COI-UNIT2 (1).pdf

CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
UNIT 2
Prem Malhotra, AEC Agra

Powers of Indian Parliament &
Functions of Rajya Sabha
• The Rajya Sabha, i.e., the Council of States, is
the Upper House of the Union Parliament. It
gives representation to the States of the
Indian. However, the states do not enjoy an
equal representation in the Rajya Sabha.
These have been given representations on the
basis of the size of their populations.

Composition of the Rajya Sabha
• The Rajya Sabha can have a maximum strength of 250
members; out of these 238 are to be the representatives of
the States and remaining 12 members are to be nominated
by the President from amongst persons who have achieved
distinctions in the fields of art, literature, science or social
services.
• At present, the Rajya Sabha has 245 members 233 elected
and 12 nominated. Members of each State Legislative
Assembly, together elect their allotted number of MPs for
Rajya Sabha. The President nominates 12 MPs of Rajya
Sabha. Odisha has 10 seats in the Rajya House.

Method of Election:
• The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly
by the people. The people of each state elect the
members of their state legislative assembly who then
elect the members of Rajya Sabha by a method of
proportional representation—single transferable vote
system. Each State Legislative Assembly elects as many
representatives as have been allocated to it by the
Constitution. Odisha Legislative Assembly has 147
MLAs who together elect 12 members of Rajya Sabha.

Qualifications for the membership of Rajya Sabha:
• He must be a citizen of India.
• He must be above the age of 30 years.
• He must possess all other qualifications as laid down by the
Parliament.
• He must not hold any office of profit under any government.
• He should not be an insane or a bankrupt.
• He should not have been disqualified under any law of the
Parliament.
• Now any person residing in any part of India can contest election to
the Rajya Sabha from any state. For this purpose residence of the
concerned state is not essential.

Tenure:
• The Rajya Sabha is a quasi-permanent House. It is not subject to
dissolution as a whole. One third of its members retire after every
two years and elections are held only for the vacant seats. The
tenure of each member of the Rajya Sabha is six years.
Sessions:
• The President convenes the sessions of the Rajya Sabha usually
along with the sessions of the Lok Sabha or whenever he feels it
necessary. However, there cannot be a gap of more than six months
within the two sessions of the Rajya Sabha. The President can call a
special session of Rajya Sabha for getting approved an emergency
declaration at a time when Lok Sabha stands dissolved.

Quorum for the Meetings of Rajya Sabha:
• The quorum for the meetings of Rajya Sabha is 1/10th of its
members. It means that at least 1/10th of the members of the
Rajya Sabha must be present for carrying out the work of the
House.
Privileges of Members:
• The members of the Rajya Sabha enjoy several privileges. They
enjoy unrestricted freedom to express their views in the House. No
action can be taken against them for anything said by them in the
House. They cannot be arrested for any civil offence during, and 40
days before and after the session of the Rajya Sabha. For protecting
the privileges of the members of the House, the Committee on
Privileges has been in existence since the inception of the Rajya
Sabha.

Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya
Sabha:
• The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. He is not a member
of the House. However, he presides over its
meetings and conducts its proceedings. During
the absence of the Vice-President, the Deputy
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha presides over the
meetings. The Deputy Chairman is elected by the
Rajya Sabha MPs from amongst themselves.

Powers and Functions of the Rajya
Sabha:
1. Legislative Powers:
• In the sphere of ordinary law-making the Rajya Sabha
enjoys equal powers with the Lok Sabha. An ordinary bill
can be introduced in the Rajya Sabha and it cannot become
a law unless passed by it. In case of a deadlock between the
two Houses of Parliament over an ordinary bill and if it
remains unresolved for six months, the President can
convene a joint sitting of the two Houses for resolving the
deadlock.
• This joint sitting is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok
Sabha. If the bill is passed in the joint sitting, it is sent to
the President for his signatures. But if the deadlock is not
resolved, the bill is deemed to have been killed.

2. Financial Powers:
• In the financial sphere, the Rajya Sabha is a weak
House. A money bill cannot be introduced in the Rajya
Sabha. It can be initiated only in the Lok Sabha. A
money bill passed by the Lok Sabha comes before the
Rajya Sabha for its consideration. However, if within a
period of 14 days, the Rajya Sabha fails to pass the bill,
the bill is taken to have been passed by the Parliament
irrespective of the fact whether the Rajya Sabha has
passed it or not. If the Rajya Sabha proposes some
amendments and the bill is returned to the Lok Sabha,
it depends upon the Lok Sabha to accept or reject the
proposed amendments.
Powers and Functions of the Rajya Sabha:

