Vice President of India

• The Vice President of India is the second-highest constitutional office in India after the President.
• Article 63 of Indian Constitution states that “There shall be a Vice President of India.”
• The Vice President acts as President in the absence of the president due to death, resignation, impeachment, or other situations.
• The Vice President of India is also ex officio Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

Qualifications for the Post of Vice President

• To contest the election of Vice President, a person should –
  • 1. Be a citizen of India.
    2. Have completed 35 years of age.
    3. Be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
    4. Not hold any office of profit under the Union government or any state government or any local authority or any other public authority.

• 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.

Nomination of a Candidate

• • Nomination must be subscribed by at least 20 Electors as Proposers and 20 Electors as Seconders.
  • A security deposit of Rs. 15000 has to be deposited in Reserve Bank of India.

Election of Vice President

• Indirect election
• Elected by the members of Electoral College consisting of the members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
• Hence this Electoral College is different from the election of President in following –
  • • It consists of both nominated and elected members of the Parliament.
    • It does NOT include state legislative assemblies.
• Manner and Process of Election is same as that of President.
• Election is held according to the Proportional Representation by means of single transferable vote and voting is by secret ballot.
• Voters rank the candidates, assigning 1 to their first preference, 2 to their second preference, and so on.
• The number of votes required by a candidate to secure the election is calculated by dividing the total number of valid cast votes by two, and adding one to the quotient by disregarding any remainder.
• If no candidate obtains the required number of first-preference votes, the candidate with the least number of first-preference votes is eliminated and his/her second-preference votes are transferred.
• The process is repeated until a candidate obtains the requisite number of votes.
• The Candidate who acquires the required amount of Quota of Votes is declared winner.

Election Disputes

• • • All doubts and disputes of election of Vice President are enquired and decided by Supreme Court whose decision is final.
    • The election of a person as Vice-President cannot be challenged on the ground that the Electoral College was incomplete.
    • If the election of a person as a Vice President is declared Void by Supreme Court, Acts done by him before the date of declaration remains valid.

Oath of Vice President

• Oath is administered by President or a person appointed on his behalf by him.
• Before entering the office, the Vice President subscribe to an oath in which he swears –
  • 1. To bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India.
    2. To faithfully discharge the duties of his office.

Conditions of Office

• The Constitution lays down the following conditions of the Vice President’s office –
  • 1. He should not be a member of either House of Parliament or a House of the state legislature. If any such person is elected Vice-President, he must vacated his seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his office as Vice-President.
    2. He should not hold any other office of profit.

Term of Office

• Tenure – 5 years from the date of entering the office.
• He can hold office beyond his term of 5 years until his successor assumes the charge.
• He is also eligible for re-election and can be elected any no. of times.
• He can resign from his office at any time by addressing the resignation letter to President.
• Can also be removed before the completion of his term.
• A formal impeachment is not required for his removal. He can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an absolute majority (i.e., a majority of the total members of the House) and agreed by the Lok Sabha with simple majority.
• But, no such resolution can be moved unless at least 14 days’ advance notice has been given.

Vacancy in Office of Vice President

• A vacancy in the Vice-President’s office can occur in any of the following ways –
  • 1. On the expiry of his tenure of five years.
    2. By his resignation.
    3. On his removal.
    4. By his death.
    5. Otherwise, for example, when he becomes disqualified to hold office or when his election is declared void.
• When vacancy arises due to expiration of his tenure, an election must be held before the expiration of his term.
• If the office is vacant due to the resignation, removal, and death or otherwise, the election should held as soon as possible after occurrence of the vacancy. The newly elected Vice President remains for full tenure of 5 years.

Powers and Functions of Vice President

• He acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. In this capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of the Speaker of Lok Sabha.
• He acts as President when a vacancy occurs in the office of the President due to his resignation, removal, and death or otherwise. He can act as President only for maximum period of 6 months within which new President has to be elected.
• When the sitting President is unable to discharge his functions due to absence, illness or any other cause, the Vice-President discharges his functions until the President resumes his office.
• When Vice President acts as a President he does not perform the Duties of Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

So, this was all about Vice President of India and His Qualification, Election Process, Term and Powers and Functions.

In the Next Post (Click Here), we will discuss about the Prime Minister of India and his functions.