Union Executive

Vice President of India Resigns Mid-Term

Context: Mr. Jagdeep Dhankhar, 14th Vice President of India, has tendered his resignation with immediate effect citing health reasons.

Relevance of the topic:

Prelims: Constitutional provisions related to the Vice President of India.

Mains: Implications of a mid-term resignation of the Vice President in a parliamentary democracy.

Vice President Resigns Mid-Term

Jagdeep Dhankhar assumed the Office of Vice President in August 2022.
He is only the third Vice-President in India’s history to resign before completing his term. Earlier V.V Giri and R. Venkatraman stepped down to contest presidential elections.

Who performs the Vice President’s duties now?

The Constitution does not provide for an acting Vice President.
However, since the Vice-President is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Deputy Chairman, currently Harivansh Narayan Singh, will preside over the House in his absence.

When will the Elections be held?

In the case of the President, the Constitution requires that a vacancy be filled within six months. But for a Vice Presidential vacancy, there is no such fixed deadline. The only requirement is that the election be held “as soon as possible” after the post falls vacant.
The Election Commission of India will announce the schedule. The poll is conducted under the Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections Act, 1952.
As per convention, the Secretary General of either House of Parliament is appointed as the Returning Officer, in rotation.

How long will the new Vice President serve?

The elected candidate will serve a full five-year term from the date of assuming office- not just the remainder of Dhankhar’s tenure.

How is the Vice President elected in India?

The Vice President is elected by an electoral college made up of members from both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) including nominated members.
Unlike in a Presidential election, state legislatures do not participate.
Voting is held in Parliament House in New Delhi by secret ballot, using the system of proportional representation with a single transferable vote.
Each Member of Parliament (MP) casts a vote by ranking candidates in order of preference. All votes carry equal value.
To be declared elected, a candidate must reach a required minimum number of votes- called the quota. This is calculated by dividing the total number of valid votes by two and adding one (fractions, if any, are ignored).
If no candidate crosses the quota in the first round, the one with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, and their votes are transferred to the remaining candidates based on second preferences. The process continues until one candidate crosses the quota.

What are the eligibility criteria for Vice Presidential candidates?

A person contesting for the post of Vice President must be :

A citizen of India
At least 35 years old
He must be qualified to be elected to the Rajya Sabha, and registered as an elector in any parliamentary constituency.
He must not hold any office of profit under the central or state governments, except positions like President, Governor, or Minister.

SC sets time limits for Governors to act on Bills

Context: The Supreme Court has set time limits for Governors to act on Bills emphasising mandatory adherence to Article 200 of Constitution. The Supreme Court recently, invoked its inherent powers under Article 142, and declared that 10 Bills, which were withheld assent by Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi for two to five years, as having received assent.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Article 200; Article 201 of Indian Constitution.

Article 200

When a bill is sent to the governor after it is passed by state legislature, he/ she can:

Give his/ her assent to the bill, or
Withhold his/ her assent to the bill, or
Return the bill (if it is not a money bill) for reconsideration of the state legislature. However, if the bill is passed again by the state legislature with or without amendments, the governor has to give his/ her assent to the bill, or
Reserve the bill for the President.

Article 201

Reserve the bill for the consideration of the President.

When a Bill is reserved for the consideration of the President, The President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill, or he withholds assent from the Bill.
The President may also direct the Governor to return the Bill to the House of the Legislature of the State for reconsideration.
Options available with the Governor:
He may give assent, or he can send it back to the Assembly requesting it to reconsider some provisions of the Bill, or the Bill itself.
In addition, as identified by Soli Sorabjee, the governor can also reserve the bill if it is of the following nature:

Ultra-vires, that is, against the provisions of the Constitution.
Opposed to the Directive Principles of State Policy.
Against the larger interest of the country.
Of grave national importance.
Dealing with compulsory acquisition of property under Article 31A of the Constitution.

In one particular case such reservation is obligatory, that is, where the bill passed by the state legislature endangers the position of the state High Court.

Supreme Court Previous Observations in this context

Nabam Rebia and Bamang Felix vs Deputy Speaker, 2016: The Governor cannot withhold assent to a Bill indefinitely but must return it to the Assembly with a message, and this could include his recommendation for amendments to the Bill.
State of Punjab vs Principal Secretary to Governor of Punjab 2023: In 2023, the Supreme court in State of Punjab vs. Principal Secretary to Governor of Punjab has held that the Governor can not veto the legislature by indefinitely withholding assent to the bill and in case the bill is re-enacted, Governor does not exercise discretion to withhold the reenacted bill.

State of Tamil Nadu vs Governor of Tamil Nadu 2025

The Supreme Court has prescribed a time limit for the Governor to exercise his powers under Article 200. The court said that a Governor must be a friend, guide and philosopher to the State, not a hindrance.