3. Executive Powers:
• “The Union Council of Ministers is collectively responsible
before the Lok Sabha and not the Rajya Sabha.” Lok Sabha
alone can cause the fall of the Council of Ministers by
passing a vote of no-confidence.
• Although the Rajya Sabha cannot remove the Ministry from
its office yet the members of the Rajya Sabha can exercise
some control over the ministers by criticising their policies,
by asking questions and supplementary questions, and by
moving adjournment motions. Some of the ministers are
also taken from the Rajya Sabha. Now the Prime Minister
can also be from Rajya Sabha if the majority party in the
Lok Sabha may elect/adopt him as its leader.
Sabha:

4. Amendment Powers:
• Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha can together amend the
constitution by passing an amendment bill with 2/3
majority in each House.
5. Electoral Powers:
• The Rajya Sabha has some electoral powers also. The
elected members of the Rajya Sabha along with the elected
members of the Lok Sabha and all the State Legislative
Assemblies together elect the President of India. The
members of the Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha together elect the
Vice- President of India. Members of the Rajya Sabha also
elect a Deputy Chairman from amongst themselves.
Sabha:

6. Judicial Powers:
• (a) The Rajya Sabha acting along with the Lok Sabha can
impeach the President on charges of violation of the
Constitution.
• (b) The Rajya Sabha can also pass a special address for
causing the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court or of
any High Court.
• (c) The charges against the Vice-President can be leveled
only in the Rajya Sabha.
• (d) The Rajya Sabha can pass a resolution for the removal of
some high officers like the Attorney General of India,
Comptroller and Auditor General and Chief Election
Commissioner.
Sabha:

7. Miscellaneous Powers:
• The Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha jointly perform the
following functions:
• (a) Approval of the ordinances issued by the President,
• (b) Ratification of an emergency proclamation,
• (c) Making any change in the jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court and the High Courts, and
• (d) Making any change in the qualifications for the
membership of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Sabha:

8. Two Special Powers of Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha enjoys two
exclusive powers:
(i) The Power to declare a subject of State List as a subject of
National Importance:
• The Rajya Sabha can pass a resolution by 2/3rd majority of its
members for declaring a State List subject as a subject of national
importance. Such a resolution empowers the Union Parliament to
legislate on such a state subject for a period of one year. Such
resolutions can be repeatedly passed by the Rajya Sabha.
(ii) Power in respect of Creation or Abolition of an All India Service:
• The Rajya Sabha has the power to create one or more new All India
Services. It can do so by passing a resolution supported by 2/3rd
majority on the plea of national interest. In a similar way, the Rajya
Sabha can disband an existing All India Service.
Sabha:

Position of the Rajya Sabha:
• A study of the powers of the Rajya Sabha leads us to
the conclusion that it is neither a very weak house like
the British House of Lords nor a very powerful house as
the American Senate. Its position is somewhat mid-way
between the two. It has been less powerful than Lok
Sabha but it has been not a very weak or insignificant
House. Since 1950, the Rajya Sabha has been using its
powers and functions in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution and performing its due
role as the second House of Union Parliament.
Sabha:

Functions of Lok Sabha
• The important functions of the Lok Sabha are:
• 1) Legislative Function: The primary function of Parliament is a law making
function.
• Lok Sabha plays an important part. It can pass bills concerning to all those subject
which have been included in Union and Concurrent list.
• No bill can become law unless it has been passed by Lok Sabha.
• In case of any disagreement between the two Houses, the will of Lok Sabha will
prevail in joint sitting with the Rajya Sabha because Lok Sabha has more members
than Rajya Sabha.
• 2) Financial Power: The power of control over the finances by the Lok Sabha is
powerful.
• The money bill has to be introduced in the Lok Sabha first, and when passed by
the Lok Sabha it is to be transmitted to Rajya Sabha for the recommendation.
• It is upon the Lok Sabha to accept or not to accepts the recommendations. The Lok
Sabah alone has the exclusive power of sanctioning all government expenditures.

• 3) Executive Control: Article 75(3) of the Constitution
provides that ' Council of Ministers are collectively
responsible to the Lok Sabha.' Thus, the Government is
accountable to the Lok Sabha for its acts
• . It is only the Lok Sabha which can pass a no-
confidence vote against the Council of Ministers and
force them to resign.
• 4) Electoral Function: The Lok Sabha members are part
of the electoral college for the election of President.
The members of Lok Sabha also elect the Vice-
President. It elects the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

• Discussions on Questions of Public Importance:
• The Parliament possesses unlimited power of
discussing and debating questions. This is done
usually on the occasion of the inaugural and
annual address by the President of India. It is
empowered to review and criticize the work of
the different departments of state during the
discussion on the estimates of expenditure, the
appropriation and revenue bills. Through such
criticism and review, the members of House can
get their grievances redressed.

