. Ibid, p. 547.

19. Ibid, p. 177.

20. This was imposed in Andhra State.

21. This was imposed in Travancore-Cochin.

22. Vindhya Pradesh had President’s Rule from 1949–

1952. This state was merged into that of Madhya

Pradesh State in 1956.

23. In 1953, the President’s Rule was imposed in Patiala

and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) which was

merged into that of Punjab State in 1956.

24. The President’s Rule was imposed in the erstwhile state

of Jammu and Kashmir on 8 times, that is, in 1977,

1986, 1990, 2002, 2015, 2016, 2018.

PART-III

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

17. President

18. Vice-President

19. Prime Minister

20. Central Council of Ministers

21. Cabinet Committees

22. Parliament

23. Parliamentary Committees

24. Parliamentary Forums

25. Parliamentary Group

26. Supreme Court

27. Judicial Review

28. Judicial Activism

29. Public Interest Litigation

17 President

A

rticles 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 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

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;

and

3. the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Union

Territories of Delhi and Puducherry1 .

Thus, the nominated members of both of Houses of Parliament, the

nominated members of the state legislative assemblies, the members

(both elected and nominated) of the state legislative councils (in case

of the bicameral legislature) and the nominated members of the

Legislative Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry do not participate in

the election of the President. Where an assembly is dissolved, the

members cease to be qualified to vote in presidential election, even if

fresh elections to the dissolved assembly are not held before the

presidential election.

The Constitution provides that there shall be uniformity in the scale

of representation of different states as well as parity between the

states as a whole and the Union at the election of the President. To

achieve this, the number of votes which each elected member of the

legislative assembly of each state and the Parliament is entitled to

cast at such election shall be determined in the following manner:

1. Every elected member of the legislative assembly of a state

shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousand

in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the state by

the total number of the elected members of the assembly2. This

can be expressed as:

2. Every elected member of either House of Parliament shall have

such number of votes as may be obtained by dividing the total

members of both the Houses of Parliament. This can be

expressed as:

The President’s election is held in accordance with the system of

proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote

and the voting is by secret ballot. This system ensures that the

successful candidate is returned by the absolute majority of votes. A

candidate, in order to be declared elected to the office of President,

must secure a fixed quota of votes. The quota of votes is determined

by dividing the total number of valid votes polled by the number of

candidates to be elected (here only one candidate is to be elected as

President) plus one and adding one to the quotient. The formula can

be expressed as:

Each member of the electoral college is given only one ballot paper.

The voter, while casting his vote, is required to indicate his

preferences by marking 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. against the names of

candidates. This means that the voter can indicate as many

preferences as there are candidates in the fray.

In the first phase, the first preference votes are counted. In case a

candidate secures the required quota in this phase, he is declared

elected. Otherwise, the process of transfer of votes is set in motion.

The ballots of the candidate securing the least number of first

preference votes are cancelled and his second preference votes are

transferred to the first preference votes of other candidates. This

process continues till a candidate secures the required quota.

All doubts and disputes in connection with election of the President

are inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court whose decision is

final. The election of a person as President cannot be challenged on

the ground that the electoral college was incomplete (ie, existence of

any vacancy among the members of electoral college). If the election

of a person as President is declared void by the Supreme Court, acts

Some members of the Constituent Assembly criticised the system

of indirect election for the President as undemocratic and proposed

the idea of direct election. However, the Constitution makers chose

the indirect election due to the following reasons3 :

1. The indirect election of the President is in harmony with the

parliamentary system of government envisaged in the

Constitution. Under this system, the President is only a nominal

executive and the real powers are vested in the council of

ministers headed by the prime minister. It would have been

anomalous to have the President elected directly by the people

and not give him any real power.

2. The direct election of the President would have been very costly

and time- and energy-consuming due to the vast size of the

electorate. This is unwarranted keeping in view that he is only a

symbolic head.

