With reference to the election of the Vice-President of India which is declared void by the Supreme Court of India, which of the following statement/s is/are correct? (1) The acts done by him as Vice-President before such declaration are considered valid. (2) The acts done by him as Vice-President on the day of such declaration are not considered valid. Select the correct answer from the code given below.
- (a)Neither 1 nor 2
- (b)Only 1
- (c)Only 2
- (d)Both 1 and 2
Correct — B, Only statement 1. Article 71(2) provides that if the Supreme Court declares the election of a Vice-President (or President) void, acts done by that person in exercising the office 'on or before' the date of the Court's decision are NOT invalidated. So statement 1 (acts done before the declaration remain valid) is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: acts done on the very day of the declaration are ALSO protected, because the clause saves acts 'on or before' the decision date — not merely those before it.
- (a)Neither 1 nor 2 — Statement 1 is expressly correct under Article 71(2), so 'neither' cannot be right.
- (c)Only 2 — This inverts the rule: statement 2 is the false one — acts on the day of the decision remain valid, so it is statement 1 that is correct.
- (d)Both 1 and 2 — Statement 2 is false (day-of acts are saved too), so both statements cannot be correct together.
Article 71 governs disputes over the election of the President and Vice-President, giving the Supreme Court exclusive jurisdiction (Article 71(1)). Article 71(2) is a 'saving' clause: even if an election is later declared void, official acts done by the person 'on or before' the Court's decision remain valid — protecting the continuity of governance.
The trap hinges on the phrase 'on or before'. Statement 2 tries to carve out the day of the decision as invalid, but the Constitution explicitly saves acts up to and including that date. So only statement 1 survives.
- Article 71(1): the Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over disputes on President/Vice-President elections.
- Article 71(2): acts done 'on or before' the date the election is declared void remain valid (saving clause).
- The same protection applies identically to the President and the Vice-President.
- Article 71(3) lets Parliament regulate related matters by law (Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952).
Only statement 1 is correct; Article 71(2) protects acts 'on or before' the decision date.
- Assuming a voided election retroactively nullifies all official acts
- Missing 'on or before' and treating the decision day itself as excluded
Polity questions test Article 71's saving clause through statement pairs; UPSC's 2023 version used the President and UPPSC's used the Vice-President — the rule is identical.
Consider the following statements: 1. If the election of the President of India is declared void by the Supreme Court of India, all acts done by him/her in the performance of duties of his/her office of President before the date of decision become invalid. 2. Election for the post of the President of India can be postponed on the ground that some Legislative Assemblies have been dissolved and elections are yet to take place. 3. When a Bill is presented to the President of India, the Constitution prescribes time limits within which he/she has to declare his/her assent. How many of the above statements are correct?
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two
- (c) All three
- (d) None
Answer(d) None
Same concept — Article 71(2)'s saving of official acts when a President/Vice-President election is declared void (statement 1 there is the President version of this exact rule).
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under which Article does the Supreme Court have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes regarding the election of the President and Vice-President?
- (a)Article 32
- (b)Article 71
- (c)Article 143
- (d)Article 145
Answer(b) Article 71.
- practice — not a real PYQ
If the election of the President is later declared void by the Supreme Court, the acts done by the President before that decision are:
- (a)all invalid
- (b)valid
- (c)valid only if ratified by Parliament
- (d)referred to the Election Commission
Answer(b) valid — protected by the saving clause in Article 71(2).