• 6. Miscellaneous Powers:
• (i) The Lok Sabha together with the Rajya Sabha possesses the
power of amending the Constitution.
• (ii) The Lok Sabha along with the Rajya Sabha, has the power to
move for the removal of judges of the Supreme Court and the High
Court’s on the ground of proved misbehavior and incapacity by an
address supported by a 2/3rd majority of the members present and
voting and also majority of their total membership in each House.
• (iii) The Lok Sabha participates in the impeachment of the President
of India. Either of the two Houses of the Parliament frames the
charges and the other House sits as a Court of trial.
• (iv) The resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha for the removal of the
Vice- President is subject to ratification by the Lok Sabha as well.

• (v) Proclamation of emergency issued by the President Needs
approval of Lok Sabha along with Rajya Sabha for its continuance.
• (vi) The Lok Sabha, in collaboration with the Rajya Sabha, must
devise the system of effectively controlling the official bureaucracy
by jealously maintaining its purity and the high standard of its
ability and by making it more responsible to the people at large.
• (vii) The House serves as a public forum. “The potential virtue of a
public forum is two-fold. First, it can benefit the spectators who
may learn by watching. Second, it can improve the participants who
may have at best to find reasons with which to clothe the interests
they represent.” The House, in fact, is the mirror and educator of
popular feeling. The impact of Parliament is more than political. The
habit of orderly discussion, once established, helps to set the tone
of public life in general.

Powers and
Functions of the President
EXECUTIVE POWERS OF PRESIDENT
• (1) Head of the Union Administration: All executive
orders are issued in the name of the President.
• (2) Appointments of officials of the State: The
President makes appointments to the key posts to run
the government's administration. He appoints the
Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Chief
Justice and the Judges of Supreme Court and the High
Courts, the Governors of the States, Attorney General
of India, Comptroller and Auditor General, Chairman
and members of the UPSC, Chairman and members of
the Planning Commission.

DESCRIBE EMERGENCY AND ITS THREE TYPES
• An Emergency is ''a sudden unforeseen
situation demanding immediate action.'' It is a
situation in which the Head of the State
(President) assumes extraordinary powers.
Three types of emergency are national
emergency, state emergency and financial
emergency.
Powers and

LIMITATIONS OF PRESIDENT
• The President of India has limitations on his
executive powers due to the Council of
Ministers. Likewise, the Parliament also exerts
certain limitations on the powers of the
President. One such limitation is the approval
of all proclamations of Emergency by the
Parliament. If the Parliament does not
approve them, they become null and void.
Powers and

LEGISLATIVE POWERS OF PRESIDENT
• The President addresses the Sessions of the
Parliament. The President has the power to address
either House of Parliament at any time.
• He can send messages to either House of the
Parliament. He summons and prorogue the Houses.
• He can dissolve the Lok Sabha and order fresh
elections. He nominates 12 members to the Rajya
Sabha.
• No Bill can become a law without the assent and the
signature of the President. Under Article 123, the
President can promulgate an Ordinance.
Powers and

• A national emergency is imposed whereby there
is a grave threat to the security of India or any of
its territories due to war, external aggression or
armed rebellion. Such emergency shall be
imposed by the president on the basis of written
request by the council of ministers headed by the
Prime Minister.
• National emergency has been imposed thrice in
the country- in 1962 at time of Chinese
aggression, in 1971 during the Indo-Pak war, in
1975 on the grounds of internal disturbances.
Powers and

PRESIDENT'S POSITION
• All executive power of the Union is vested in
the President and is exercised by him directly
or through officers subordinate to him. The
President has the right to be informed on all
important matters and decisions. He can use
his discretion in the appointment of the Prime
Minister especially when no party gets a clear
majority.
Powers and

• DIPLOMATIC POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
• India is represented on International forum by
the President of India. He sends and receives
ambassadors. All international treaties and
agreements are concluded on behalf of the
President subject to ratification by the
parliament.
Powers and

BREAKDOWN OF CONSTITUTIONAL EMERGENCY
• Article 256 talks about the failure of constitutional
machinery in state also known as the Presidents rule.
• If the president on Governors report or otherwise is
satisfied that the situation has arisen that the government
cant be carried in accordance with the constitutional
provisions then, he may issue State emergency.
• President can declare emergency either by the report of
Governor or he himself is satisfied that the situation is such
that the emergency has to be imposed. During the state
emergency the Union government has absolute control
over the state except the judiciary.
Powers and