The Governor is not allowed to reserve a Bill for the consideration of the President once it is presented before him in the second round after having been returned to the House previously as per the first provision. The only exception to this general rule is when the Bill presented in the second round is different from the one presented to the Governor in the first instance.
In case of reservation of Bills for the consideration of the President, contrary to the advice of the state Council of Ministers, the Governor shall make such reservation within a maximum period of three months. In case of presentation of a Bill after reconsideration in accordance with the first proviso (of Article 200), the Governor must grant assent subject to a maximum period of one month.

Removal of Rajya Sabha Chairman

Context: Nearly 60 Opposition MPs of the INDIA bloc have submitted a notice at the office of the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General, P.C. Mody, seeking the removal of the Chairperson of the Upper House, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Relevance: Prelims- Key facts about the office, role, duties, removal process of the Vice President.

About the office of Vice President:

The Vice-President occupies the second highest office in the country. He/she is accorded a rank next to the President in the official warrant of precedence.
His office is modeled on the lines after the American Vice-President.

Qualifications:

To be eligible for election as Vice-President, a person should fulfil the following qualifications:

He/she should be a citizen of India.
He/ she should have completed 35 years of age.
He/ she should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
He/she should not hold any office of profit under the Union government or any state government or any local authority or any other public authority.

It is to be noted that a sitting President or Vice-President of the Union, the governor of any state and a minister for the Union or any state is not deemed to hold any office of profit and hence qualified for being a candidate for Vice-President.

Further, the nomination of a candidate for election to the office of Vice-President must be subscribed by at least 20 electors as proposers and 20 electors as seconders. Every candidate has to make a security deposit of Rs 15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India.

Powers and Functions:

The functions of the Vice-President are two-fold:
- He/she acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. In this capacity, his/her powers and functions are similar to those of the Speaker of Lok Sabha. In this respect, he/she resembles the American vice-president, who also acts as the Chairman of the Senate-the Upper House of the American legislature.
- He/ she acts as President when a vacancy occurs in the office of the President due to his/her resignation, impeachment, death or otherwise. He/ she can act as President only for a maximum period of six months within which a new President has to be elected. Further, when the sitting President is unable to discharge his/her functions due to absence, illness or any other cause, the Vice-President discharges his/ her functions until the President resumes his/her office.
While acting as President or discharging the functions of President, the Vice-President does not perform the duties of the office of the chairman of Rajya Sabha. During this period, those duties are performed by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. The Constitution has not fixed any emoluments for the Vice-President in that capacity. He/ she draws his/ her regular salary in his/ her capacity as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In 2018, the Parliament increased the salary of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha from Rs. 1.25 lakh to Rs. 4 lakh per month.
In addition, he/she is entitled to daily allowance, free furnished residence, medical, travel and other facilities. During any period when the Vice-President acts as President or discharges the functions of the President, he/ she is not entitled to the salary or allowance payable to the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, but the salary and allowance of the President.

Removal of Vice-President

Article 67 of the Constitution prescribes terms of office of the Vice President.

Article 67:
- The Vice-President holds office for a term of five years from the date on which he/she enters upon his/ her office.
Article 67(a): He/ she can resign from his/her office at any time by addressing the resignation letter to the President.
- He/she can also be removed from the office before completion of his/ her term.
- A formal impeachment is not required for his/her removal.
Article 67(b): He/ she can be removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Rajya Sabha and agreed to by the Lok Sabha.
- This means that this resolution should be passed in the Rajya Sabha by an effective majority and in the Lok Sabha by a simple majority.
- Further, this resolution can be introduced only in the Rajya Sabha and not in the Lok Sabha.
- No such resolution can be moved unless at least 14 days' advance notice has been given. Notably, no ground has been mentioned in the Constitution for his/her removal.
The Vice-President can hold office beyond his/her term of five years until his/ her successor assumes charge. He/she is also eligible for reelection to that office. He/she may be elected for any number of terms.

Pardoning Power of President

Context: President of India Droupadi Murmu has rejected the mercy petition of Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq who is a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba and a citizen of Pakistan. He was sentenced to death in the December 2000 Red Fort attack where three Army personnel were killed.

Constitutional Provisions related to Mercy Petitions to the President

Article 72 of the Constitution empowers the President to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence –

In all cases where the punishment or sentence is by a Court Martial.
In all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends.
In all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death.

Pardoning power of President includes the following:

Pardon: Removes both the sentence and the conviction and completely absolves the convict from all sentences, punishments and disqualifications.
Commutation: 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: Implies reducing the period of sentence without changing the character. For example, a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for two years may be remitted to rigorous imprisonment for one year.
Respite: Denotes awarding a lesser sentence in place of one originally awarded due to some special fact, such as the physical disability of a convict or the pregnancy of a woman offender.
Reprieve: 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.

