• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

ClearIAS

UPSC: Latest News, IAS, IPS, UPSC Online Preparation

UPSC Prelims Test Series 2021Enroll Now
  • Home
  • Start
    • IAS
    • IAS Exam Eligibility
    • UPSC
    • UPSC Syllabus
    • UPSC Exam Date
    • UPSC Results
    • FAQs
  • Programs
    • Prelims
    • Mains
    • Interview
  • Buy
    • Courses
    • Mock Test Series
    • IAS Books
    • eBooks (PDF)
  • Free
    • Study Materials
    • Guidance
    • eBooks (PDFs)
    • Mock Exams
    • ClearIAS App
    • Downloads
  • Toppers
  • Blog
  • Login
ClearIAS » Indian Polity Notes » The President of India (Articles 52-62)

The President of India (Articles 52-62)

Last updated on February 3, 2020 by Alex Andrews George

President of IndiaPart V of the Constitution (The Union) under Chapter I (The Executive) lists out the qualification, election and impeachment of the President of India.

The President of India is the head of state of the Republic of India. The President is the formal head of the executive, legislature and judiciary of India and is also the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces.

Although Article 53 of the Constitution of India states that the President can exercise his or her powers directly or by subordinate authority, with few exceptions, all of the executive authority vested in the President are, in practice, exercised by the Council of Ministers (CoM).

Part V The Union

Chapter I The Executive

Article 52 : The President of India

There shall be a President of India.

Article 53 : Executive power of the Union

(1) The executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the supreme command of the Defence Forces of the Union Shall be vested in the President and the exercise thereof shall be regulated by law.
(3) Nothing in this article shall –
(a) be deemed to transfer to the President any functions conferred by any existing law on the Government of any State or other authority; or
(b) prevent Parliament from conferring by law functions on authorities other than the President.

Article 54 : Election of President

The President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of –
(a) the elected members of both Houses of Parliament; and
(b) the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States. Explanation: In this article and in article 55, “State” includes the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union territory of Pondicherry.

130+ Prelims Marks is Possible. Only if you are guided the right way.

Join ClearIAS Prelims Test Series 2021.

Take a Free Test

Article 55 : Manner of election of President

(1) As far as practicable, there shall be uniformity in the scale of representation of the different States at the election of the President.
(2) For the purpose of securing such uniformity among the States inter se as well as parity between the States as a whole and the Union, the number of votes which each elected member of Parliament and of the legislative Assembly of each state is entitled to cast at such election shall be determined in the following manner; –
(a) 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 Assembly;
(b) if, after taking the said multiples of one thousand, the remainder is not less than five hundred, then the vote of each member referred to in sub-clause (a) shall be further increased by one;
(c) each elected member of either House of Parliament shall have such number of votes as may be obtained by dividing the total number of votes assigned to the members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States under sub-clauses (a) and (b) by the total number of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament, fractions exceeding one-half being counted as one and other fractions being disregarded.
(3) The election of the President shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.
Explanation: In this article, the expression “population” means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published:
Provided that the reference in this Explanation to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published shall, until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2000 have been published, be construed as a reference to the 1971 census.

Article 56 : Term of office of President

(1) The President shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office:
Provided that – (a) the President may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Vice-President, resign his office;
(b) the President may, for violation of the Constitution, be removed from office by impeachment in the manner provided in article 61.
(c) the President shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his term, continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his office.
(2) Any resignation addressed to the Vice-President under clause (a) of the proviso to clause (1) shall forthwith be communicated by him to the Speaker of the House of the People.

Article 57 : Eligibility for re-election

A person who holds, or who has held, office as President shall, subject to the other provisions of this Constitution be eligible for re-election to that office.

Article 58 : Qualifications for election as President

(1) No person shall be eligible for election as President unless he –
(a) is a citizen of India;
(b) has completed the age of thirty-five years, and
(c) is qualified for election as a member of the House of the People.
(2) A person shall not be eligible for election as President if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said Governments.
Explanation: For the purposes of this article, a person shall not be deemed to hold any office of profit by reason only that he is the President or Vice-President of the Union or the Governor of any State or is a Minister either for the Union or for any State.

