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President

• The President of India is the country's head of state and its first citizen. The existence of a President of India is mentioned in Article 52 of the Indian Constitution.

Constitutional provision related to President of india

President Election in India

• The single-transferable vote system is used to indirectly elect the president of India.
• Hence the electoral college of the presidential election consists of:
• Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha
• States' legislative assemblies
• the legislative assemblies of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, and Puducherry, all of which are union territories (Since 1992 through 70th Constitutional Amendment Act).
• Article 55 states the manner of the election of the President. It states that:
• The president is elected indirectly by an electoral college.
• The election shall be done by a secret ballot.
• The election shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. 

Value of Vote of MP and MLA in President Election in India

• Depending on the size of their legislative body, each MP and MLA's vote has a different weight. Also, every elector casts a different number of votes. The basic rule is that the total number of votes cast by state legislators and members of parliament must equal one another. Also, lawmakers from larger states have a greater number of votes than lawmakers from smaller states.

Process of Election of President in India

• Nomination

• • The nomination of a candidate for the post of the president must be supported by at least 50 electors who can either propose and 50 electors as seconders. Each candidate must deposit a security deposit with the Reserve Bank of India in the amount of Rs. 15,000. If the candidate doesn't win one-sixth of the votes cast, the security deposit could be lost.

• Election Process

• By using the single transferable vote (STV) method, which adheres to the preferential voting system, the election is conducted in accordance with the system of proportional representation. Secret ballots are used to determine the outcome. The elected members of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies of all states, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, and Puducherry make up the electoral college for the presidential election.

Eligibility to hold the office of President of India

• He should be at least 35 years old.
• He should meet the requirements to be elected as a Lok Sabha member.
• He should not hold any office of profit under the central government, state government, or any public authority

Impeachment Process of the President of India

• A quasi-judicial procedure is being used to remove the President of India from office. The procedure for removing the President of India from office is outlined in Article 61:
• The President can be removed from office by the process of impeachment only on the grounds of violation of the constitution. 
• By bringing charges against him, any house of the legislature may begin the impeachment procedure.
• The impeachment procedure involves all elected and nominated members of parliament.
• A minimum of a quarter of the members of the house must sign the notice containing the charges against the president.
• The notice is then delivered to the Indian president, and the impeachment procedure begins after 14 days.
• The originating house must vote to impeach the president with a special majority (two-thirds).
• It is then forwarded to the other house for review. The other house acts as the investigating horse. A select committee is established to look into the allegations made against the president.
• The Indian President has the right to represent himself throughout the proceedings through licensed counsel. He has the option of representing himself or designating any individual/lawyer or the attorney general of India to do so
• The Indian President is declared to be impeached following the select committee's probe if the other house also approves the resolution with a two-thirds majority. 

Role And Power Of The President

• Executive Powers

• the Union Government's head- The President's name appears on every executive order issued by the Indian government.

•  Establishment of the Ministerial Council- According to the Constitution, the President must appoint the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister must advise the President when appointing additional Ministers.

• Authority to appoint and remove high dignitaries of the state-The Attorney General of India, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Supreme Court and High Court Judges, Governors, Ambassadors, and other diplomatic representatives of India overseas are all chosen by the President. The Chief Election Commissioner, additional members of the Election Commission, and members of the Finance Commission are all appointed by the President. 

• Administration of Union Territories- According to the Constitution, the President is responsible for running each Union Territory.

• Legislative Powers- 
  • • The President has the authority to summon, prorogue,  both Houses of Parliament.
    • The President proposes twelve candidates for the Rajya Sabha. Additionally, he has the authority to nominate two Anglo-Indians for the Lok Sabha.
    • The President must give his or her approval for a Bill to become an Act.
    • The power to promulgate an Ordinance when neither House of Parliament is in session is the President's most significant legislative authority.

• The Military Powers-

• The President is the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces of India.
• The President has the authority to declare war and conclude peace treaties, but the Parliament has the authority to direct the President in the exercise of such authority.

• Diplomatic Powers-

• Ambassadors may be appointed by the Indian President. 
• The President receives diplomatic envoys from other countries.
• The President's name is used to sign all international treaties and agreements.
• The President represents India in international conferences.