FINANCIAL POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
• No money bill can be introduced in the
Parliament without the assent of the President.
• The ''Annual'' Budget of the Central Government
is presented before the Lok Sabha by the Union
Finance Minister only with the permission of the
President.
• The Contingency Fund of India is at the disposal
of the President. He can make advances out of it
to meet unforeseen expenditure before the same
is approved by the Parliament.
Powers and

FINANCIAL EMERGENCY
• The President under Article 360 of the constitution has
the power to declare financial emergency if he is
satisfied that the financial stability or the credit of India
or any part of its territory is threatened.
• It has to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament
and ceases to operate at the expiration of two months
unless meanwhile approved by the resolution of
Houses.
• The President can reduce the salaries and
allowances of all or any class of persons, including the
judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
Powers and

MILITARY POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
• Article 53 vests the supreme command of the
Armed Forces of India in the President.
• President of India can declare war or conclude
peace, under the regulation by the
parliament.
Powers and

JUDICIAL POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
• The President is not answerable to any court of law for the exercise of his
powers. He can pardon or remit or suspend a sentence of punishment
given by the court martial or a sentence of death passed by a court.
DISCRETIONARY POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
• The President of India enjoys certain discretionary powers such as:
i) Appointing the New Prime Minister in case of death of the PM in office
or in case of hung Parliament.
•
ii) When PM or any Minister loses the 'No Confidence Motion', its up to his
discretion to dissolve the Lower house or to look in to the alternative
government farming while life of Lok Sabha is intact.
•
iii) The President can dismiss Ministers in case the Council of Ministers
loses the confidence of the House but refuses to resign.
Powers and

EMERGENCY POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
• It is a situation in which the Head of the State
(President) assumes extraordinary powers.
• The President of India can proclaim a state of
emergency in the following cases:
National or general emergency, breakdown of
Constitutional machinery, financial
emergency.
Powers and

Comparison of Indian President with
the United States
Manner of election
• US president is more or less directly elected
whereas the Indian president is indirectly
elected.
• The advantage of the directly elected head of
the government is the stability of the
government. Unlike Indian Prime Minister
American President is not overpowered by the
“compulsions of coalition politics”

the United States
Head of the State
• The US President is both the Head of the State
and Head of the Government, whereas the
Indian president is only the head of the State.
• President of the US is the real executive.
Indian President like the British monarch is
only a titular head.

the United States
Term of office
• American President holds the office for 4
years and he can seek re-election only once.
• while the Indian president holds the office
for 5 years and is eligible for re-election any
number of times.

the United States
Responsibility to Legislature
• The US president is not part of any legislature
and is not responsible to the legislatures.
• In India, the Parliament includes the
President and the two houses- Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha.

the United States
Removal process
• Both the American and Indian Presidents can only
be removed from the office
through impeachment.
• In India either house can initiate impeachment
proceedings against the president and with the
concurrence of the other house can impeach the
President. In US the power to impeach solely lies
with the Senate (upper house).

the United States
Emergency powers
• Indian President wields huge powers during emergency
situations. He can proclaim both external and internal
emergencies.
• Indian President can declare emergency in a state, dissolve
state legislature and dismiss the state council of ministers.
• During financial emergency, he has the power to reduce the
salaries of all the government officials including that of the
Supreme Court and High Court judges. He has a formidable
list of executive, financial and legislative powers which he
can exercise on the advice of the cabinet during emergency.

the United States
Independence of office
• The Indian President needs to act as per the advice of the
Council of Ministers (CoM) while discharging his duties. The
CoM takes all the decisions pertaining to the affairs of the
country and executes them under the President’s name.
• In the US, the members of the cabinet are not members of
the Congress and are not responsible to it. The cabinet
members are appointed by the President and they are
liable to be dismissed by the President. The American
President has the power to determine the policy of his
government independently without any external
interference.

the United States
Veto power
• Indian President has comparatively lesser veto
power than the President of US. The President of
US can veto a bill passed by the Congress. He
needs to sign the bill if it is once again passed
by two-thirds majority of both the houses.
• The Indian President on the other hand can send
the bill for reconsideration only once. If the bill is
passed again even by a simple majority in the
Parliament he is obliged to sign the bill.

the United States
Pocket veto
• US President can exercise his pocket veto power by not
signing the bill for 10 days if he knows the session of the
congress will end within 10 days. In such cases the bill dies.
• Indian President can keep the bill for indefinite period as
there is no constitutionally prescribed time limit to give his
assent. The President can use his pocket veto if the fall of
the government appears imminent. However, he has to act
as per the advice of the new government and cannot take
his own decision if the current government falls. Pocket
veto was first exercised by the President Giani Zail Singh
with respect to the Indian Postal Bill which was passed by
the Rajiv Gandhi government. Subsequently, the new
government withdrew the bill in 1989.