Article 59 : Conditions of President’s office

(1) The President shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State, and if a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State be elected President, he shall be deemed to have vacated his seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his office as President.
(2) The President shall not hold any other office of profit.
(3) The President shall be entitled without payment of rent to the use of his official residences and shall be also entitled to such emoluments, allowances and privileges as may be determined by Parliament by law and until provision in that behalf is so made, such emoluments, allowances and privileges as are specified in the Second Schedule.
(4) The emoluments and allowances of the President shall not be diminished during his term of office.

Article 60 : Oath or affirmation by the President

Every President and every person acting as President or discharging the functions of the President shall, before entering upon his office, make and subscribe in the presence of the Chief Justice of India or, in his absence, the senior most Judge of the Supreme Court available, an oath or affirmation in the following form, that is to say – “I, A.B., do swear in the name of God / solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of President (or discharge the function of the President) of India and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of India.”

Article 61 : Procedure for impeachment of the President

(1) When a President is to be impeached for violation of the Constitution, the charge shall be preferred by either House of Parliament.
(2) No such charge shall be preferred unless –
(a) the proposal to prefer such charge is contained in a resolution which has been moved after at least fourteen days’ notice in writing signed by not less than one-fourth of the total number of members of the House has been given of their intention to move the resolution, and
(b) such resolution has been passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House.
(3) When a charge has been so preferred by either House of Parliament, the other House shall investigate the charge or cause the charge to be investigated and the President shall have the right to appear and to be represented at such investigation.
(4) If as a result of the investigation a resolution is passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House by which the charge was investigated or caused to be investigated, declaring that the charge preferred against the President has been sustained, such resolution shall have the effect of removing the President from his office as from the date on which the resolution is so passed.

Don't miss the latest updates of ClearIAS!

Join ClearIAS Telegram Chanel.

Get free studymaterials and guidance.

Join for FREE

Article 62 : Time of holding election to fill vacancy in the office of President and the term of office or person elected to fill casual vacancy

(1) An election to fill a vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of office of President shall be completed before the expiration of the term.
(2) An election to fill a vacancy in the office of President occurring by reason of his death, resignation or removal, or otherwise shall be held as soon as possible after, and in no case later than six months from, the date of occurrence of the vacancy; and the person elected to fill the vacancy shall, subject to the provisions of article 56, be entitled to hold office for the full term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office.

 Info-Bits Related to the President of India

Indian President - Interesting Facts

  1. Salary of Indian President is Rs.5 lakh. Until 2017, the President used to get Rs 1.50 lakh per month. In Budget 2018, it was increased to Rs 5 lakh per month.
  2. In addition to the salary, the President receives many other allowances and free facilities which include free medical, housing, and treatment facilities (whole life).
  3. The Government of India spends around Rs.2.25 crore rupees annually on other expenses like President’s housing, staff, food and hosting of guests.
  4. Indian President’s salary is 7000$*12=84,000$, which is much lower when compared to US President’s salary of 4,00,000$.
  5. The president of the United States of America is also indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College, but to a four-year term. He is one of only two nationally elected federal officers, the other being the Vice President of the United States. (In total, there are 538 electors, corresponding to the 435 members of the House of Representatives, 100 senators, and the three additional electors from the District of Columbia.)
  6. Under The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, a candidate, to be nominated for the office of president of India needs 50 electors as proposers and 50 electors as seconders for his or her name to appear on the ballot.
  7. The general principle in Indian Presidential election is that the total number of votes cast by Members of Parliament equals the total number of votes cast by State Legislators.
  8. There are a total of 776 voters in both the Houses of Parliament. The Electoral College also consisted of 4120 MLAs in the states.
  9. The formula to determine the value of the vote of an MLA = Population of the state ÷ (No. of M.L.A.s in the state X 1000).

  10. The formula to determine the value of the vote of an MP = Total value votes assigned to all the M.L.A.s ÷ Total number of MPs.