Some members of the Constituent Assembly suggested that the

President should be elected by the members of the two Houses of

Parliament alone. The makers of the Constitution did not prefer this as

the Parliament, dominated by one political party, would have invariably

chosen a candidate from that party and such a President could not

represent the states of the Indian Union. The present system makes

the President a representative of the Union and the states equally.

Further, it was pointed out in the Constituent Assembly that the

expression ‘proportional representation’ in the case of presidential

election is a misnomer. Proportional representation takes place where

two or more seats are to be filled. In case of the President, the

vacancy is only one. It could better be called a preferential or

alternative vote system. Similarly, the expression ‘single transferable

vote’ was also objected on the ground that no voter has a single vote;

every voter has plural votes.

QUALIFICATIONS, OATH AND CONDITIONS

Qualifications for Election as President

A person to be eligible for election as President should fulfil 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. A sitting President or VicePresident of

the Union, the Governor of any state and a minister of the Union

or any state is not deemed to hold any office of profit and hence

qualified as a presidential candidate.

Further, the nomination of a candidate for election to the office of

President must be subscribed by at least 50 electors as proposers and

50 electors as seconders. Every candidate has to make a security

deposit of ₹15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India. The security deposit

is liable to be forfeited in case the candidate fails to secure one-sixth

of the votes polled. Before 1997, number of proposers and seconders

was ten each and the amount of security deposit was ₹2,500. In 1997,

they were increased to discourage the non-serious candidates4 .

Oath or Affirmation by the President

Before entering upon his office, the President has to make and

subscribe to an oath or affirmation. In his oath, the President swears:

1. to faithfully execute the office;

2. to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law;

and

3. to devote himself to the service and well-being of the people of

India.

Table 17.1 Elections of the Presidents (1952–2017)

Sl. Election Victorious No. of Main Rival No. of

No. Year Candidate Votes Candidate Votes

secured secured

(%) (%)

1. 1952 Dr. Rajendra 507400 K.T. Shah 92827

Prasad (83.81) (15.3)

2. 1957 Dr. Rajendra 459698 N.N. Das 2000 (0.4)

Prasad (99.35)

3. 1962 Dr. S. 553067 Ch.Hari Ram 6341 (1.1)

Radhakrishnan (98.24)

4. 1967 Dr. Zakir 471244 K. Subba Rao 363971

Hussain (56.23) (43.4)

5. 1969 V.V. Giri 420077 N. Sanjeeva 405427

(50.22) Reddy (48.5)

6. 1974 Fakhruddin Ali 756587 Tridev 189186

Ahmed (80.18) Chaudhuri (19.8)

7. 1977 N. Sanjeeva — Unopposed —

Reddy

8. 1982 Giani Zail 754113 H.R. Khanna 282685

Singh (72.73) (27.6)

9. 1987 R. 740148 V.Krishna 281550

Venkataraman (72.29) Ayyer (27.1)

10. 1992 Dr. Shankar 675564 George Swell 346485

Dayal Sharma (65.86) (33.21)

11. 1997 K.R. 956290 T.N. Sheshan 50431

Narayanan (94.97) (5.07)

12. 2002 Dr. A.P.J. 922844 Laxmi Sehgal 107366

Abdul Kalam (89.58) (10.42)

13. 2007 Ms. Pratibha 638116 B.S. 331306

Patil (65.82) Shekhawat (34.17)

14. 2012 Pranab 713763 P.A. Sangma 315987

Mukherjee (68.12) (30.15)

15. 2017 Ram Nath 702044 Meira Kumar 367314

Kovind (65.65) (34.35)

The oath of office to the President is administered by the Chief

Any other person acting as President or discharging the functions

of the President also undertakes the similar oath or affirmation.

Conditions of President’s Office

The Constitution lays down the following conditions of the President’s

office:

1. He should not be a member of either House of Parliament or a

House of the state legislature. If any such person is elected as

President, he is deemed to have vacated his seat in that House

on the date on which he enters upon his office as President.

