The Vice President of India

Introduction

The Vice President of India is the second-highest constitutional office in India, after the President. The post was inspired from the American vice-presidential model.

Constitutional Basis

• The concept and role of the Vice President are primarily defined in Part V of the Indian Constitution.
• Article 63: States that "There shall be a Vice President of India."
• Articles 63-73 deal with the qualifications, election, and removal of the Vice President.
• Articles 63-69 specifically detail the Vice President.
• The original draft of constitution suggested by B.N. Rau recommended joint commision for president post vacancy.
• H.V. Kamath, recommended the current setup of Indian Vice-president post, inspired from American Vice-presidential model.

Election and Qualifications

Election

• The Vice President is elected indirectly by an Electoral College consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha).
• The election uses the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote, and voting is by secret ballot.
• Before 1961 (11th Constitutional Amendment), the election was via a joint sitting of both houses. After the 11th amendment, it's done by the Electoral College.

Qualifications (Article 66)

• Must be a citizen of India.
• Must be at least 35 years old.
• Must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or any State Government or any local authority.
• Must be qualified for membership in the Rajya Sabha.
• Should be proposed by 20 electors and supported by 20 electors.

Electoral College

The Electoral College for the Vice President's election consists of:

• All members of the Lok Sabha (both elected and nominated).
• All members of the Rajya Sabha (both elected and nominated).

Term of Office

• 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).
• The Vice President can continue beyond five years until a successor assumes office.

Removal (Article 67)

• The Vice President can be removed from office by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an effective majority (majority of the *then* membership of the House, which means after excluding vacancies) and agreed to by the Lok Sabha with a simple majority.
• A resolution for removal must be moved after at least 14 days' notice.
• Article 67(b) deals with removal.

Powers and Functions

• Ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Article 64): The Vice President acts as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States), presiding over its sessions. This is his/her most important function.
• If there's a tie while voting for any resolution, the vice president as a chairman of Rajyasabha can use casting vote.
• He is responsible for recognizing political parties and allocating seats in the Rajya Sabha.
• Acting as President (Article 65): The Vice President acts as the President in the event of the death, resignation, removal, or other absence of the President. The Vice President can act as President for a maximum period of six months, within which a new President must be elected.
• Discharging Functions of the President: When the President is unable to discharge his/her functions due to illness or any other cause, the Vice President discharges the functions of President until the President resumes his/her duties.
• Chairman of various committees, including the awards committee for Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, and Bharat Ratna.
• As per Anti-defection law, the vice president can disqualify members of Rajyasabha.
• Temporarily adjourning the Rajya Sabha is done by the Vice President.
• The Vice President is also the ex-officio Chancellor of central universities.
  • The exception to this is the Central University of Delhi, where the Chancellor is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
• The Vice President appoints vice-chancellors of central Universities.

Salary and Emoluments

• The Vice President, as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, receives a salary and allowances determined by Parliament.
• Currently, the salary is ₹4 lakh per month.
• The salary is drawn from the Consolidated Fund of India.
• The salary is not subject to income tax.

Resignation and Vacancy

• The Vice President can resign by submitting a resignation letter to the President.
• Article 68 deals with the filling of a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, and specifies to fill it as soon as possible. It has no time limit to fill it.
• The Vice President's office can become vacant due to:
  • Resignation
  • Removal
  • Death
  • Election being declared void by Supreme Court
  • Declared mentally incapable by a court.

List of Vice Presidents

#	Name	Term Start	Term End
1	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan	1952	1962
2	Zakir Husain	1962	1967
3	V. V. Giri	1967	1969
4	G. S. Pathak	1969	1974
5	B. D. Jatti	1974	1979
6	Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah	1979	1984
7	R. Venkataraman	1984	1987
8	Shankar Dayal Sharma	1987	1992
9	K. R. Narayanan	1992	1997
10	K. Krishnakanth	1997	2002
11	Bhairam Singh Shekhawat	2002	2007
12	Hamid Ansari	2007	2017
13	Venkaiah Naidu	2017	Present

• The first Vice President of India was Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Hamid Ansari has served as Vice President for two terms.
• V.V. Giri served for the least time as Vice President.
• K. Krishnakanth died while serving as Vice President.
• K.R. Narayanan was the first Dalit Vice President.
• Bhairam Singh Shekhawat lost the presidential election while serving as Vice President.

Recent Publications

• Hamid Ansari: "Citizen and Society"
• Venkaiah Naidu: "Moving On... Moving Forward: A Year in Office"