  11. Each MP had a vote value of 708 in the Presidential Election 2012.
  12. Legislators from larger states cast more votes than those from smaller states.
  13. If a state has few legislators, then each legislator has more votes; if a state has many legislators, then each legislator has fewer votes.
  14. JFYI: The President of India moves around in a custom built heavily armoured Mercedes Benz S600 Pullman Guard (which costs around Rs. 12 Crore).
  15. Nominated members cannot vote in the Presidential election. But they can participate in President’s impeachment.
  16. PS: Nominated members can participate in Vice-President’s election and removal.
  17. MLAs are involved in the Presidential election, but they have no role in President’s impeachment. President’s impeachment resolution requires a special majority of both houses of the parliament to pass.

Powers of Indian President

Indian President at Rashtrapathi Bhavan

Powers of Indian President can be broadly classified under 8 headings. They are :

  1. Legislative
  2. Executive or Appointment powers
  3. Judicial powers
  4. Financial powers
  5. Diplomatic powers
  6. Military powers
  7. Pardoning Powers
  8. Emergency powers

There are articles outside Chapter 1 of Part V related with powers of President of India like Article 72 and Articles 352-360. We shall discuss in detail each of them later.

Article 72: Power of President to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases

(1) The President shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any persons convicted of any offence – (a) in all cases where the punishment of sentence is by a Court Martial;
(b) 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;
(c) in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death.
(2) Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall affect the power conferred by law on any officer of the Armed Forces of the Union to suspend, remit or commute a sentence passed by a Court martial.
(3) Nothing in sub-clause (c) 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.

Trusted by Toppers. Loved by 3,00,000+ Registered Users.

ClearIAS UPSC Prelims Online Mock Exams.

Take a Free Test

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share274
Tweet
WhatsApp
274 Shares

Integrate Learning With Test-Taking!

Is UPSC Prelims your weak area?

Don’t worry!

We can help you score high marks!

Are you ready to practise the right way?

Yes, I want ClearIAS to help me score high!

Get our newsletter

Don't miss our email updates!

About Alex Andrews George

Alex Andrews George is a mentor, author, and entrepreneur. Alex is the founder of ClearIAS and one of the expert Civil Service Exam Trainers in India.

He is the author of many best-seller books like 'Important Judgments that transformed India' and 'Important Acts that transformed India'.

A trusted mentor and pioneer in online training, Alex's guidance, strategies, study-materials, and mock-exams have helped thousands of aspirants to become IAS, IPS, and IFS officers.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. naina says

    May 6, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    thanks for your nice effort

    Reply
    • Yash says

      May 31, 2020 at 4:46 pm

      Nice

  2. Rajni says

    August 19, 2016 at 11:53 pm

    Thanks for sharing such useful information

    Reply
  3. NAVJOT KAUR says

    October 2, 2016 at 10:48 pm

    Each and every aspect is deeply explained..thanx

    Reply
  4. bishnu.p says

    November 5, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    thanks a lot

    Reply
  5. Ashmita says

    January 17, 2017 at 7:26 pm

    I’m gonna pass. Thanks much. :)))

    Reply
  6. Sowjanya says

    February 24, 2017 at 10:10 pm

    Thank you given for information

    Reply
  7. prudviraos says

    March 12, 2017 at 2:34 pm

    Thanks a lot

    Reply
  8. pankaj says

    April 25, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    under which article president of india will give willful resignation from this post and to who it may concerned..?

    Reply
    • Naina Bhatnagar says

      July 15, 2018 at 7:11 pm

      Under article 56
      The President should give her/his resignation in writing to Vice-President of India

  9. MUHSIN K MUHAMMED says

    May 3, 2017 at 11:05 pm

    The President is the formal head of the executive, legislature and judiciary of India.

    Can you please explain how he is the head of legislature and judiciary?

    Reply
    • Vishal says

      June 24, 2017 at 12:05 am

      Because he is head of all executives and also can say head of profit of office

    • Kashyap Vyas A Whistle Blower says

      June 1, 2020 at 12:02 pm

      According to Article 52 of Constitution of India, the President is the head of state of the Republic of India. The President is the formal head of the executive, legislature and judiciary of India .

