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Vacancy in the office of President

The President of India is the head of the country and its armed forces. There are certain proceedings during the vacancy in the President’s office.

The President of India is the ceremonial head of the country whose primary role is to protect, defend and preserve the constitution. He is the titular head who acts on the advice of the President. According to the articles mentioned in the constitution certain powers are given to him to serve as the head of the country. His powers can be classified into three major categories such as legislative powers, executive powers, and emergency powers. Article 52-62 of the Indian Constitution has a provision for the President of India, and the election procedures take place under the provisions of such articles.

Proceedings during a vacancy in the office of President

The President of India needs to meet certain qualifications to be eligible for the presidential election. He needs to conform to the eligibility criteria to participate in the election procedure. The constitution of India also allows the re-election of the same president. The President is not elected by direct election, instead, he is elected by an “Electoral College”. This “Electoral College” is composed of the members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the legislative assemblies of the union territories as well as the legislative assemblies of the states. 

The office of the President can be vacant due to death or resignation or impeachment of the President. After he finishes his tenure, he can still hold the position until a new president is elected. It needs to be considered that the office or the position needs to be filled when it becomes vacant due to death or resignation or impeachment of the President. The President can be impeached on the grounds of dishonesty, and in such cases, the Lok Sabha can introduce impeachment charges against him which has to be passed by the two-thirds majority of the members before it is sent to the Rajya Sabha for its approval. Then again, the two-thirds majority of the Rajya Sabha needs to pass the charges to impeach the President from the position.

Role of Vice President

The office of the President can have a vacancy due to death or resignation or impeachment of the President, and in such cases, the Vice President takes over to fill in the role of the President. In that case, the Vice President assumes the role of the President until a new President is elected by the principle of Proportional Representation using a single transferable vote.

There are certain occasions on which the office of the President becomes vacant. The President can put down papers or resign from his position to the Vice President; therefore, in such a case the office becomes vacant. After completing his term of five long years the President’s office becomes officially vacant. Furthermore, when he is removed from office due to the impeachment charges made against him by the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. The death of the President while serving his term also leads to a vacancy in the President’s office. The election for the office can be considered invalid by the Supreme Court on certain grounds, thus, the office becomes vacant. Therefore, in such cases, the Vice President takes over. 

The election for a new president is initiated due to the death or resignation or impeachment of the President. It needs to be taken into account that the Vice President takes over in every situation mentioned above except when a vacancy is generated due to the completion of the tenure of the President. The office will remain vacant until the election for a new President is conducted. The position of the Vice President can be considered the second-highest position in the political hierarchy of powers. He can assume the role of the President only for six months when the position of the President becomes empty due to death or resignation or impeachment of the President.

Conclusion

The President of India is the ceremonial head of the country who acts on the advice of the cabinet ministers. No bill can become an act without the assent of the President. He is elected for a term of five years during which he can be impeached by the houses of the Parliament on certain grounds. The office of the President can become vacant due to death or resignation or impeachment of the President. In such cases, the Vice President takes over the role of the President for six months.

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