President of India

The President serves as the chief of the state and referred as the first citizen of India.

Articles 52 to 62 deals with Indian president

• Article 52 – The President of India
• Article 53 – The executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President
• Article 54 – Election of President
• Article 55-Manner of Election of president
• Article 56- Tenure of  Presidents office
• Article 57-Eligibility for re election
• Article 58-Qulification for election as president
• Article 59- Conditions of presidents office
• Article 60- Oath or Affirmation taken by president
• Article 61 – Procedure for Impeachment of the President
• Article 62- Absence or Vacancy in Presidents office
• Article 65 – The Vice-president can act as a President
• Article 72 – Pardoning powers of President
• Article 74 – Council of ministers to aid and advise President
• Article 78: Duties of Prime Minister  to communicate all the decisions  to the President.
• Article 86: President’s right to address either  house of parliament or both the houses
• Article 111: President assent to Bills
• Article 356: President’s Rule
• Article 123 – Powers of the President to promulgate Ordinances during recess of parliament

Qualification to become Indian President:

 The qualification for the post of the President of  India is given below:

1. He should be an Indian Citizen
2. His age should be a minimum of 35 years
3. He should qualify the conditions to be elected as a member of the Lok Sabha
4. He should not hold any office of profit under the central government, state government, or any public authority.

Election process of President:

President is elected by the process of proportional representation with means of a single transferable vote. The President is elected by the members of both the House of Parliament and the elected members of the legislative assembly of States and Union Territories. It is a secret ballot system of voting

Any dispute related to his election is taken up by Supreme Court. Supreme Court’s decision is final.

The following people are not involved in the election of  President:

1. Nominated Members of  Rajya Sabha (12)
2. Nominated Members of State Legislative Assemblies
3. Members of Legislative Councils (Both elected and nominated) 
4. Nominated Members of union territories of  Delhi and Puducherry

 Impeachment of President:

• According to Article 61, the President can be removed from his office before the expiry of his term only on the grounds of violation of the constitution.
• The sitting President can be removed from his office before completion of his term of 5 years by the procedure of impeachment of the President of India for ‘violation of the Constitution. 
• Even though impeachment meaning as the removal from his office is known, the term ‘violation of Constitution’ has not been defined by the Constitution. 
• Either House of the Parliament of India can initiate the charges of impeachment against the President. 
• One-fourth of the members of the House that has framed the charges of impeachment should sign the charges and the Presidents should be handed over a notice of 14 days. The notice bearing the charges against the president must be signed by at least a quarter of the members of the house.
• The impeachment resolution is sent to the other House to investigate the allegations once it is passed by the two-thirds majority of the House which initiated the charges of impeachment.
• Next, it is sent to the other house for consideration. The other house acts as the investigating horse. A select committee is formed to investigate the charges labelled against the president.
• During the process, the President of India has the right to defend himself through authorized counsel. He can defend himself or appoint any person/lawyer or attorney general of India .
• The right to appear before the investigating House and the right to be represented is possessed by the President.
• However, if the motion is passed in the other House too by a two-thirds majority, the President is deemed to have been removed from his office from that day.
• The nominated members can also participate in the impeachment process. However, the elected members of the state legislatures and the UTs of Delhi and Puducherry shall not participate in the impeachment process.
• If the President of India intents to resign from his post, he/she needs to do it in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Article 61 of the Indian Constitution. The President needs to give a hand-written letter to the Vice President, in case of resignation.

Term :

The President of India serves a five-year term and can continue in office beyond the completion of this term if no new election occurs or a successor is not elected. Additionally, there is no limit to the number of times the President can be re-elected.

President Salary:

The President of India receives a monthly salary of Rs.5 lakh, which is not subject to taxes. Additionally, the President is entitled to various allowances. Here are some of the allowances provided to the President of India other than the salary. The official home of the President is Rashtrapati  Bhavan, located in New Delhi. 

Emergency Powers of President:

He deals with three types of emergencies given in the Indian Constitution:

1. National Emergency (Article 352)
2. President’s Rule (Article 356 & 365)
3. Financial Emergency (Article 360)

Military Powers of President:

He is the commander of the defence forces of India. He appoints:

1. Chief of the Army
2. Chief of the Navy
3. Chief of the Air Force

Executive Powers of President:

1. For every executive action that the Indian government takes, is to be taken in his name
2. He may/may not make rules to simplify the transaction of  business of the central government
3. He appoints the attorney general of India and determines his remuneration
4. He appoints the following people:
   1. Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
   2. Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners
   3. Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission
   4. State Governors
   5. Finance Commission of India chairman and members
5. He seeks administrative information from the Union government
6. He requires PM to submit, for consideration of the council of ministers, any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but, which has not been considered by the council
7. He appoints National Commissions of Scheduled Castes ,Scheduled Tribes , Other Backward Classes
8. He appoints inter-state council
9. He appoints administrators of union territories
10. He can declare any area as a scheduled area and has powers with respect to the administration of scheduled areas and tribal areas

Legislative Powers of President:

1. He summons or prorogues Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha
2. He summons a joint sitting (Article 108) of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in case of deadlock
3. He addresses the Indian Parliament at the commencement of the first session after every general election
4. He appoints speaker, deputy speaker of  Lok Sabha, and chairman/deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha when the seats fall vacant
5. He can nominate two members to the Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian Community
6. He nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha
7. He consults the Election Commission of  India on questions of disqualifications of  MPs.
8. He recommends/ permits the introduction of certain types of bills
9. He promulgates ordinances
10. He lays the following reports before the Parliament:
    1. Comptroller and Auditor General
    2. Union Public Service Commission
    3. Finance Commission, etc
    4. Annual Financial Statement
    5. The Report of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