    • Kashyap Vyas A Whistle Blower says

      June 1, 2020 at 12:03 pm

      According Article 124, the president is duty bound to enforce the decrees of Supreme Court.

    • Kashyap Vyas A Whistle Blower says

      June 1, 2020 at 12:07 pm

      The President bears special responsibility to see that the government is run on constitutional lines; He is ’Guardian of Constitution’ . If the President
      is thus asked to interfere by Citizens for protection of the Constitution, ”there is no reason why he should not exercise his powers” especially
      when he is bound by the oath.

    • Kashyap Vyas A Whistle Blower says

      June 1, 2020 at 12:08 pm

      The primary Constitutional duty of the president is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law of India as made part of his oath (Article 60 of Indian constitution). … over the executive and legislative entities of India shall be used in accordance to uphold the constitution.

  10. Rakesh Singh Rajpoot says

    July 20, 2017 at 11:55 am

    Thank you lot

    Reply
  11. veena Gudad says

    September 15, 2017 at 10:39 pm

    All clear informations tnxs

    Reply
  12. Prathyush says

    December 12, 2017 at 9:31 am

    Thank you

    Reply
  13. Amit Thakur says

    February 10, 2018 at 10:38 pm

    Thanks for give me a lot of informations about president and art.52-62.

    Reply
  14. Mohsin bilal says

    March 12, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    What does this means that Pres. Should be qualified as LS and VP should be qualified as mmbr of RS . WHAT is the difference between qualification

    Reply
    • Anu says

      April 28, 2018 at 5:23 pm

      Age for qualification of LS is 25yrs and RS is 30 yrs of age

  15. Dipin k p says

    March 19, 2018 at 11:42 am

    Please update salary of the president from 1.5L to 5L.

    Reply
  16. Shah jamsheed says

    April 17, 2018 at 12:39 am

    Thank u so much for making me understand all about president n found ma self free from confusion

    Reply
  17. Kashmeera says

    April 30, 2018 at 9:26 pm

    Thanks clear ias for this information.This help me to understand about part 5 of the Constitution and all about president

    Reply
  18. Rukhsana says

    May 28, 2018 at 10:10 am

    Ty so much

    Reply
  19. Mohd Saleem Rather says

    June 15, 2018 at 10:57 am

    Thanks a lot

    Reply
  20. Vishnuraj pr says

    December 12, 2018 at 6:23 pm

    Nice article

    Reply
  21. Vivek kumar sharma says

    January 20, 2019 at 11:27 pm

    Thanks for providing each knowledge of polity

    Reply
  22. Manikandan says

    April 15, 2019 at 7:14 am

    Tnx a lot for this great information

    Reply
  23. Divya says

    May 16, 2019 at 7:18 am

    Very useful thanks

    Reply
  24. SG says

    May 22, 2019 at 3:34 pm

    I AM GOING TO PASS FOR SURE

    🙌🏼🙏🏼🙌🏼

    Reply
  25. Ankur Shekhawat says

    July 19, 2019 at 9:11 am

    Really good knowledge in this web

    Reply
  26. Kapil says

    August 26, 2019 at 2:01 am

    “Nominated members also participate in election of vice president ” In which article it is mentioned? Or we have to take the whole parliment including nominated members as Art 53 , clearly mentions “elected members”, but in case of vice presided it just says “members of Parliament”.

    Reply
  27. bablu prasad says

    November 11, 2019 at 4:20 pm

    good knowledge for me

    Reply
  28. Pankaj Asthana says

    November 25, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    Can a handicapped person become The President of India

    Reply
  29. Pallavi says

    January 14, 2020 at 10:20 pm

    In this there is a error,2000 have been published, not 2000 it’s 2026

    Reply
  30. Abhishek says

    March 8, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    Thanks

    Reply
  31. Aswathy S says

    March 17, 2020 at 7:50 am

    Hello sir,

    Is elected members of J&K legislative assembly automatically included in the electoral college for election of the President or does it need another amendment?

