CRITICALLY EVALUATE POWERS & FUNCTIONS OF PRESIDENT OF INDIA.? IN 500-1000 WORDS.
Answers
Answer:
The President is the head of the state and the formal executive. All executive action at the centre is expressed to be taken in his name. This power has been granted to him under Article 53(1) which states that the executive power shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him directly or through officers subordinate to him.
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India and the Supreme Commander of the Indian armed forces. In theory, the President possesses considerable power. In practice, the President’s role is comparable to those of a constitutional monarch, and indeed the office replaced that of the British monarch (represented by the Governor General) upon India’s independence.
The Constitution only formally vests functions in the hands of the President. In reality he has no function to discharge his discretion and or his individual judgment. He has to act on ministerial advice and therefore the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers constitute the real and effective executive.
It is said that this structure of the central executive closely resembles the British Model which functions on the basis of unwritten conventions. In India some of these conventions have been written in the Constitution with regards to tenure, appointment and collective responsibility of the Ministers. However, still some matters have been left to conventions for example the accountability of the Cabinet and the Minister for the acts of his subordinates.
The office of the president is created by Article 52 of the Constitution and the matters of election are dealt from Article 54 to 60 of the Constitution. The President is elected by the method of indirect election i.e. by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both Houses of Parliament and of the State legislative assemblies. The method of indirect election was to emphasize the ministerial character of the executive that the effective power resides in the Ministry and not in the President as such. Secondly, the method of direct election would have been very costly and energy consuming. There was also the fear that a directly elected President may in course of time assume all the power.
Answer:
Legislative powers
The president summons both the houses (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) of the parliament and prorogues them. He can dissolve the Lok Sabha.
The president inaugurates parliament by addressing it after the general elections and also at the beginning of the first session every year per Article 87.
All bills passed by the parliament can become laws only after receiving the assent of the president per Article 111. After a bill is presented to him, the president shall declare either that he assents to the Bill, or that he withholds his assent from it. As a third option, he can return a bill to parliament.
Article 143 gave power to the president to consult the supreme court about the constitutional validity of an issue. The president shall assent to constitutional amendment bills without power to withhold the bills per Article 368.
Judicial powers
The primary duty of the president is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law of India per Article 60. The president appoints the Chief Justice of Indiaand other judges on the advice of the chief justice. He dismisses the judges if and only if the two Houses of the parliament pass resolutions to that effect by a two-thirds majority of the members present.
The Indian government's chief legal adviser, Attorney General of India, is appointed by the president of India under Article 76(1). If the president considers a question of law or a matter of public importance has arisen, he can also ask for the advisory opinion of the supreme court per Article 143. Per Article 88, the president can ask the attorney general to attend the parliamentary proceedings and report to him any unlawful functioning if any.
Appointment powers
The president appoints 12 members of the Rajya Sabha from amongst persons who have special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service. The president may nominate not more than two members of Anglo Indian community as Lok Sabhamembers per Article 331
Governors of states are also appointed by the president who shall work at the pleasure of the president. Per Article 156, the president is empowered to dismiss a governor who has violated the constitution in his acts.
Financial powers
- A money bill can be introduced in the parliament only with the president's recommendation.
- The president lays the Annual Financial Statement, i.e. the Union budget, before the parliament.
- The president can take advances out of the Contingency Fund of India to meet unforeseen expenses.
- The president constitutes a Finance commission after every five years to recommend the distribution of the taxes between the centre and the States
Diplomatic powers
All international treaties and agreements are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the president.
Military powers
The president is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. The president can declare war or conclude peace, on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers headed by the prime minister. All important treaties and contracts are made in the president's name.
Pardoning powers
As mentioned in Article 72 of the Indian constitution, the president is empowered with the powers to grant pardons in the following situations:
- Punishment is for an offence against Union law.
- Punishment is by a military court.
- A sentence that is of death.
The decisions involving pardoning and other rights by the president are independent of the opinion of the prime minister or the Lok Sabha majority. In most cases, however, the president exercises his executive powers on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet.
Emergency powers
The president can declare three types of emergencies: national, state and financial, under articles 352, 356 & 360 in addition to promulgating ordinances under article 123.
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