Select the correct statement/s from the following. A. The Vice-President shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office. B. A Vice-President may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office. C. A Vice-President may be removed from his office by a resolution of House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House of People and approved by the Council of States.
- (1)Only A
- (2)Only B, C
- (3)Only A, C
- (4)Only A, B
Correct — option (4), Only A, B. Both statements A and B reproduce Article 67 of the Constitution accurately. Article 67(a) provides that the Vice-President 'shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office' — subject to the usual provisos of earlier resignation, removal, or continuing in office until a successor is sworn in — which is exactly statement A. The same clause's first proviso states that the Vice-President 'may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office', which is exactly statement B. Statement C, however, inverts the actual constitutional procedure: Article 67(b) provides that the Vice-President may be removed by a resolution of the Council of States (the Rajya Sabha) passed by a majority of all its then members and agreed to by the House of the People (the Lok Sabha) — the resolution must originate in and be passed by the Council of States first, and only then be agreed to by the House of the People, not the other way around as statement C claims. This is not a minor wording slip; the sequence matters constitutionally, because the Vice-President serves as the ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States, and it is fitting that the chamber over which he presides is the one that initiates his removal. Because A and B are accurate and C reverses the two Houses' roles, the correct set is 'Only A, B'.
- (1)Only A — This selects only statement A, the five-year term provision, and leaves out B — but B is also an accurate statement of Article 67(a)'s first proviso, allowing the Vice-President to resign by a letter addressed to the President. Since B is correct and belongs in the answer, selecting A alone under-counts the correct statements.
- (2)Only B, C — This correctly includes B (the resignation provision) but incorrectly includes C, which reverses the actual roles of the two Houses in a removal resolution: the Constitution requires the resolution to be passed by the Council of States and then agreed to by the House of the People, not passed by the House of the People and approved by the Council of States as statement C claims. This option also omits A, the accurate five-year term statement, so it is wrong on both counts.
- (3)Only A, C — This correctly includes A (the five-year term) but incorrectly includes C, for the same reason as above — Article 67(b) requires the removal resolution to be passed first by the Council of States and then agreed to by the House of the People, the reverse of what statement C describes. This option also omits B, the accurate resignation-by-letter provision, so it too is wrong on both counts.
Article 67 of the Constitution of India governs the Vice-President's term of office. Clause (a) fixes a five-year term from the date the Vice-President enters office, subject to three provisos: the Vice-President may resign at any time by writing under his hand addressed to the President; the Vice-President may be removed by the specific procedure in clause (b); and the Vice-President continues in office beyond the five-year term until a successor enters upon office, ensuring the post is never vacant. Clause (b) lays down the removal procedure precisely: a resolution must be passed by the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) by a majority of all its then members, and that resolution must then be agreed to by the House of the People (Lok Sabha); at least fourteen days' notice must be given before such a resolution can be moved. This Rajya-Sabha-first sequence is distinctive — it is the only removal procedure in the Constitution that requires one specific House to initiate the process — and it reflects the Vice-President's constitutional role as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, since it is fitting that the House he presides over takes the lead in any motion to remove him.
MPSC's polity questions on constitutional offices frequently test Article 67 by reversing the roles of the two Houses in the Vice-President's removal procedure, since this is a subtle but definite error that a candidate can only catch by knowing the precise text rather than a general sense that 'Parliament can remove the Vice-President'. The question rewards candidates who recall that removal resolutions for the Vice-President are Rajya-Sabha-led (unlike, for instance, a Lok Sabha-led money bill or no-confidence motion), tying the procedure back to the Vice-President's unique ex-officio Rajya Sabha chairmanship.
- Article 67(a): the Vice-President holds office for a term of five years from the date of entering office.
- Article 67(a), first proviso: the Vice-President may resign by writing under his hand addressed to the President.
- Article 67(b): the Vice-President may be removed by a resolution passed by the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) by a majority of all its then members, and agreed to by the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
- At least fourteen days' notice must be given before a removal resolution under Article 67(b) can be moved.
- The Vice-President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States, which is why the removal resolution must originate there.
A and B are correct; C swaps the two Houses' actual roles.
- Reversing which House initiates a removal resolution — assuming the Lok Sabha (the more prominent, directly elected House) must lead, when the Constitution specifically assigns this to the Rajya Sabha for the Vice-President
- Confusing the President's impeachment procedure (Article 61, which either House may initiate) with the Vice-President's removal procedure (Article 67(b), which only the Rajya Sabha may initiate)
- Assuming resignation must be addressed to the Vice-President's presiding officer role rather than to the President, as Article 67(a) actually specifies
- Treating the fourteen-day notice requirement or the 'agreed to' language as optional procedural detail rather than a binding constitutional requirement
MPSC polity questions on the Vice-President's office commonly test Article 67 by presenting several statements about term, resignation and removal, with one statement built specifically to reverse the roles of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha in the removal procedure, rewarding candidates who know the precise sequence rather than a general sense that 'Parliament removes the Vice-President'.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under Article 67(b) of the Constitution, a resolution for the removal of the Vice-President must first be passed by which House of Parliament ?
- (a)House of the People (Lok Sabha)
- (b)Council of States (Rajya Sabha)
- (c)Both Houses simultaneously
- (d)Either House may initiate it
Answer(b) Council of States (Rajya Sabha) — the removal resolution must be passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council of States and then agreed to by the House of the People, reflecting the Vice-President's role as the Rajya Sabha's ex-officio Chairman.
- practice — not a real PYQ
How may a sitting Vice-President of India resign from office, according to Article 67(a) ?
- (a)By an oral announcement in the Rajya Sabha
- (b)By writing under his hand addressed to the President
- (c)By writing under his hand addressed to the Chief Justice of India
- (d)By a public press statement
Answer(b) By writing under his hand addressed to the President — Article 67(a)'s first proviso allows the Vice-President to resign through a written communication to the President.