The System of State bodies of India

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The System of State bodies of India

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Head of the state - The President
• The president of India, known officially as the president of the
Republic of India, is the head of state of the Republic of India.
The president is the nominal head of the executive, as well as
the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces.
• The office of president was created when India became a
republic on 26 January 1950, when its constitution came into
force. The president is indirectly elected by an electoral
college comprising both houses of the Parliament of India and
the legislative assemblies of each of India's states and
territories, who themselves are all directly elected.

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Although Article 53 of the Constitution of India states that the president can exercise
his powers directly or by subordinate authority, with few exceptions, all of the
executive powers vested in the president are, in practice, exercised by the prime
minister (a subordinate authority) with the help of the Council of Ministers.The
president is bound by the constitution to act on the advice of the prime minister and
cabinet as long as the advice does not violate the constitution.Ram Nath Kovind is
the 14th and current president, having assumed office since 25 July 2017.
Article 56 of the Indian Constitution says that the President shall hold office for a
term of five years from the date he takes up his post. He may resign from his office
by writing his resignation to the Vice-President of India. But, he will continue to hold
his office, in spite of tendering his resignation, until his successor takes up his office.
According to Article 58 of the Constitution, no person shall be eligible for election as
President unless he is a citizen of India, has completed the age of thirty-five years
and is qualified for election as a member of the House of the People. A person shall
not be eligible if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India.

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Legislative power
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a
bicameral legislature composed of the President of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha
(Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President in his role as
head of legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either House of Parliament or to
dissolve the Lok Sabha. The President can exercise these powers only upon the advice of
the Prime Minister and his Union Council of Ministers.
Those elected or nominated (by the President) to either house of Parliament are referred to
as Members of Parliament (MP). The Members of Parliament, Lok Sabha are directly elected
by the Indian public voting in single-member districts and the Members of Parliament, Rajya
Sabha are elected by the members of all State Legislative Assemblies by proportional
representation.
The Parliament has a sanctioned strength of 543 in Lok Sabha and 245 in Rajya Sabha
including 12 nominees from the expertise of different fields of literature, art, science, and
social service.The Parliament meets at Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi. India has Parliament.

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Executive power
Executive power of the Union is vested in the President, and is exercised by him
either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the
Constitution. Supreme command of defence forces of the Union also vests in him.
The President summons, prorogues, addresses, sends messages to Parliament and
dissolves the Lok Sabha, promulgates Ordinances at any time, except when both
Houses of Parliament are in session, makes recommendations for introducing
financial and money bills and gives assent to bills, grants pardons, reprieves,
respites or remission of punishment or suspends, and remits or commutes sentences
in certain cases.
When there is a failure of the constitutional machinery in a state, he can assume to
himself all, or any of the functions of the government of that state. The President can
proclaim emergency in the country if he is satisfied that a grave emergency exists,
whereby security of India or any part of its territory is threatened, whether by war or

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The Vice-President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of
members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of
proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
He must be a citizen of India, not less than 35 years of age, and eligible for election
as a member of the Rajya Sabha. His term of office is five years, and he is eligible
for re-election. His removal from office is to be in accordance with procedure
prescribed in Article 67 b.
• The Vice-President is ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and acts as
President when the latter is unable to discharge his functions due to absence,
illness or any other cause, or till the election of a new President (to be held
within six months when a vacancy is caused by death, resignation or removal or
otherwise of President). While so acting, he ceases to perform the function of
the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

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• There is a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid
and advise the President in exercise of his functions.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, who also
appoints other ministers on the advice of Prime Minister. The
Council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
It is the duty of the Prime Minister to communicate to the President all
decisions of Council of Ministers relating to administration of affairs of
the Union and proposals for legislation and information relating to
them.
• The Council of Ministers comprises Ministers who are members of
Cabinet, Ministers of State (independent charge), Ministers of
State and Deputy Ministers.

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Judicial power
India is a federal State having a single and unified judicial system with a threetier structure, i.e., Supreme Court, High Courts and Subordinate Courts. Read
this article to find out about the Supreme Court of India, its composition, power
and functions.
The Indian Constitution under Article 124(1) states that there shall be a
Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief justice of India (CJI) and 34 judges,
including the CJI. The Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India can broadly be
categorised into original jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction and advisory
jurisdiction.
Supreme Court at the apex of the Indian Judiciary is the highest authority to
uphold the Constitution of India, to protect the rights and liberties of the citizens,
and to uphold the values of rule of law. Hence, it is known as the Guardian of
our Constitution.

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Composition of the Supreme Court
Article 124(1) and Amendment act of 2008 states that there shall be a Supreme Court of India
consisting of a Chief justice of India (CJI) and 34 judges including the CJI. Article 124(2) states
that every judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President of India by warrant
under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the judges of the Supreme Court and of
the High Courts in the states.
• Here, the collegium system(appointment of judges to the courts) was followed which is also
known as the three judges cases, which comprises of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and four
senior-most judges of the SC, one Chief Justice of the High Court and two of its senior-most
judges. This system demanded a consensus decision of all the senior-most judges in
conformity with the Chief Justice of India.
• However, due to lack of transparency and delay in the appointment, a new article 124 A was
incorporated in the constitution, under which the National Judiciary Appointments Commission
(NJAC) replaced the collegium system for the appointment of judges as mandated in the
existing pre-amended constitution by a new system.

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Powers of the Supreme Court
1. Power to punish for contempt (civil or criminal) of court with simple
imprisonment for 6 months or fine up to Rs. 2000. Civil contempt means wilful
disobedience to any judgment. Criminal contempt means doing any act which
lowers the authority of the court or causing interference in judicial proceedings.
2. Judicial review to examine the constitutionality of legislative enactments and
executive orders. The grounds of review is limited by Parliamentary legislation or
rules made by the Supreme Court.
3. Deciding authority regarding the election of President and Vice President.
4. Enquiring authority in the conduct and behaviour of UPSC members.
5. Withdraw cases pending before High Courts and dispose of them themselves.

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6. Appointment of ad hoc judges- Article 127 states that if at any time there is a lack of quorum of Judges
of Supreme Court, the CJI may with the previous consent of the President and Chief Justice of High
Court, concerning request in writing the attendance of Judge of High Court duly qualified to be appointed
as Judge of the Supreme Court.
7. Appointment of retired judges of the Supreme Court or High Court - Article 128 states that the CJI at
any time with the previous consent of the President and the person to be so appointed can appoint any
person who had previously held the office of a Judge of SC.
8. Appointment of acting Chief Justice- Article 126 states that when the office of CJI is vacant or when
the Chief Justice is by reason of absence or otherwise unable to perform duties of the office, the
President in such case can appoint Judge of the court to discharge the duties of the office.
9. Revisory Jurisdiction- The Supreme Court under Article 137 is empowered to review any judgment or
order made by it with a view to removing any mistake or error that might have crept in the judgement or
order.
10. Supreme Court as a Court of Record- The Supreme Court is a court of record as its decisions are of
evidentiary value and cannot be questioned in any court.

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Conclusion

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