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EXECUTIVE The Indian executive is two tiers and it constitutes the executive at centre as well as at state level. Let us first elaborate the Union Executive. UNION EXECUTIVE The Union executive constitutes of the President, Vice-President, and the Council of Ministers. The President Election (Article 54)India being a republic country, there is no hereditary monarch as the head of State, but is headed by the institution of the President. Art.52 of the Indian Constitution lays down the provision for creation of the office of the President, who is elected by an indirect method of election, by an electoral college. The Electoral College consists of the - Elected members of both the Houses of Parliament-The elected members of the legislative Assemblies of the states - The elected members of the legislative Assemblies of Union Territories of Delhi and Pondicherry. As the President is the representative of the nationals as well as a representative of the people in the different states, the uniformity of representation of the different states at the election is ensured.Under Article 71(1) Protection is conferred on the President’s election from being challenged on the ground of the existence of any vacancy for whatever reasons among the members of the Electoral College electing him.Disputes According to Article 71(1) all doubts and disputes arising in connection with the election of the President are to be decided by the Supreme Court whose decision is final. Qualifications for Post of President (Article 58) A candidate for the President’s post must possess following qualifications Must be a Citizen of India.(b) Must have completed the age of thirty five years. (c) Must be qualified for election as a member of the House of the People and (d) Must not hold 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 Government. But a sitting President or Vice President of the Union or the Governor of any state or a Minister either for the Union or for any State is not disqualified for election as President.Tenure (Article 56)The normal tenure of the President is five years from the date on which he enters upon his office, but he continues to hold office even thereafter till his successor enters upon his office. A person who is or has been the President is eligible for re-election to that office if he fulfills the necessary conditions for this purpose as mentioned above. The President may resign his office before the expiry of his normal tenure of five years by writing to the Vice-President. The Vice-President has to communicate the President’s resignation to the speaker of the Lok Sabha.Impeachment (Article 61)The President may be removed from his office, before the expiry of his term, by the process of impeachment on the ground of violation of the Constitution. Following is the procedure for impeachment. a) The proposal to prefer the charge is to be put in the form of a resolution of the House. Such a resolution can be moved only after a fourteen days written notice signed by not less than one fourth of the total number of members of the House. b) The resolution must be passed by a majority of not less than two thirds of the total membership of the HousePrivileges (Article 361)The office of the President enjoys many privileges and immunities. He is not answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of his office, or for “any act done or purporting to be done by him” in the exercise and performance of these powers and duties. The privileges by the members individually are freedom from arrest, exemption from attendance as jurors and witnesses and freedom of speech. At the same time the privileges enjoyed collectively by the House are the right to publish debates and proceedings and the right to restrain publication by others, the right to exclude others, right to regulate the internal affairs of the House and to decide matters arising within its walls, the right to publish Parliamentary misbehavior and the right to punish members and outsiders for breach of its privileges.Powers and Duties of the President The President of India is a head of the “executive power” of the Union According to Article 53 of the Indian Constitution, the “executive power” of the Union shall be vested in President. The literal meaning of the term “executive power” is the execution of the laws enacted by the legislature; but nowadays the function of executive is not limited only to the execution of laws. With the expansion of the state’s function, all the residuary functions of state have passed on to the Executive. Hence in short Executive power can be explained as the residue of powers remaining after deducting the legislative and judicial function. In Ram Jawya Kapur v. State of Punjab, even the Supreme Court also finds it difficult to explain the context of the executive power. The court has observed, “It may not be possible to frame an exhaustive definition of what executive function mean and imply. Ordinarily, the executive power connotes the residue of government functions that remain after the legislative and judicial functions are taken away.” Administrative powers: Administrative means the execution of the laws and the administration of the departments of Government. In matters of administration, not being a real head of the Executive like the American President, the Indian President shall not have any administrative function to discharge nor shall he have that power of control and supervision over the Departments of the Government as the American President possesses. All executive functions are executed in the name of the president, authenticated in such manner as may be prescribed by rules to be made by the president (Article 77).Tough he may not be the real head of the administration, all officers of the Union shall be his subordinates and he shall have a right to be informed of the affairs of the Union (Article 78). The administrative power also includes the power to appoint and remove the high dignitaries of the Sate. In making some appointments the President has to consult some persons other than the ministers as well, for e. g. in appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court of India the President shall consult the Chief Justice of India and such other Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court as he deems necessary (Article 124). Military Power: Military power means the command of the armed forces and the conduct of war. The Supreme command of the defence forces is, of course, vested in the President of India, but the Constitution expressly lays down that the exercise of this power shall be regulated by law. This means that though the President may have the power to take action as to declaration of war or peace or the employment of the Defence Forces, it is competent for Parliament to regulate or control the exercise of such power. The President’s powers as Commander-in-chief cannot be construed, as in the U.S.A as a power independent of legislative control. Further Constitution states