the United States
State bills
• Certain state bills need the previous consent
of the president and he possess absolute veto
power with respect to some types of state
bills. The US President does not have such
powers.

the United States
Dissolving the legislature
• The Indian President can dissolve the
Parliament.
• while the US President does not have such
powers.

the United States
• The American President is elected by the people while
the, Indian President is elected by the elected
members of the Parliament.
• This fact enhances the position of the American
President, for he is chosen by a popular vote.
• The Constitution of India has not separated legislative
and executive powers as the American Constitution has
vested all executive powers in the President. Instead,
the Indian Constitution has set up Parliamentary
system in which all executive powers are to be
exercised by a Council of Ministers, which is
responsible “to Parliament

the United States
• The American President chooses his own
Ministers. They are his nominees and are
responsible to him alone.
• The Indian President appoints his ministers on
the` advice of his Prime Minister and they are
responsible not to him but to Parliament. The
same is true about all other important
appointments made by him. Moreover the
American President is not responsible to the
Congress for whatever he does.

What is the difference between Indian President and American
President?
SUMMARY
Indian President
• 1. He is only a figurehead. The real executive power is vested in
the Prime Minister.
• 2. He appoints Prime Minister, leader of the majority. Only the
advice of the Prime Minister, he appoints other ministers. In
appointing the Ministers, he has been no choice, discretion.
• 3. He is bound to follow the advice of the cabinet.
• 4. The Cabinet makes the laws. The assent of the President is
necessary. If he does not lie any bill, he may refuse to sign it, and
send it for the reconsideration. After reconsideration, if the Bill is
again pre-sented for the assent of the President, he has been no
right to withhold his assent.

President?
SUMMARY
• 5. He has been no vote power.
• 6. He can dissolve the Loka Sabha only the advice of the Cabinet.
• 7. The term is 5 years.
• 8. Immunity: No criminal cases can be instituted against the President.
Civil proceedings can be instituted against President, after giving a
statutory notice u/s 80 of Civil Procedure Code. There is no immunity to
civil proceedings.
• 9. He is elected by indirect election by a special process known as
“Electoral College”.
• 10. Our President represents Parliamentary Democracy.
• 11. He is not too strong not too weak. A balanced position is given to
him.
• 12. The President of India possesses the equal characteristics of the King
of Britain.
• 13. If the Bill is defeated, the Council of Ministers should resign.

President?
SUMMARY
• 14. No Spoils system: in India there is no such
system. Our President has been no power to
appoint Administartive services of his choice.
There is a separate of “Union Public Service”
to appoint the Administrative Officers.
• 15. A person may be re-elected for many
times.

President?
SUMMARY
American President
• 1. He is real head of the executive.
• 2. The members of the cabinet are nominated by the
President. Then they are called secretaries, not Ministers.
• 3. He is not bound to follow the advice of the cabinet. The
President is Boss and Secretaries are his subordinates.
• 4. Doctrine of Separation of Powers strictly applied in
America. The President is not a member of legislature. It is
the duty of the Congress to make the laws.
• 5. He has been veto power.

President?
SUMMARY
• 6. He cannot dissolve Legislature.
• 7. The term is four years.
• 8. Immunity: there is no such immunity to American
President, either civil or criminal proceedings. E.g.
Water Gate case against Nixon, Monica’s case against
Bill Clinton, etc.
• 9. As a principle he is elected only direct election
basis. But practically, he is elected by direct elections.
• 10. American President represents Presidential
Democracy.
• 11. He is very strong.

President?
SUMMARY
• 12. The President of America combines in himself the
functions of the King and the Prime Minister of
England.
• 13. If the Bill is defeated, neither the President nor
the Congress should resign.
• 14. Spoils system: the American President can appoint
20% of the Administrative services of his own choice.
• 15. A person cannot function for more than two
terms.

Powers and Functions of the Prime
Minister
Formation of the Council of Ministers:
• The task of formation of the ministry begins with the
appointment of the Prime Minister by the President. After
the appointment of Prime Minister, the President appoints
all other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister.
• The PM determines the strength of his ministry and selects
his team of ministers. However this number cannot be
more than 15% of the total membership of the Lok Sabha.
• Normally, most of the ministers are drawn from Lok Sabha.
Prime Minister decides who amongst them shall be the
Cabinet Minister and who will be Minister of State or a
Deputy Minister. He can, if he so desires, even have one or
two Deputy Prime Ministers in his Council of Ministers.

