Profile
Settings
Refer your friends
Sign out
The president can only be removed before the expiry of his term through impeachment for violating the constitution by the parliament. The notice is sent up to the president and fourteen days later, it is taken up for consideration. The present procedure for the removal of the President is specified in Articles 58 to 71 of the Constitution. A notice signed by 100 members of either House of Parliament can propose his impeachment on grounds of violation of the Constitution or gross misconduct.
Resignation of President
Whenever a simple majority of the members of the House of Representatives present themselves to record their votes, upon a resolution or an address impeaching the President, or whenever the Senate or House of Representatives sends a charge to the Supreme Court regarding the President’s removal from office, the proceedings are conducted and monitored by a committee designated for the purpose. This is to ensure that no irregularity is committed during any impeachment proceeding, particularly those that can result in the removal from office of the President.
Removal of president
The process of removal of the president is initiated in either house of the parliament and charges are levelled against him. The accused president has two options to defend himself: either to resign from his post or prove the charge false.
Impeachment is a formal accusation of unlawful conduct by a public official. The charges are made by bringing together a committee of members from both houses and by studying the charges and presenting them to the speaker of Lok Sabha, who acts as per the rules framed for this procedure. The president of India, following Article 61 of the Constitution of India, is responsible for enforcing all the provisions of the constitution and law as made by the parliament. In a presidential system, both the executive and legislature are directly elected by the people. The president oversees the federal bureaucracy and appoints its senior officers. The process of removal of the president can be initiated in either of the two houses. It begins with the House of Representatives drafting articles of impeachment. This is a document containing charges under which the president has been accused of misconduct. After the paper is signed by at least one-quarter of members in that house, it is sent over to the Senate for further action. The charges are forwarded to the President, who has 14 days to defend himself against them. The document is then taken up for consideration 14 days later and if approved by a two-thirds majority required to remove the president of the members, it passes on to the second house. The house then investigates all facts and scrutinizes the evidence provided by both sides and ascertains whether it contains sufficient grounds for impeachment or not. If found true, another vote is taken. To pass this one also, at least two-thirds of those present and voting will have to endorse it. Again, it goes back to the originating House that might have suggestions or recommendations on how to proceed further after the second reading. After that, both houses conduct a joint session where only two options are open
The majority required for removal of President
The Constitution allows the removal of the president from office on grounds of violation of the Constitution, willful breach of it and continually engaging in behaviour unbecoming of the office. It also provides for removal based on physical or mental incapacity. The entire procedure for impeachment is outlined in Article 61, which states that an impeachment resolution must be made by a two-thirds majority required to remove the president in the Lok Sabha. This resolution is then sent to the Rajya Sabha, which investigates the charges levelled against the President. If approved by a special majority to remove the president, the President stands impeached and he has to vacate his office from the date of passing the resolution. An impeachment must be addressed on any one of these four grounds; grave dereliction of duty, breach of the constitution (willful or otherwise), indulging in acts that violate its spirit and failure to deliver a presidential address to either House after six months of becoming President.
Conclusion
The impeachment process is the method to remove an official. It makes use of the provisions in the Constitution to ensure that the President and other officials act in a manner consistent with their office and Constitution. It is a mechanism for removing an official from office for violation of the oath or breach of trust or other serious misconduct. Every President has met with opposition, but the impeachment process is infrequently employed. Impeachment is instead a process to hold officials accountable for their actions. As soon as the Speaker receives such a notice, he constitutes a three-member committee consisting of a Supreme Court judge, a Chief Justice of a high court and an eminent jurist, who are empanelled to hear the charges.
