• EXECUTIVE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
  • POSITIONS OF THE PRESIDENT

UNIT 7 – THE PRESIDENT – PART 3

MILITARY POWERS: 

The President is the supreme commander of defence forces of the Union and the exercise of his powers shall be regulated by legislations of the Parliament.

S.No

MILITARY POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

1

He appoints the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force.

2

He declares war, concludes peace subjected to the approval of the Parliament.

LEGISLATIVE POWERS:

The President is an integral part of Indian parliament, but not a member of either of its houses. Thus, the Parliament is composed of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the President. Being a part of the Parliament, he enjoys the following legislative powers

S. No

Legislative Powers of the President

1

He summons and prorogues the Lok Sabha(LS) and the Rajya Sabha(RS).

2

He summons joint sitting of LS and RS, which is presided over by the Speaker.

3

He addresses the Parliament at the first session after every general election and the first session of every year.

4

He can appoint any member of LS to preside over when the offices of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are vacant.

5

He can appoint any member of RS to preside over when the offices of both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman are vacant.

6

He can nominate two members to the LS from the Anglo-Indian community.

7

He nominates twelve members with distinguished knowledge or practical experience in literature, art, science and social service to the RS.

8

He disqualifies the members of Parliament on consultation with the Election Commission.

Note: The presiding officers of the houses decide on the disqualification of members on the ground of defection.

9

His prior recommendation is necessary for introducing certain types of bills in the Parliament such as the money bills and bills aimed at altering the boundaries of states or creation of new states.

10

He dissolves the LS when the government loses confidence of the house.

11

Any bill passed by the Parliament becomes an act only after President’s assent to it.

12

He lays before the Parliament the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India(CAG), the Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) and others.

EMERGENCY POWERS:

The President can promulgate three types of emergencies to tackle the extraordinary situations that challenge the security of the country. They are

  1. National Emergency,
  2. Financial Emergency and
  3. President’s Rule.

JUDICIAL POWERS:

The President is endowed with special judicial powers, the Pardoning powers that include the following

  • Pardon – To set a convicted person completely free.
  • Remission – Reducing the duration of punishment without changing the form of punishment. Example: Remitting 20 years of rigorous imprisonment to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
  • Commutation – Changing the form of punishment. Example: Commuting a death sentence to life imprisonment.
  • Reprieve – Delaying the execution of a sentence. Example: Delaying the execution of a death sentence to allow the convicted person to apply for President’s pardon.
  • Respite – Changing the form of punishment to a lighter one under special circumstances such as pregnancy, physical disability and so on.

ORDINANCE

The President is endowed with the power of promulgating ordinances when any one of the houses is not in session to deal with an extraordinary situation that needs immediate action.

  1. An ordinance has the same effect as the parliamentary laws.
  2. It is valid for a maximum duration of six months and six weeks. In the case when the houses are summoned to assemble on different dates, the six weeks are calculated from the later date.
  3. The President can withdraw the ordinance at any time.
  4. The ordinance route cannot be used for making constitutional amendments.
  5. The Supreme Court has held that unreasonable re-promulgation of ordinances to bypass the legislature will amount to a fraud on the constitution

POSITION OF THE PRESIDENT

The President of India is the constitutional head of the State. He has been provided with a wide range of powers, yet he cannot use his powers on discretion. He is bound to act on the advice of the Cabinet during both the normal times and the emergency. However, the President can exercise his discretion in the following matters

  1. Appointment of the Prime Minister;
  2. Dismissal of the Union government;
  3. Dissolution of the Lok Sabha;
  4. Seeking information on any matter related to the administration of the State.
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