2. Allocation of Portfolios:
• It is an undisputed privilege of the Prime Minister to
allocate portfolios to his ministers. Which particular
department is to be given to which minister is
determined by him. Any minister objecting to such an
allotment invites the wrath of the Prime Minister and
can get completely ignored from the ministry.
3.Change of Portfolios:
• The Prime Minister has the power to change the
departments (portfolios) of the ministers at any time. It
is his privilege to shuffle and re-shuffle his ministry any
time and as many times as he may like.
Minister

4. Chairman of the Cabinet:
• The Prime Minister is the leader of the Cabinet. He presides over its
meetings. He decides the agenda of its meetings. In fact all matters
in the Cabinet are decided with the approval and consent of the
Prime Minister. It is up to him to accept or reject proposals for
discussions in the Cabinet. All ministers conform to his views and
policies. There is scope for deliberations and discussions but not for
opposition.
5. Removal of Ministers:
• The Prime Minister can demand resignation from any minister at
any time, and the latter has to accept the wishes of the former.
However, if any minister may fail to resign, the Prime Minister can
get him dismissed from the President. In April 2010 Mr. Shashi
Throor had to submit his resignation because PM Manmohan Singh
had asked him to do so.
Minister

6. Chief Link between the President and the Cabinet:
• The Prime Minister is the main channel of communication between
the President and the Cabinet. He communicates to the President
all decisions of the Cabinet, and puts before the Cabinet the views
of the President. This is the sole privilege of the Prime Minister and
no other minister can, of his own convey the decisions or reveal to
the President the nature or summary of the issues discussed in the
Cabinet.
7. Chief Coordinator:
• The Prime Minister acts as the general manager of the state and the
chief coordinator. It is his responsibility to co-ordinate the activities
of all the departments and to secure co-operation amongst all
government departments. He resolves all differences, among the
ministers.
Minister

8. Leader of the Parliament:
• As the leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister is also
the leader of the Parliament. In this capacity, it is the PM who, in
consultation with the Speaker of this Lok Sabha, decides the agenda of the
House. The summoning and the proroguing of Parliament is in fact
decided by him and the President only acts upon his advice.
9. Power to get the Parliament Dissolved:
• The Prime Minister has the power to advise the President in favour of a
dissolution of the Lok Sabha. This power of dissolution really means that
the members hold their seats in the House at the mercy of the Prime
Minister.
• No member likes to contest frequent elections as these involve huge
expenditures and uncertainties. It has been rightly remarked that this is
such an important weapon in the hands of the Prime Minister that it binds
his party men, and even the members of opposition.
Minister

10. Director of Foreign Affairs:
• As the powerful and real head of the government, the Prime
Minister always plays a key role in determining Indian foreign policy
and relations with other countries. He may or may not hold the
portfolio of foreign affairs but he always influences all foreign policy
decisions.
11. Role as the Leader of the Nation:
• Besides being the leader of his party and the Lok Sabha, Prime
Minister is also the leader of the nation. General elections are
fought in his name. We know that it was the charismatic and
charming personality of Pt. Nehru that used to sweep popular votes
in favour of the Congress party. The personality of the Prime
Minister and the respect and love, that he commands act as a
source of strength for his party as well as the nation. He leads the
nation both in times of peace and war.
Minister

12. Power of Patronage:
• All important appointments are really made by the Prime Minister. These
appointments include Governors, Attorney-General, Auditor General,
Members and Chairman of Public Service Commission, Ambassadors,
Consular etc. All high ranking appointments and promotions are made by
the President with the advice of the Prime Minister.
13. Role of Prime Minister during an Emergency:
• The emergency powers of the President are in reality the powers of the
Prime Minister. The President declares an emergency only under the
advice of the Cabinet, which in reality means the advice of the Prime
Minister. All decisions taken to meet an emergency are really the decisions
of the Prime Minister.
• The Prime Minister can get the imposition of President’s rule in a State.
The Presidential decision in favour of imposing an emergency in a state is
always governed by the decision of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.
Minister

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013
• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, commonly
known as The Lokpal Act, is an anti-corruption Act
of Indian Parliament in India which "seeks to
provide for the establishment of the institution
of Lokpal to inquire into allegations of corruption
against certain important public functionaries
including the Prime Minister, cabinet
ministers, members of parliament, Group A
officials of the Central Government and for matters
connecting them".

• The Bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011
and was passed by the House on 27 December as The
Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011.
• It was subsequently tabled in the Rajya Sabha on 29
December. After a marathon debate that stretched until
midnight of the following day, the vote failed to take place
for lack of time.
• On 21 May 2012, it was referred to a Select Committee of
the Rajya Sabha for consideration. It was passed in the
Rajya Sabha on 17 December 2013 after making certain
amendments to the earlier Bill and in the Lok Sabha the
next day. It received assent from President Pranab
Mukherjee on 1 January 2014 and came into force from 16
January.