    Reply
  32. Sandhiya says

    September 8, 2020 at 7:15 pm

    Thanks

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Aim to be an IAS Officer?

Nothing can beat practice!

Join ClearIAS Prelims Test Series 2021

Practice 40+ online mock exams!

Limited Period Offer: 40% OFF!

Enroll Now!

ClearIAS Study Materials for UPSC Prelims and Mains

  • Indian History - Indian History and Culture.
  • Geography - Indian and World Geography.
  • Economics - Indian Economy.
  • Indian Polity - Constitution, Social Justice etc.
  • General Science - Science and Technology.
  • Environment - Biodiversity, Climate Change etc.
  • Current Affairs - National and international.

ClearIAS Study Materials for UPSC Mains (Extra-Topics)

  • World History - GS paper 1.
  • Indian Society - GS paper 1.
  • Foreign Relations - GS paper 2.
  • International Affairs - GS paper 2.
  • Internal Security - GS paper 3.
  • Disaster Management - GS paper 3.
  • Ethics - GS paper 4.

ClearIAS Study Materials for UPSC Mains (Paper-wise)

  • Essay Paper
  • GS 1 Paper
  • GS 2 Paper
  • GS 3 Paper
  • GS 4 Paper

ClearIAS Online Mock Exams (Prelims and Mains)

  • Prelims Mock Exams
  • Mains Mock Exams (AWP)

Congrats! You are at the right place - ClearIAS!

  • 1 million+ monthly users!
  • 9,00,000+ ClearIAS App Downloads!
  • 4,50,000+ Facebook Followers!
  • 3,50,000+ Email Subscribers!
  • 3,00,000+ Registered Aspirants!

Prepare for UPSC Online!

Get Started

UPSC Online Preparation Guidance

  • UPSC - Union Public Service Commission
  • IAS - Indian Administrative Service
  • Civil Services Exam (CSE) - Exam Pattern
  • UPSC Syllabus - Subjects to learn
  • IAS Books - Books to learn
  • UPSC CSE Eligibility - Who can appear?
  • UPSC Exam Dates - When should you apply?
  • UPSC Result - Check UPSC Results
  • UPSC FAQs - Clarify your queries

What do toppers' say about ClearIAS?

Poonam Dalal

"Working 24*7 in the police for the last 5 years and been out of touch with the preparation, I took the guidance from your website, especially the ClearIAS prelims test series. I bought it and found it to be the best available online." - Poonam Dalal, ClearIAS Online Student

Read more reviews by UPSC Toppers...

Enroll in

ClearIAS UPSC Prelims Online Test Series 2021

Score High in the IAS Exam!

Trusted by Toppers

Limited Period Offer: 40% Discount!

Enroll now

Don’t lose out without playing the right game!

Adopt the 3 Strategies for Success in the UPSC Civil Services Exam.

Learn UPSC Strategies

  • Home
  • IAS
  • UPSC
  • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Login

UPSC Online Preparation

  • Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
  • Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
  • Indian Police Service (IPS)
  • IAS Exam Eligibility
  • UPSC Free Study Materials
  • UPSC Exam Guidance
  • UPSC Prelims Test Series
  • UPSC Syllabus
  • UPSC Online
  • UPSC Books
  • UPSC Prelims
  • UPSC Mains
  • UPSC Interview

ClearIAS

  • About ClearIAS
  • ClearIAS Programs
  • IAS Coaching
  • Announcements
  • Book Review
  • ClearIAS App
  • Sitemap
  • Work with us
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us

UPSC 2021

UPSC Exam Calendar 2021

Follow us

Follow us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFollow us on YouTubeFollow us on ClearIAS Learning AppFollow us on ClearIAS Test Prep AppFollow us on Telegram

Featured on

ClearIAS Featured in The Hindu
ClearIAS Featured in the Times of India
ClearIAS Featured in the New Indian Express
ClearIAS Featured in the Yourstory

and many more...

Copyright © 2020 - ClearIAS.com