The President and the Vice-President: election, impeachment and the position of the President (Articles 52-71)

LUG-104 Constitutional Law-I, Unit V: President and Vice-President of India (Articles 52–70). · LLB · 60 min

Articles 52 to 71 create the Union executive's head of State. This lecture covers how the President is elected (the electoral college, the Article 55 formula, proportional representation by single transferable vote), the qualifications, term, oath and conditions of office, impeachment under Article 61, the Vice-President under Articles 63 to 69, election disputes under Article 71, and the question the examiner asks almost every year: is the President a real or a nominal head? Ram Jawaya Kapur, U.N.R. Rao, Shamsher Singh, the 42nd and 44th Amendments and the veto power under Article 111 answer it.

Objectives

Explain the composition of the electoral college and the Article 55 formula for the value of votes in a presidential election.
Describe the qualifications, term, conditions of office and the Article 61 impeachment procedure of the President.
Distinguish the election, removal and functions of the Vice-President from those of the President.
Apply Ram Jawaya Kapur, Shamsher Singh, U.N.R. Rao and the amended Article 74 to decide whether the President is a real or a constitutional head.
Explain the absolute, suspensive and pocket vetoes under Article 111 with examples.

Slides

Articles 52 and 53: the office and the executive power
Article 54: who elects the President
Article 55: the formula and the single transferable vote
Articles 56-60: qualifications, term, conditions, oath
Article 61: impeachment of the President
Articles 63-69: the Vice-President
Article 71: disputes about the election
Position of the President (1): the text, Articles 53 and 74
Position of the President (2): Ram Jawaya Kapur, U.N.R. Rao and Shamsher Singh
Where the President still matters: discretion in practice
Article 111: assent to Bills and the veto
How the examiner asks it

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