Explain the Role, Duties and Importance of the President of India

The President of India is the titular head of the State, the first citizen of the country, a member of the Union Executive and the Commander of the Armed Forces of India. The President is the representative of the entire country. However, she does not enjoy executive power and exercises only at the advice of the Union Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. She acts as a ceremonial figure and a symbol of the nation. However, this does not mean that the President of India has no role to play in Indian democracy. 

The President of India plays an indispensable role in the functioning of India’s Parliamentary System. She is, in fact, one of the three members of India’s Parliament, the other two being Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. She gives assent to the bills passed by the two houses and functions as the Parliament when the houses are not in session. She also receives dignitaries and foreign diplomats and makes a wide range of appointments of people to constitutional positions.

Election of the President

The President of India is not elected directly but indirectly through proportional representation by the electoral college. Only Members of Lok Sabha, elected Members of the Rajya Sabha (12 nominated members are not allowed to vote) and elected Members of Legislative Assemblies of States and Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, NCT of Delhi and Puducherry are allowed to vote. Members of Legislative Councils are not allowed to vote either. 

The Constitution directs that there should be uniformity of the states in the election of the President of India“as far as practicable”. The value of votes is calculated on the principle of parity of all States on one hand and the Union on the other. It is done using the following.

1. The value of votes of a member of the Legislative Assembly of a State becomes the basis on which votes of Members of Parliament from the respective State are calculated. The value of the vote of an MLA is calculated using the following formula.

If the remainder is 500 or more, the value of the vote each member gets increases by one.

2. Now, to calculate the value of a vote of a Member of Parliament, the following formula is used.

In the above formulae, the term population means the population as determined by the last published census. However, the census year has been fixed to 1971 by the 42nd Amendment and 84th Amendments (each amendment froze the year to 1971 for 25 years).

How the Voting for the President works

The voting to elect the President of India is done using Proportional Representation through a Single Transferable Vote. A ballot paper is provided to the voters by the Election Commission with a column against the name of the candidates where the voter is required to list her/his preferences using numbers 1,2,3,4… The voter can list as many candidates as she/he is willing. After all the votes have been cast by the Electoral College, the first phase of counting begins in which the first preferences of all the votes have been counted. If a candidate gets a majority of votes, she/he is declared the winner. If no candidate gets a majority of votes, the counting moves to the second phase. In the second phase, the votes of the candidate receiving the least number of first-preference votes are cancelled and transferred to the second-preference of the voters. This cycle is repeated until a winner is secured.

Term of the President

1. Article 56 of the Constitution says that the President of India shall remain in office for 5 years from the date of its appointment.
2. The President can be removed from office through impeachment by the Parliament if it is of the opinion that she/he has violated the Constitution, through a process mentioned in Article 61 of the Constitution.
3. The process starts with moving a resolution on the floor of the house after the house is notified about the same at least fourteen days in advance by at least a quarter of the members of a house. A majority of 2/3rd members of the house must pass the motion.
4. Meanwhile, the other house shall investigate the charges levelled against the President during which she/he can appear or be represented.
5. If the above house is satisfied with the charges against the President, it can pass the resolution passed by the other house with two-thirds of the total members in favour. The President shall vacate the office the day the resolution passes both houses.
6. The President can also resign at any time by tendering her/his resignation to the Vice President.

As prescribed in Article 62(2) of the Constitution, the Election Commission must elect the next President within six months of the removal; and the President elected must complete her/his full term of five years. So far, no President has been impeached in India.

Eligibility and Conditions of the President

A person is eligible for the office of the President, if:

1. Shall be an Indian Citizen
2. Shall be at least thirty-five years old; and
3. Shall be qualified to become a member of the Lok Sabha

A person can become and remain the President of India if she/he fulfils the following conditions

1. Shall not hold any office of profit under the Union or Provincial Government
2. Shall not hold any other office of profit
3. Shall not be a member of Parliament, Member of Legislative Assembly of any State or Member of Legislative Council of Any State.

Salary, Perks and Allowances

1. The President of India receives a monthly salary of ₹5,00,000 since 2018.
2. The President of India is entitled to a pension of 50% of the last drawn salary.
3. The President of India is entitled to reside in the official residence (i.e. the Rashtrapati Bhawan) for the entire term without rent.
4. The President of India is also entitled to privileges and allowances such as electricity, phone, medical and travel facilities etc as determined by the Parliament.
5. The allowances and salaries cannot be reduced during the President’s term in office.
6. The President of India also gets immunity from criminal proceedings while in office. However, civil proceedings can be instigated after a two months’ notice, against the sitting President.

Oath of the President

The President-elect, before assuming duties of the President, must take an oath of affirmation in the presence of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or, in her/his absence, the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court. The oath is in the following format:

“I, [Name of the President-elect], do swear in the name of God (or solemnly affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President (or discharge the functions 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.”

Powers and Functions of the President

As mentioned above, as the titular head of the State, the President of India does not enjoy much executive power. It functions as a ceremonial head of the state. However, the President of India has a limited set of powers.

