President of India

The President of India is the head of the Indian state and is also the first citizen of India. Article 52 of the Indian Constitution mentions that there shall be a President of India. The incumbent President of India is Shri Ram Nath Kovind who is the 14th President of India.

Important Points – President of India

Some of the important points that are frequently asked in exam and other government exams from President and President Election are discussed below:

Eligibility to hold the office of President of India	He should be an Indian Citizen His age should be a minimum of 35 years He should qualify the conditions to be elected as a member of the Lok Sabha He should not hold any office of profit under the central government, state government, or any public authority
Term of Office of President of India	Once elected, the president holds the office for a period of five years.
Oath by	Chief Justice of India
Resignation to	Vice President of India
Re-election	A person is eligible for reelection to the office of President.
Disputes Regarding the Election of President are challenged in	Supreme Court of India
Immunities Enjoyed by President	The President of India can never be arrested or imprisoned. The President of India enjoys personal immunity from legal liability for his official acts.
Impeachment	Can be done only on the grounds of violation of the constitution.

President Election in India

Article 54 mentions that there shall be an election for the President of India.

The President of India is elected indirectly by the single-transferable voting system. The President is elected by an electoral college consisting of elected representatives of the government that form the government after being elected in the state assembly and national elections. The nominated members of both the houses and state legislatures are not allowed to vote in the presidential election. Hence the electoral college of the presidential election consists of:

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
Legislative Assemblies of the states
Legislative Assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry (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

The value of the vote of each MP and MLA differs in accordance with the number of members in their legislative body. Further, each elector casts a different number of votes. The general principle is that the total number of votes cast by Members of parliament equals the total number of votes cast by State Legislators. Also, legislators from larger states cast more votes than those from smaller states

Impeachment Process of the President of India

The impeachment process of the President of India is a quasi-judicial process. Article 61 describes the process of impeachment of the President of India:

The President can be removed from office by the process of impeachment only on the grounds of violation of the constitution.
The impeachment process can be started from any house of the parliament by levelling charges against him.
All the members of the parliament (elected + nominated) takes part in the impeachment process.
The notice bearing the charges against the president must be signed by at least a quarter of the members of the house.
Then, the notice is sent to the president of India and within 14 days the process of impeachment starts.
The resolution to impeach the president must be passed by a special majority (two-thirds) in the originating house.
Next, it is sent to the other house for consideration. The other house acts as the investigating horse. A select committee is formed to investigate the charges labelled against the president.
During the process, the President of India has the right to defend himself through authorised counsel. He can choose to defend himself or appoint any person/lawyer or attorney general of India to do so.
After the investigation by the select committee, if the other house also passes the resolution by a two-thirds majority, the President of India stands impeached,

Article	Description
Article 52	There shall be a President of India.
Article 53	Executive Power of the Union
Article 54	Election of President
Article 55	Manner of election of President
Article 56	Term of office of President
Article 57	Eligibility for re-election
Article 58	Qualifications for election as President
Article 59	Conditions of President’s office
Article 60	Oath or affirmation by the President
Article 61	Procedure for impeachment of the President
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
Article 70	Discharge of President’s functions in other contingencies
Article 71	Matters relating to, or connected with, the election of a President or Vice-President
Article 72	Power of President to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases
Article 74	Council of Ministers to aid and advise President
Article 75	Other provisions as to Ministers
Article 87	Special address by the President
Article 123	Power of President to promulgate Ordinances during recess of Parliament
Article 143	Power of President to consult Supreme Court
Article 352	National Emergency
Article 356	President’s rule
Article 360	Financial Emergency

Pardon: It removes both the sentence and the conviction and completely absolves the convict from all sentences, punishments and disqualifications.

Commutation: It denotes the substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter form. For example, a death sentence may be commuted to rigorous imprisonment, which in turn may be commuted to a simple imprisonment.

Remission: It implies reducing the period of sentence without changing its character. For example, a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for two years may be remitted to rigorous imprisonment for one year.

Respite: It denotes awarding a lesser sentence in place of one originally awardeddue to some special fact, such as the physical disability of a convict or the pregnancy of a woman offender.

Reprieve: It implies a stay of the execution of a sentence (especially that of death) for a temporary period. Its purpose is to enable the convict to have time to seek pardon or commutation from the President.