Financial Powers of President:

1. To introduce the  money bill, prior recommendation of president is a must
2. He causes Union Budget to be laid before the Parliament
3. To make a demand for grants, his recommendation is a pre-requisite
4. Contingency Fund of India is under his control
5. He constitutes the Finance Commission every five years

Judicial Powers of President:

1. Appointment of Chief Justice and Supreme Court/High Court Judges
2. He takes advice from the Supreme Court, however, the advice is not binding on him
3. As per article 72, he has been conferred with power to grant pardon against punishment for an offence against union law, punishment by a martial court, or death sentence. The President can pardon, reprieve, respite, remit, suspend, or commute the punishment or sentence of any person convicted of any offence against a Central law.

• Pardon: It removes both the sentence and the conviction and completely absolves the convict from all sentences, punishments and disqualifications.
• Commutation: It denotes the substitution of 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 a simple imprisonment.
• Remission: It implies reducing the period of sentence without changing its character. For example, a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for two years may be remitted to rigorous imprisonment for one year.
• Respite: It denotes awarding lesser punishment than original punishment by looking at the special condition of a convict
• Reprieve: It implies a stay of the execution of a sentence (especially that of death) for a temporary period. Its purpose is to enable the convict to have time to seek pardon or commutation from the President

Diplomatic Powers of President:

1. International Treaties and agreements that are approved by the Parliament are negotiated and concluded in his name
2. He is the representative of India in international forums and affairs

Important Points of President:

1. He cannot be a member of  Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. If he has been a member of either of the house, he should vacate the seat on his first day as President in the office
2. He should not hold any office of profit
3. Rashtrapati Bhavan is provided to him without the payment of rent
4. Parliament decides his emoluments, allowances and privileges
5. Parliament cannot diminish his emoluments and allowances during his term of office
6. Arrest or imprisonment of the President cannot take place. Only civil proceedings can be initiated for his personal acts that too after giving two months’ of prior notice.
7. President of India has the power to dissolve the Lok Sabha on the advice of the Prime Minister, but this power is rarely exercised.
8. A vacancy in the office of the President can happen in the following ways:
   1. Expiry of his tenure of five years.
   2. By his resignation.
   3. On his removal by the process of impeachment.
   4. By his death.
   5. His election is declared void.

List of Indian Presidents 1950-2022

India’s Constitution was officially adopted on November 26, 1949, and it became effective on January 26, 1950. This significant event led to Dr. Rajendra Prasad being elected as India’s first President, marking the beginning of the nation’s constitutional governance. In July 2022, Ram Nath Kovind concluded his tenure as 14th President of India. Consequently, Draupadi Murmu was elected as the 15th Indian President in July 2022.

 Facts about the Presidents of India:

Given below are a few facts related to the Presidents who served the country.

• Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the longest-serving Indian President. He completed two tenures as the President of the country
• Dr. Zakir Husain (first muslim president) was the shortest-serving Indian President. He passed away while he was in his office
• Apart from the full-time Presidents mentioned in the table above, there were three interim Presidents. The three of them were: Varahagiri Venkata Giri, Mohammad Hidayatullah and Basappa Danappa Jatti
• Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was not just the youngest President of the country but was also the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
• Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was the second to pass away while in office.
• Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the youngest President of the country, initially served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. he ran for the presidency twice.
• Giani Zail Singh Before assuming the role of President, he served as both Chief Minister of Punjab and as a Central Minister. Additionally, he employed the Pocket Veto strategy on the Indian Post Office Bill. His presidential term witnessed significant events, like Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the distressing 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
• Venkataraman garnered numerous accolades worldwide, including the “Tamra Patra” for his significant contributions to India’s freedom struggle. Additionally, the Russian government honored him with the Soviet Land Prize for crafting a travelogue about the former Tamil Nadu Prime Minister, Kumaraswami Kamaraj.
• Shankar Dayal Sharma served as Chief Minister of Bhopal, and subsequently served as a Cabinet Minister from 1956 to 1967. Recognizing his significant accomplishments in the legal field, the International Bar Association honored him with the ‘Living Legend of Law Award of Recognition.
• R. Narayanan, first Dalit President of India. Being the first President to cast a vote in Lok Sabha elections and delivering a significant address to the state assembly, he left a lasting impact on the nation.
• A. P. J. Abdul Kalam earned the title ‘Missile Man of India.’ Not only was he the first scientist to become President, but he also secured the highest number of votes ever for a President in India.. His exceptional achievements led to the prestigious Bharat Ratna award in 1997.
• Pratibha Patil was the first and the only women President of India Before taking on the role of President, she served as the Governor of Rajasthan. Between 1962 and 1985, she secured a seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly five times, and in 1991, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Amravati. Notably, she made history as the first female president to pilot a Sukhoi aircraft.
• Pranab Mukherjee, who served as the finance minister in the central government before running for the presidential election, received the Best Parliamentary Award in 1997 and was honored with the Padma Vibhushan in 2008, India’s second-highest civilian recognition.
• Ram Nath Kovind served as the governor of Bihar During his tenure as Governor, he garnered success by establishing a judicial commission aimed at investigating corruption within universities.
• Varahagiri Venkata Giri, Mohammad Hidayatullah, and Basappa Danappa Jatti served as interim Presidents.

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