• Retired Supreme Court judge Pinaki Chandra
Ghose was appointed as the first Lokpal of
India by a committee consisting of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice of
India Ranjan Gogoi and Loksabha
speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Eminent
Jurist Mukul Rohatgi on 17 March 2019.

Appointment of Governor
• Qualification for appointment as governor (Article 157) –
• The constitution has laid down following qualifications to be appointed as
Governor:
• • No person shall be eligible to be appointed as Governor unless he is
citizen of India
• • He should have completed the age of 35 years.
• • He should be such a person who is outside the state so as to not indulge
in local politics
• • When the same person is appointed as governor for 2 or more states,
the emoluments and allowances payable to the Governor shall be
allocated among the states in such a manner as the President by order
determine.
Powers and
Functions of the Governor

Powers and
Powers of Governor
• The Governor of the state shall possess executive,
legislative, financial and judicial powers. But he does
not possess diplomatic, military or emergency powers
which President of India has.
• The powers and functions of Governor can be classified
under following heads:
• 1. Executive powers
• 2. Legislative powers
• 3. Financial powers
• 4. Judicial powers

Powers and
Executive Powers
The executive powers refer to those powers which are exercised by
the council of ministers in the name of Governor. Hence Governor is
only nominal head and council of ministers is the real executive.
• The following posts are appointed by Governor and hold office
during his term:
• Chief Minister of the state,
• other ministers of the state on the advice of Chief Minister,
Advocate General.
• He can recommend the imposition of constitutional emergency in a
state to the President.
• During the period of President’s rule in a state, the governor enjoys
extensive executive powers as an agent of the President.

Powers and
Legislative Powers:
• This power of Governor can be classified further in to 2 sub
groups i.e. wrt to bills and wrt legislature.
With Respect to Bills
• When a bill other than money bill is presented before
Governor for his assent, he either gives assent to the bill,
with hold his assent to the bill, return the bill for
reconsideration of houses, but if the bill is passed again by
state legislature with or without amendments, he has to
give his assent or reserve the bill for consideration of
President.
• However, the Governor also cannot send money bill back
for reconsideration

Powers and
With Respect to Legislature:
• He has the power to summon, prorogue the
state legislature and can also dissolve the
legislative assembly when it loses the
confidence (art 176).

Powers and
Financial Powers
• He lays before the legislature annual financial statement
(state budget)
• Money bill can only be introduced in state legislature on
his prior recommendation
• No demand for grant can be made except on his
recommendation
• Money from contingency fund can be withdrawn after his
recommendation for meeting the unforeseen expenditures
• He constitutes finance commission for every 5 years to
review the financial situation of municipality and
panchayats.

Powers and
Judicial Powers –
• President consults the Governor of the concerned state while
making appointment to the judges of State High Court.
Pardoning powers-
• He has the below pardoning powers against any offences to which
state power extends.
• Pardon- completely absolve the offender
• Reprieve- stay on execution of sentence
• Respite-awarding lesser punishment in some special circumstances
• Remission- reduction of sentence without changing the character
• Commutation-substitution of one form with other

Powers and functions of the Chief
Minister
Powers and functions of the Chief Minister
• The powers and functions of CM can be classified under following
heads:
With respect to council of ministers –
• The following are the powers of CM with respect to state council of
ministers –
• 1). He advises the Governor to appoint any person as a minister. It is
only according to the advice of CM the Governor appoints ministers.
• 2). Allocation and reshuffling of portfolios among ministers.
• 3). In case of difference of opinion; he can ask minister to resign.
• 4). Directs, guides and controls activities of all the ministers.
• 5). If the Chief Minister resign then full cabinet has to resign.

With Respect to Governor -
• Under Article 167 of our constitution: The Chief Minister acts as a
link between Governor and state council of ministers. The functions
with respect to the Governor are as follows:
• 1). CM has to communicate to the Governor all the decisions of the
council of ministers relating to the administration of the states.
• 2). Whenever the Governor calls for any information relating to the
decisions taken or regarding the administration, the CM has to
provide him the same
• 3). The Governor can ask for consideration of council of ministers
when a decision has been taken without the consideration of the
cabinet.
• 4). CM advises Governor regarding the appointment of important
officials like Attorney General, State Public Service Commission
(Chairman and Members), State Election Commission etc.
Minister

With Respect to State Legislature –
1) All the policies are announced by him on the
floor of the house.
2) He recommends dissolution of legislative
assembly to the Governor.
3) He advises the Governor regarding
summoning, proroguing the sessions of
State Legislative Assembly from time to time.
Minister

Other Functions
• 1) At the ground level he is the authority to be in
contact with the people regularly and know
about their problems so as to bring about policies
on the floor of the assembly.
• 2) He acts as the chairman of State Planning
Commission.
• 3) He is the vice chairman of concerned zonal
council in rotation for a period of one year.
• 4) During emergencies he acts as the crisis
manager in the state.
Minister

