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The procedure for the impeachment of the President of India is given in:
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Answer: Option B — Article 61
Detailed Solution
The President of India can be removed from office before the end of the five-year term by a process called impeachment. Under Article 61, the only ground for impeachment is "violation of the Constitution". The Constitution does not define this phrase.
The procedure is quasi-judicial and is as follows:
- Impeachment charges can be started in either House of Parliament.
- The charges must be signed by at least one-fourth of the total members of that House.
- The President must be given 14 days' notice before the resolution is moved.
- The resolution must be passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of that House.
The other House then investigates the charges. The President has the right to appear and to be represented during the investigation.
If the other House also finds the charges proved and passes the resolution by a two-thirds majority of its total membership, the President stands removed from the date the resolution is passed.
Interesting points:
- Elected members of both Houses take part in impeachment, and so do nominated members of Parliament, even though nominated members do not vote in the presidential election.
- Elected members of state legislatures, who vote in the presidential election, do not take part in impeachment.
- No President of India has ever been impeached.
- The impeachment process was borrowed from the Constitution of the USA.
The Vice-President is removed differently, under Article 67, by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an effective majority and agreed to by the Lok Sabha; no formal impeachment is needed. Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are removed under Article 124(4) and Article 217 by a special majority of both Houses on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Article 56 deals with the President's term of office (five years).
- ✗Article 75 deals with the appointment of the Prime Minister and ministers.
- ✗Article 124 deals with the establishment of the Supreme Court and the removal of its judges.
Quick tip
Remember: President's impeachment = Article 61, only ground "violation of the Constitution", 14 days' notice, two-thirds of total membership in each House; borrowed from the USA; never used.
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Important Articles & Schedules — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Important Articles & Schedules, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the important articles of the Constitution that exams test most often, the parts of the Constitution, and the twelve schedules, such as the Seventh Schedule (Union, State and Concurrent Lists), the Eighth Schedule (languages) and the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law). Questions directly ask which article or schedule deals with a subject, so make a table and revise it often. High-frequency examples include Article 112 (annual financial statement), Article 280 (Finance Commission), Article 324 (Election Commission) and Article 368 (amendment procedure). Remember that the Ninth Schedule was added by the 1st Amendment in 1951. Practise the important articles and schedules questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.