Which one of the following powers has not been conferred on the President of India?
- (a)Appointment of Prime Minister
- (b)To decide at his/her discretion any question regarding disqualification of a Member of the Parliament
- (c)To grant pardon to a person who has been punished by a court-martial
- (d)To remove a Judge of the High Court
Correct — B, To decide at his/her discretion any question regarding disqualification of a Member of the Parliament. Article 103 does put the question of an MP's disqualification before the President, but the same article requires him to obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and to act according to that opinion. The decision is his in form and the Commission's in substance, so the words 'at his/her discretion' are what make the option wrong. Each of the other three is a power the Constitution genuinely confers — Article 75(1) for appointing the Prime Minister, Article 72(1)(a) for pardoning a person punished by court-martial, and Article 217(1)(b) read with Article 124(4) for removing a High Court judge.
- (a)Appointment of Prime Minister — Article 75(1) says the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President. Convention limits the choice to whoever commands a majority, but the appointment is his to make, and in a hung House the choice becomes a real one.
- (c)To grant pardon to a person who has been punished by a court-martial — Article 72(1)(a) extends the pardoning power expressly to sentences by court-martial. It is one of the two clemency powers a Governor does not share, the other being a death sentence.
- (d)To remove a Judge of the High Court — Article 217(1)(b) provides that a High Court judge may be removed by the President in the manner laid down in Article 124(4) for a Supreme Court judge — proved misbehaviour or incapacity, and an address by both Houses carried by the prescribed majorities.
The President's powers divide into those he exercises on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, those he exercises on the advice of another constitutional authority, and the narrow band where he acts on his own judgement. Disqualification of a legislator belongs to the second group: Article 103 for an MP routes the decision through the Election Commission, and Article 192 does the same for a State legislator through the Governor. Real discretion survives only in a few situations — a hung House, a ministry that has lost its majority, and the suspensive veto over a Bill.
The item is built so that three options quote articles almost verbatim and the fourth adds two words that are not in the text. That is the standard shape of a negative-stem polity question: the false option is rarely false in substance, it is false in a qualifier. Reading 'at his/her discretion' as the load-bearing phrase is the whole skill being tested. It is also worth noticing what Article 103 does not cover — disqualification on the ground of defection is decided by the Speaker or the Chairman under the Tenth Schedule, and never reaches the President.
- Article 103 — the President decides an MP's disqualification but must act on the Election Commission's opinion.
- Article 192 applies the same design to a State legislator, with the Governor and the Commission.
- Defection cases go to the Speaker or the Chairman under the Tenth Schedule, outside this route altogether.
- Article 72 covers pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions, and reaches court-martial sentences and death sentences.
- Article 217(1)(b) sends a High Court judge's removal through the Article 124(4) procedure.
Three options quote the articles; the fourth adds a qualifier the text does not contain.
- Assuming that because the President decides, he decides freely.
- Confusing Article 103 disqualification with Tenth Schedule defection, which never reaches him.
A negative-stem item in which the false option is false only in its qualifier.
Consider the following statements with regard to pardoning power of the President of India: I. The exercise of this power by the President can be subjected to limited judicial review. II. The President can exercise this power without the advice of the Central Government. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) I only
- (b) II only
- (c) Both I and II
- (d) Neither I nor II
Answer(a) I only
The identical distinction on a different power. There the pardoning power is the President's in name while ministerial advice governs its exercise; here the disqualification decision is his in name while the Election Commission's opinion governs it.
- practice — not a real PYQ
On whose opinion must the President act while deciding a question of disqualification of a Member of Parliament under Article 103?
- (a)The Attorney General
- (b)The Election Commission
- (c)The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- (d)The Supreme Court
Answer(b) The Election Commission — Article 103(2) requires the President to obtain its opinion and to act according to it.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which clemency power is available to the President but not to a Governor?
- (a)Remission of a sentence under State law
- (b)Pardon in a court-martial case
- (c)Reprieve in a State offence
- (d)Respite on medical grounds
Answer(b) Pardon in a court-martial case — Article 72(1)(a) gives it to the President alone, as it does with a death sentence.