• Financial Powers-

• The President must endorse a money bill before it can be submitted in the Lok Sabha.
• In the President's name, the annual budget is presented to the Parliament.
• The President is given access to the Contingency Fund. From this contingency fund, the president may make an advance to cover any unforeseen expenses.

• Judicial Powers

• The President has the authority to commute sentences or give a pardon.
• During his tenure in office, the President cannot be the subject of any criminal proceedings.

Discretionary powers of the President: Not based on the advice of CoM

• The Indian constitution does not specifically discuss the president's discretionary powers.

•  Suspensive Veto:

• The President has discretionary power when he uses suspensive veto ie. when he returns a bill (not a money bill) for reconsideration of the parliament.
• Nonetheless, the President is required to offer his consent to the bill if it is passed by the Parliament once more, with or without revisions.

• Pocket Veto:

• Although it is not a clause in the Indian Constitution, there may be circumstances in which the President of India may exercise his discretion. In this instance, the President merely holds the bill pending indefinitely without ratifying, rejecting, or returning it.
• Since the constitution makes no reference to the time frame in which the President must decide whether to ratify a bill that has been given to him, his inaction prevents the bill from becoming law.

• President can seek information from Prime Minister:

• The President has the right, under article 78, to ask the PM for information about the administration of the affairs of the union.
• According to established protocol, the President is permitted to caution or assist the Council of Ministers (CoM) in the exercise of its authority.

• Case of no sitting of both houses:

• According to Article 85, the President may call a meeting of each House of Parliament at any time and location he deems appropriate in order to prevent a gap of six months between the House's final session and the date set for its next session.

• Case of no majority:

• The President may choose to invite the leader of the political party or coalition of parties who, in his judgment, is best suited to establish a stable government when neither party nor coalition has a majority in Lok Sabha.

• Case of no-confidence with CoM- dissolving Loksabha:

• In the event the CoM loses its majority in Lok Sabha, it is up to the president to determine whether or not to dissolve the body.
• Only on the suggestion of the CoM, and only if the government is a majority government, may the President dissolve the Lok Sabha.

• Case of no-confidence with CoM- dissolving CoM:

• In the event the CoM loses its majority in the Lok Sabha, the president must determine whether or not to dissolve it.

• Case of a caretaker government: 

• A caretaker administration is only supposed to make day-to-day administrative decisions because it lacks the confidence of the Lok Sabha to make big choices. The President is responsible for making daily decisions.

Relationship between the President and the Prime Minister of India

• The Prime Minister acts as a link between the President and the Cabinet. Through the Prime Minister, the President is informed of the Cabinet's choices.
• The Prime Minister is in charge of informing the President on all governmental matters. They are required to provide any information about governmental issues that the President may request.
• The President dissolves the Lok Sabha on the Prime Minister's recommendation and also calls  prorogues group on the advice of the prime minister.
• The President always takes the Prime Minister's opinion into consideration when appointing and dismissing senior officials.

Importance of the post of president

• Head of state- the president is the constitutional head of the state. He represents india as one nation.

• Judiciary-  he appointed the high judicial officers and ensures the separation of powers.

• During Emergency-  he has extraordinary powers during the emergency and through the cabinet, he rules the nation during crisis time.

• Appointments- he appoints heads of various constitutional and non-constitutional bodies that help in the efficient functioning without much political interference.

• Continuity in governance- he helps in the peaceful transition of power from one political party to another after general elections to continue the governance in the nation.

• Part of parliament- he is an important organ of parliamentary democracy and keeps checks and balances to the legislature.

• Hung assembly- during the hung assembly president uses his wisdom and invites the largest party/ coalition to form a government and proves the majority in the house.
• Role in state government- he appoints the governors and administers the 5th schedule areas 

Drawbacks with the post of Indian president

• Ceremonial head- the president is the symbolic head of the nation with no real executive power.

• Rubber stamp post-critics termed the post of president as the rubber stamp of the government as he needed to give a nod to all executive decisions.

Indirect representative- he is not chosen directly by the people of india