Which one among the following statements pertaining to the President's term of office is not correct?
- (a)The President holds office for a term of five years.
- (b)The President may be removed from the office by way of impeachment.
- (c)The President may resign before the expiration of his/her term by writing to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
- (d)The President shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his/her term, continue to hold office until his/her successor enters upon his/her office.
Correct — C, the statement that the President may resign by writing to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The Constitution says otherwise. Under the proviso to Article 56(1), the President may resign by writing under his hand addressed to the Vice-President, and Article 56(2) then requires the Vice-President to communicate that resignation forthwith to the Speaker of the House of the People. So the Speaker is informed, but he is not the person the resignation is addressed to. The other three statements reproduce the rest of Article 56 exactly: a term of five years from the date the President enters upon office; removal by impeachment for violation of the Constitution, in the manner provided in Article 61; and continuance in office notwithstanding the expiry of the term until the successor enters upon office, which is the provision that guarantees the country is never without a President.
- (a)The President holds office for a term of five years. — Correct. Article 56(1) fixes a term of five years running from the date the President enters upon office, and Article 57 makes him eligible for re-election.
- (b)The President may be removed from the office by way of impeachment. — Correct. Clause (b) of the proviso to Article 56(1) provides for removal by impeachment for violation of the Constitution, in the manner set out in Article 61.
- (d)The President shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his/her term, continue to hold office until his/her successor enters upon his/her office. — Correct, and constitutionally important — clause (c) of the same proviso ensures there is no interval in which the office is empty.
Article 56 covers the whole of the President's term: its length, the two ways it can end early, and what happens when it expires. Resignation goes to the Vice-President; removal is by impeachment under Article 61, on a charge of violation of the Constitution, preferred by either House on a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the total membership of that House after fourteen days' notice, and then investigated by the other House. Article 62 requires an election to fill a vacancy caused by death, resignation or removal to be held as soon as possible and in any case within six months.
Every wrong option in this family of questions is built by swapping one office for another, and the Speaker is the classic substitution because Article 56(2) does mention him. Reading the two clauses together makes the trap visible: the resignation is addressed to the Vice-President, and the Vice-President passes it on to the Speaker. A short table of who resigns to whom is worth memorising once — President to Vice-President, Vice-President to President, Speaker to Deputy Speaker, Deputy Speaker to Speaker, a Union Minister and a Governor to the President, a Chief Minister to the Governor, and a member of either House to the presiding officer of that House.
- Article 56(1) proviso (a): the President may resign by writing under his hand addressed to the Vice-President.
- Article 56(2): that resignation must be communicated forthwith by the Vice-President to the Speaker of the House of the People.
- Article 56(1) proviso (b): the President may be removed by impeachment for violation of the Constitution, in the manner provided in Article 61.
- Article 56(1) proviso (c): the President continues in office after the term expires until the successor enters upon office.
- Article 62 requires an election to fill a vacancy by death, resignation or removal to be completed within six months of the vacancy arising.
The Speaker does receive the President's resignation — but second-hand, from the Vice-President, which is exactly the gap the wrong option exploits.
- Assuming the Speaker receives the President's resignation because Article 56(2) names him. He is only to be informed.
- Thinking a President whose five-year term has run out simply ceases to hold office. Clause (c) keeps him there until a successor takes over.
- Confusing impeachment of the President, which is for violation of the Constitution, with removal of a judge, which is for proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
As a not-correct item on the President's term, or as a who-resigns-to-whom matching item across constitutional offices.
Which one of the following is part of the electoral college for the election of the President of India but does not form part of the forum for his impeachment?
- (a) Lok Sabha
- (b) Rajya Sabha
- (c) State Legislative Councils
- (d) State Legislative Assemblies
Answer(d) State Legislative Assemblies
Works the other end of the same set of articles. The States elect the President under Article 54 but have no part in removing him under Article 61, which is a purely parliamentary process — a good companion to the resignation route this CDS item tests.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A resignation by the President of India is addressed to which one of the following?
- (a)The Chief Justice of India
- (b)The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- (c)The Vice-President of India
- (d)The Prime Minister
Answer(c) The Vice-President of India — under the proviso to Article 56(1); the Vice-President must then communicate it forthwith to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
- practice — not a real PYQ
An election to fill a vacancy in the office of President caused by resignation must be held within which period?
- (a)One month of the vacancy
- (b)Three months of the vacancy
- (c)Six months of the vacancy
- (d)One year of the vacancy
Answer(c) Six months of the vacancy — Article 62 requires it to be held as soon as possible and in any case within six months, and the person elected then serves a full five-year term.