Some more points:

President must act based on the advice of Council of Ministers in mercy petititons (Maru Ram vs UOI case ,1981).
In Kehar Singh case(1988), the Supreme Court examined the pardoning power of the President and laid down the following principles:
- The petitioner for mercy has no right to an oral hearing by the President:
- The President Can examine the evidence afresh and take a view different from the view taken by the court.
- The power is to be exercised by the President on the advice of the union cabinet.
- There is no need for the Supreme Court to lay down specific guidelines for the exercise of power by the President.
- The exercise of power by the President is not subject to judicial review except where the presidential decision is arbitrary, irrational, mala fide or discriminatory.

President's Power of Pardon & Judicial Review

Context: The Supreme Court has directed States and other authorities not to delay their decision on mercy petitions filed by death row convicts, to avoid the condemned persons from gaining any advantage or benefit from the holdup.

In Pardon, it affects both the punishment prescribed for the offence and guilt of the offender. A full pardon may completely erase the guilt.

‘Reprieve’ means a temporary suspension of the punishment awarded by a court of law. For example: Putting a stay order on the death sentence of a convict for certain temporary period.

'Respite’ means postponement of the sentence of punishment or reducing the sentence due to certain special circumstances such as disability, pregnancy etc.

Commutation means changing the punishment from one category to another, such as changing the death sentence to life imprisonment.
Remission is the reduction of the amount of a sentence without changing its character. Example: A person is imprisoned for14 years in solitary confinement. In Remission, his sentence might be reduced to 10 years but the nature i.e., solitary confinement will not change.

Can Judicial Review can be applied for clemency power

In the case of Epuru Sudhakar v. Government of Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court laid down that judicial review under Articles 72 and 161 is available on the following grounds:

a. That the order has been passed without application of mind.

b. That the order is mala fide.

c. That the order has been passed on extraneous or wholly irrelevant considerations.

d. That the order suffers from arbitrariness.

The Court also held that pardon obtained based on manifest mistake or fraud can also be rescinded or cancelled.
The Court further elaborated that if power under Article 72 is exercised on irrational, irrelevant, discriminatory grounds or in bad faith, then in such cases Court can examine the case and intervene if necessary.

Do the President/Governor have discretion while exercising clemency powers?

Power to pardon vested in the President under Article 72 shall not be exercised independently without the aid and advice of Home minister.
In the case of Maru Ram v. Union of India, Supreme Court held that under Article 72, the President cannot take an independent decision or direct release or refuse release on his own choice.
This has been done to avoid any decision made on arbitrary grounds or on some partial grounds of religion, caste, colour or political loyalty.

Mercy Petition

Appeal beyond SC - If the Supreme Court turns down the appeal against capital punishment, a condemned prisoner can submit a mercy petition to the President of India and the Governor of the State.
Powers of the President & the Governors under Articles 72 and 161 - “to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.
Decision Based on Aid & Advice of CoM - The power to be exercised under Article 72 & 161 respectively by President and Governors need to be exercised in conformity with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers under Articles 74 and 163.
Decision not constrained by time - Clemency powers of President and Governor under Articles 72 and 161 respectively can be exercised before, during or after the trial.
Final Opportunity for the Convict – It also allows both executive and judiciary to investigate the matter with compassionate ground.
USA - Indian President’s power of pardon is almost like that in America or Britain. The American President has power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences committed against United States except in cases of impeachment.
In Britain, the Crown enjoys a prerogative to grant pardon to any criminal but the prerogative is exercised on ministerial advice.

Power of Remission Under Cr.Pc Different From Constitutional Powers of Pardon

Suspend or Remit - Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC) under Section 432 empowers central and state government to suspend or remit a sentence, in whole or in part, with or without conditions.
Commutation - Section 433 empowers central and state governments to commute death sentence, imprisonment for life and rigorous imprisonment to a lesser degree.
State Government to Consult the Centre - Section 435 of Cr.PC states that powers of state government to suspend, remit or commute a sentence must be done in consultation with the central government if:

The case was investigated by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or
The case was investigated by any other agency empowered to make an investigation into an offence under any Central Act.
The offence involved misappropriation or destruction of, or damage to, any property belonging to the Central Government, or
The offence was committed by a person in the service of the Central Government while acting in the discharge of his official duty.

Section 433A adds a restriction on powers of remission or commutation in certain cases.
It states that where a sentence of imprisonment for life is imposed on conviction of a person for an offence for which death is one of the punishments provided by law, or o
where a sentence of death imposed on a person has been commuted under section 433 into one of imprisonment for life, such person shall not be released from prison unless he has served at least 14 years of imprisonment.

Article 161 overrides Section 433A of Cr.PC - Supreme Court has held that powers of Governor under Article 161 to pardon override the restrictions imposed under Section 433-A of the Criminal Procedure Code even if the prisoner has not undergone 14 years or more of actual imprisonment.
Section 433-A of Cr.PC does not in any way affect the constitutional power conferred on the President/Governor to grant pardon under Articles 72 or 161 of the Constitution.
If the prisoner has not undergone 14 years or more of actual imprisonment, the Governor has a power to grant pardon. Such power is in exercise of the power of the sovereign, even though the Governor is bound to act on the aid and advice of the State Government.