Functions of State Legislature
Legislative Functions:
• The Assembly has the sole right to legislate.
• All the laws must be passed by it. Where there is a
bicameral legislature, the ordinary Bills can be introduced
in any of the Houses.
• A Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly is sent to the
Legislative Council which has to pass it or to return it with
recommendations to the Legislative Assembly.
• If the Legislative Assembly passes that Bill once again either
with recommendations of the Council or without those, it
shall be deemed to have been passed by both the Houses.
As regards, Money Bills, these can be introduced only in the
Legislative Assembly

• After the Assembly passes the Money Bill, it goes to
the Legislative Council which has to pass it or return
the Bill to the Assembly with its recommendations
within 14 days of the receipt of the Bill.
• Even if the Assembly rejects the recommendations of
the Council, it will be deemed to have been passed by
both the Houses.
• Once the Bill is passed by the Legislature, it is sent to
the Governor for his/her assent. He/She cannot
withhold the assent on the Money Bill but can send
back an ordinary bill for reconsideration or can reserve
any of the bills for consideration by the President.

Control over the Executive:
• The State Legislature keeps control over the
executive.
• The Council of Ministers is responsible for Vidhan
Sabha collectively.
• It remains in the office so long as it enjoys the
confidence of the House.
• The Council of Ministers is removed if the Vidhan
Sabha adopts a motion of no-confidence against
it.

Electoral Functions:
• The elected members of the Legislative Assembly
are members of the Electoral College for the
election of the President of India.
• The members of the Vidhan Sabha also elect the
members of the Rajya Sabha from their
respective States. Moreover, they elect one-third
members of the Legislative Council of their own
State.

Functions related to Constitutional Amendments:
• There are important functions of the State
Legislature related to the amendment of the
Constitution.
• A constitutional amendment requires the support
of a special majority of each House of the
Parliament as well as ratification by not less than
half of the States where the State Legislatures
ratify the amendments.

Functions of High Court
High Court Jurisdiction
• The various kinds of the jurisdiction of the High Court are briefly given
below:
Original Jurisdiction
• The High Courts of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras have original jurisdiction
in criminal and civil cases arising within these cities.
• An exclusive right enjoyed by these High Courts is that they are entitled to
hear civil cases which involve property worth over Rs.20000.
• Regarding Fundamental Rights: They are empowered to issue writs in
order to enforce fundamental rights.
• With respect to other cases: All High Courts have original jurisdiction in
cases that are related to will, divorce, contempt of court and admiralty.
• Election petitions can be heard by the High Courts.

Appellate Jurisdiction
• In civil cases: an appeal can be made to the High Court against a
district court’s decision.
• An appeal can also be made from the subordinate court directly if
the dispute involves a value higher than Rs. 5000/- or on a question
of fact or law.
• In criminal cases: it extends to cases decided by Sessions and
Additional Sessions Judges.
– If the sessions judge has awarded imprisonment for 7 years or more.
– If the sessions judge has awarded capital punishment.
• The jurisdiction of the High Court extends to all cases under the
State or federal laws.
• In constitutional cases: if the High Court certifies that a case
involves a substantial question of law.

As a Court of Record
• High Courts are also Courts of Record (like the Supreme Court).
• The records of the judgements of the High Courts can be used by subordinate
courts for deciding cases.
• All High Courts have the power to punish all cases of contempt by any person or
institution.
Administrative Powers
• It superintends and controls all the subordinate courts.
• It can ask for details of proceedings from subordinate courts.
• It issues rules regarding the working of the subordinate courts.
• It can transfer any case from one court to another and can also transfer the case to
itself and decide the same.
• It can enquire into the records or other connected documents of any subordinate
court.
• It can appoint its administration staff and determine their salaries and allowances,
and conditions of service.

Power of Judicial Review
• High Courts have the power of judicial review.
They have the power to declare any law or
ordinance unconstitutional if it is found to be
against the Indian Constitution.
Power of Certification
• A High Court alone can certify the cases fit for
appeal before the Supreme Court.

Judicial Review
• Judicial review, power of the courts of a
country to examine the actions of the
legislative, executive, and administrative arms
of the government and to determine whether
such actions are consistent with the
constitution. Actions judged inconsistent are
declared unconstitutional and, therefore, null
and void.

• The power of Judicial Review is incorporated
in Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution
insofar as the High Courts are concerned. In
regard to the Supreme Court Articles 32 and
136 of the Constitution, the judiciary in India
has come to control by judicial review every
aspect of governmental and public functions
Judicial Review

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