that certain acts cannot be done without the authority of law, it must be held that such acts cannot be done by the President without approaching Parliament for sanction e.g., acts which involve the expenditure of the money, such as the raising, training and maintenance of the Defence Forces.The Diplomatic Power: Include all matters which bring the Union into relation with any foreign country. The legislative power as regards these matters as well as the power of making treaties and implementing them, of course, belongs to Parliament. But though the final power as regards these things is vested in Parliament, the Legislature cannot take initiative in such matters. The task of negotiating treaties and agreements with other countries, subject to ratification by Parliament, will thus belong to the President, acting on the advice of his Ministers. Though diplomatic representation as a subject of legislation belongs to the Parliament, like the Head of the other states, the President of India will represent India in International affairs and will have the power of appointing Indian representative to other countries and of receiving diplomatic representatives of other states, as shall be recognized by Parliament. Legislative Powers: The President of India is a component part of the Union Parliament (Article 79) and here is one of the instances where the Indian Constitution departs from the principle of Separation of Powers underlying the Constitution. He has power to summon and prorogue the Parliament and he can dissolve the Lok Sabha.He can call a joint sitting of both Houses (Article 108). He may send message to either Houses of Parliament (Article 86).Every Bill passed by both Houses of Parliament is to be sent to the President for his assent. (Article 111).Ordinance –making power: the most important legislative power of the President is his Ordinance making power. If at any time, when both Houses of the Parliament are not in session and the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action, he may issue such Ordinance as the circumstances appear to him to require. The Ordinance issued by him shall have the same force as an Act of Parliament.Such ordinance must be laid before both Houses of Parliament and shall cease to operate, at the expiry of six weeks from the date of reassembly of Parliament, unless a resolution disapproving it is passed by both Houses before the expiration of six weeks.The president may at any time withdraw such an Ordinance. The Ordinance making power of the President is co-extensive with legislative power of the Parliament, that is to say, that it may be relate to any subject in respect of which Parliament has power to legislate. Hence, an ordinance will be void in so far it makes any provision which under the Constitution the Parliament is not competent to make (Article 123).Pardoning Power- Under Article 72, President has power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence:By Court Martial;An offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends;In all cases in which the sentence is one of death.Pardon- completely absolves the offender from all sentences and punishmentsCommutation- exchange of one form of Punishment for anotherRemission- reduction of the amount of sentence without changing its characterRespite- awarding a lesser punishment on some special groundsReprieve- temporary suspension of death sentence.The Supreme Court has held that the Pardoning power of the President and the Governor is subject to judicial review. (Epuran Sudhar v. Government of A.P.) Pardoning power cannot be exercised on the basis of caste or political reason.Emergency Powers- The President of India has the power to declare three types of emergency.?President may proclaim a state of emergency in the whole or part of India if he realises/feels that a grave situation has arisen in which the security of India on part of its territory might get threatened by war or external egression or rebellion. - Article 352The President can declare three types of emergencies:National Emergency:National emergency is caused by war, external aggression or armed rebellion in the whole of?India?or a part of its territory.President can declare national emergency only on a written request by the Cabinet Ministers headed by the?Prime Minister and the proclamation must be approved by the Parliament within one month.National emergency can be imposed for six months. It can be extended by six months by repeated parliamentary approval, up to a maximum of three years.Under national emergency,?Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens?can be suspended.The six freedoms under?Right to Freedom?are automatically suspended.The Right to Life and Personal Liberty cannot be suspended.Such an emergency has been invoked at three instances:1962 (Indo-China war)1971 (Indo-Pakistan war)1975 to 1977 (declared by?Indira Gandhi?on account of "internal disturbance").State Emergency or President’s RuleA State Emergency can be imposed via the following:If that state failed to run constitutionally i.e. constitutional machinery has failed - Article 356If that state is not working according to the given direction of the Union Government – Article 365Such an emergency must be approved by the Parliament within a period of two months.It can be imposed from six months to a maximum period of three years with repeated parliamentary approval every six months.If needed, the emergency can be extended for more than three years, by a?constitutional amendment, for example in the case of?Punjab?and?Jammu and Kashmir.During such an emergency, the Governor administers the state in the name of the President. The Legislative Assembly can be dissolved or may remain in suspended animation. The Parliament makes laws on the 66 subjects of the state list. All money bills have to be referred to the Parliament for approval.Financial Emergency: Article - 360President can proclaim a Financial Emergency if financial stability or credit of India or any part thereof is threatened.This proclamation must be approved by the Parliament within two months.This type of Emergency has not been declared so far.Financial PowersA money bill can be introduced in the Parliament only with the President’s recommendationThe President lays the Annual Financial Statement i.e. the Union budget before the Parliament.President can make advances out of the Contingency Fund of India to meet unforeseen expensesThe President continues a Finance commission after every five years to recommend the distribution of the taxes between the centre and the States.Position of the President- Before the 42nd Amd. There was no provision in the Constitution which made the advice of the Council of Ministers obligatory on the President.The 42nd Amd made it clear beyond doubt that President is constitutionally bounded by the advice of the Council of Ministers.The 44th Amd further stated that the President can send the advice back for reconsideration, but only once. ................
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