1. Can give assent to the Bills passed by the Parliament or withhold it or return it to the Parliament for reconsideration. However, if the bill is again sent for assent without any changes, the President is bound to give assent.
2. The Governor of a State can reserve a bill passed by the State Legislature for consideration by the President. In such cases, the President of India can give assent, withhold it or return it to the Governor to return the bill to the State Legislature.
3. Issues ordinances, upon being advised by the Union Cabinet, when the Parliament is not in session. These ordinances must be approved by the Parliament within six weeks from its sitting, failing which the ordinance will lapse.
4. Recommendations or permissions of the President are required if the Parliament wants to (i) create a new state, (ii) alter the boundaries of one or more states or (iii) make changes related to the Consolidated Fund of India.
5. The President of India nominates twelve members to the Rajya Sabha
6. Can address the Parliament after every general election and at the first session each year.
7. The authority to declare war vests with the President.
8. He can appoint any Member of Parliament(Lok Sabha) as Speaker when the office of both Speaker and Deputy Speaker when both the posts go vacant. Similarly, he can appoint any Member of Parliament(Rajya Sabha) as Chairman when the offices of both Chairman and Deputy Chairman go vacant.
9. For peace and progress, the President can make regulations for the Union Territories of  Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman, Diu and Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry (only when its assembly is not in session).
10. His recommendation is necessary in case a Money Bill is moved in Lok Sabha.
11. His recommendation is necessary if the Parliament wants to demand a grant.
12. A Finance Commission is constituted by the President of India every 5 years on the advice of the Cabinet.
13. The President can exercise Veto Power to prevent or delay a bill from becoming law. However, this is only in the case of regular bills and not in the case of Constitutional Amendments. The types of Veto Powers the President enjoys are as follows:

1. Absolute Veto: As mentioned above, the President of India can simply withhold the bill after it is passed by the Parliament.
2. Pocket Veto: The President can simply keep the bill pending for an indefinite amount of time.
3. Suspension Veto: As mentioned above, the President can send the bill back to the Parliament for reconsideration. If the bill is passed again with or without reconsideration, the President has to give the assent.
4. Articles 352 to 360 of the constitution contain articles about the Emergency in which the Union Government can incorporate some or all functions of one or more states for a limited period. The President of India plays a crucial role in the proclamation of Emergency on behalf of the Union Government. This is done to counter any unusual situation that requires strong executive authority. The President has the following powers regarding the Emergency:

1. Article 352 empowers the President of India to proclaim, at times of war, external aggression or armed rebellion, a National Emergency on the entire country or a part of it. However, this proclamation must be approved by both houses of the Parliament with a special majority. The proclamation needs to be approved by the Parliament every six months.
2. Though both the President and the Parliament have a role to play in the proclamation of the Emergency, in its revocation, the President of India alone has the power, i.e. she/he can revoke the Emergency at any time. No approval by the Parliament is required for revocation.
3. Article 356 of the Constitution empowers the President of India to impose a State Emergency, also known as President’s rule) in a state where there has been a “failure of the Constitutional Machinery”. The proclamation needs to be approved by the Parliament with a simple majority in both houses.
4. Unlike the National Emergency, the State Emergency cannot continue for an indefinite period. The state emergency can continue for a maximum period of three years, after which, the state machinery has to be restored.
5. Article 360 gives the President of India power to proclaim a Financial Emergency if the financial situation in the country or any part is threatened. The Parliament needs to approve the proclamation with a simple majority in both houses. However, no repeated confirmation from the Parliament is needed and the Financial Emergency can continue indefinitely.

15. Under Article 72, the President of India can grant a pardon, respites, reprieves or remissions to people convicted of crimes by the martial court, union law or in all cases where the convict is awarded a death sentence.
16. If the Prime Minister requests to dissolve the Parliament and announce fresh elections, the President can, at his discretion, either accept or reject the demand.

Importance of the Post of President

Since the very inception of our republic, there has been a debate regarding the requirement of the post of President in India. Many have argued that the maintenance of the President and the luxuries and allowances are unnecessary expenses. Some even go to the extent of arguing in favour of a Presidential system. 

Since the President enjoys no executive authority and is ceremonial in nature, such resonating arguments have some material. However, the arguments in favour of the need for a President far outweigh the arguments against it. Some of the arguments in favour are as follows:

1. Parliamentary nature: India borrowed its Parliamentary System from the United Kingdom, the customs and traditions of which have evolved for centuries. Thus, the parliamentary system needs a post who is a non-political appointee and symbolizes the nation, and its unity and integrity. He is a representative of the entire people and not just a certain electorate.
2. Continuity of the Post: In a Parliamentary System, the Prime Minister (along with the Council of Ministers) is subject to a vote in the lower house of the Parliament and, hence, the post is unstable, since only a simple majority in the Lok Sabha is required to remove him. The post of the President, on the other hand, is stable since removing him requires a special majority in both houses of the Parliament. This continuity is especially important in times of war or internal crisis.
3. Above the party politics: There exists a need in all democracies for a person who is above the petty party politics, and, as a result, incontroversial. For instance, while the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers may make some controversial statements in public forums for electoral gains, the President is required to stick to the formalities of public life. In fact, for over a decade after independence, only people with no or little background in politics were considered for the post of President. This tradition changed with the election of VV Giri as the President in 1969.
4. Need during hung assemblies: The greatest need of the President arrives during hung assemblies. When no party has a majority and the future of a Prime Minister is uncertain, the President acts as an island of stability. The President can also invite any party or coalition to form the government at his discretion. Similarly, if the Prime Minister requests to dissolve the Lok Sabha, he can simply refuse and invite the opposition to form the government.
5. Performs functions not suitable for the Prime Minister: To respect the division of power, functions such as the appointment of judges, the appointment of people to constitutional posts, the awarding of medals and so on mustn’t be performed by the head of the government. This is because the Prime minister can have his political biases and can be a divisive figure. For such functions, a person signifying the unity of the country is suitable.