2. He should not hold any other office of profit.

3. He is entitled, without payment of rent, to the use of his official

residence (the Rastrapathi Bhavan).

4. He is entitled to such emoluments, allowances and privileges as

may be determined by Parliament.

5. His emoluments and allowances cannot be diminished during

his term of office.

In 2018, the Parliament increased the salary of the President from

₹1.50 lakh to ₹5 lakh per month4a. Earlier in 2008, the pension of the

retired President was increased from ₹3 lakh per annum to 50% of his

salary per month5. In addition, the former Presidents are entitled to

furnished residence, phone facilities, car, medical treatment, travel

facility, secretarial staff and office expenses upto ₹1,00,000 per

annum. The spouse of a deceased President is also entitled to a

family pension at the rate of 50% of pension of a retired President,

furnished residence, phone facility, car, medical treatment, travel

facility, secretarial staff and office expenses upto ₹20,000 per annum.

The President is entitled to a number of privileges and immunities.

He enjoys personal immunity from legal liability for his official acts.

During his term of office, he is immune from any criminal proceedings,

even in respect of his personal acts. He cannot be arrested or

imprisoned. However, after giving two months’ notice, civil

proceedings can be instituted against him during his term of office in

respect of his personal acts.

TERM, IMPEACHMENT AND VACANCY

Term of President’s Office

The President holds office for a term of five years from the date on

which he enters upon his office. However, 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.

The President can hold office beyond his term of five years until his

successor assumes charge. He is also eligible for re-election to that

office. He may be elected for any number of terms6. However, in USA,

a person cannot be elected to the office of the President more than

twice.

Impeachment of President

The President can be removed from office by a process of

impeachment for ‘violation of the Constitution’. However, the

Constitution does not define the meaning of the phrase ‘violation of

the Constitution’.

The impeachment charges can be initiated by either House of

Parliament. These charges should be signed by one-fourth members

of the House (that framed the charges), and a 14 days’ notice should

be given to the President. After the impeachment resolution is passed

by a majority of two-thirds of the total membership of that House, it is

sent to the other House, which should investigate the charges. The

President has the right to appear and to be represented at such

investigation. If the other House also sustains the charges and passes

the impeachment resolution by a majority of two-thirds of the total

membership, then the President stands removed from his office from

the date on which the resolution is so passed.

Thus, an impeachment is a quasi-judicial procedure in the

Parliament. In this context, two things should be noted: (a) the

nominated members of either House of Parliament can participate in

the impeachment of the President though they do not participate in his

election; (b) the elected members of the legislative assemblies of

states and the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry do not

participate in the impeachment of the President though they

participate in his election.

No President has so far been impeached.

Vacancy in the President’s Office

A vacancy in the President’s office can occur in any of the following

ways:

1. On the expiry of his tenure of five years.

2. By his resignation.

3. On his removal by the process of impeachment.

4. By his death7 .

5. Otherwise, for example, when he becomes disqualified to hold

office or when his election is declared void.

When the vacancy is going to be caused by the expiration of the

term of the sitting President, an election to fill the vacancy must be

held before the expiration of the term. In case of any delay in

conducting the election of new President by any reason, the outgoing

President continues to hold office (beyond his term of five years) until

his successor assumes charge. This is provided by the Constitution in

order to prevent an ‘interregnum’. In this situation, the VicePresident

does not get the opportunity to act as President or to discharge the

functions of the President.

If the office falls vacant by resignation, removal, death or otherwise,

then election to fill the vacancy should be held within six months from

the date of the occurrence of such a vacancy. The newly-elected

President remains in office for a full term of five years from the date he

assumes charge of his office.

When a vacancy occurs in the office of the President due to his

resignation, removal, death or otherwise, the Vice-President acts as

the President until a new President is elected. Further, when the sitting