According to Article 52, there shall be a President of India.
Article 54 of the Constitution provides for an indirect method for the election of the President. By Article 54 the President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament; and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States
Thus by the Article 54 of the Constitution, the electoral college for the election of the President consists of (a) the elected members of both the Houses of the Union Parliament (All elected MPs), and (b) The elected members of all State Legislative Assemblies (All elected MLAs). The nominated members of the Parliament and Legislative Assemblies have been denied a share in the Presidential election.
Qualifications for the Office of President (Article 58 and 59):
The following qualifications are essential for a candidate seeking election to the office of the President:
- He should be a citizen of India;
- He should be of 35 years or above of age;
- He should be qualified for becoming a member of the Lok Sabha;
- Must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local government (Exceptions are the offices of President and Vice-President, Governor of any State and Ministers of Union or State);
- He should not be a member of the Parliament or of a State Legislature.
Other Conditions:
Apart from the above conditions, the nomination paper of a candidate has to be signed by at least fifty (50) eligible voters as proposers and at least fifty(50) eligible voters as seconders. Here the voters are the MPs & MLAs and not citizens. A voter cannot propose or second more than one candidate.
Tenure of the President:
The President is elected for a term of five years. His term commences from the date on which he enters the office. However, in case due to one reason or the other, the election of a new President cannot be completed before the expiry of his term, the existing President continues to hold the office till the election of a new President gets completed.
Provision for Resignation (Article 56):
Before the completion of his term, the President can resign his office by writing a resignation letter by hand and addressing it to the Vice-President of India.
Impeachment of the President (Article 61):
The President can be removed through a process of impeachment on grounds of violation of the Constitution (only). The impeachment proceedings can be initiated by either House of the Union Parliament. For initiating the impeachment proceedings, first, one-fourth of the total members of a House has to give a signed written notice at least 14 days in advance. If the House after deliberations passes this resolution by a majority of 2/3rd of its total membership; it goes to the other House. The other House investigates the charges. The President has the right to appear in person or through a lawyer, to defend himself.
If after investigation, the second House also passes the implement resolution by not less than the 2/3 rd majority of the total membership of the House, the President gets impeached and goes out of office.
No President of India has, till today, faced an impeachment proceeding.
Re-eligibility (Article 57):
The Constitution does not place any restriction on the number of terms a person can get re-elected as President.
Only the first President Dr. Rajendera Prasad has remained in office for more than two terms.
Presidential Succession (Article 62):
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.
If the office of President falls vacant due to the death of the incumbent or due to any cause other than the expiry of his term of office, then the Vice- President of India becomes the acting-President. Then a new President is elected within six months of the occurring of the vacancy.
In case the office of the Vice-President is also vacant at the time of the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of President, the Chief Justice of India, and in his absence the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, is sworn in as the acting-President till the election of a new President, which has to be completed within six months.
Immunities:
For the exercise of his constitutional rights and powers, the President is not answerable to any court. During his tenure, he cannot be arrested or detained and no criminal proceedings can be started against him. For suing him in a civil case involving his personal acts, advance notice of two months has to be given.
Emoluments:
The President now gets a salary of Rs. 500000/- per month. Besides salary, the President gets several allowances and free furnished accommodation at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Rashtrapati Bhawan is 340-rooms building located in Delhi (Rajpath) on 320-acre area. After retirement, the President gets a monthly pension of Rs. 75000/ plus office expenses as well as an allowance for employing a personal secretary, free accommodation and medical aid.
Presidents of India and Their Tenures
| PRESIDENTS OF INDIA: | TENURE: |
| Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963) | 26 January 1950 to 13 May 1962 |
| Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) | 13 May 1962 TO 13 May 1967 |
| Dr. Zakir Husain (1897-1969) | 13 May 1967 to 3 May 1969 |
| Shri Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1894-1980) |
3 May 1969 to 20 July 1969 and 24 August 1969 TO 24 August 1974 |
| Dr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905-1977) | 24 August 1974 to 11 February 1977 |
| Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913-1996) | 25 July 1977 to 25 July 1982 |
| Giani Zail Singh (1916-1994) | 25 July 1982 to 25 July 1987 |
| Shri R Venkataraman (1910-2009) | 25 July 1987 to 25 July 1992 |
| Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918-1999) | 25 July 1992 to 25 July 1997 |
| Shri K. R. Narayanan (1920 – 2005) | 25 July 1997 to 25 July 2002 |
| DR. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (born – 1931) | 25 July 2002 to 25 July 2007 |
| Smt Pratibha Devisingh Patil (b – 1934) | 25 July 2007 to 25 July 2012 |
| Pranab Mukherjee (b – 1935) | 25 July 2012 to 25 July 2017 |
| Ram Nath Kovind (b – 1945) | 25 July 2017 to till date |
