Detailed Chapter Notes (Part - 2) - Working of Institutions Notes | Study Social Studies (SST) Class 9 - Class 9

Judicial Powers of the President

The President has been given a number of powers in the judicial sphere also:

• He appoints the Chief Justice and other Judges of the Supreme Court of India and the State High courts.
• He can seek advice from the Supreme Court on any question of law or an important issue.
• He has the powers to grant pardon and to the remit of suspending a sentence of punishment of any appeal for mercy, He can commute even death sentence to imprisonment for life or otherwise.
• He is not answerable before any Court of law for the discharges of his duties.
• No criminal suit can be initiated against him during his tenure of office.

Financial Powers of the President of India

• No money bill can be presented in the Lok Sabha without the President’s prior permission.
• The budget of the Central Government is presented to Lok Sabha by the Union Finance Minister only with the permission of the President.
• He appoints Finance Commission after five years or earlier if there arises such a need.
• He distributes the shares of the Income Tax between the union and the States. All these powers of the President are, however, exercised by him only on the advice of the Cabinet.

Ceremonial Powers of the President of India

• Being Supreme Commander of all the three services, Army, Navy, and Air force, he takes salute on 26th January on Republic Day.
• The Diplomats of all foreign countries present the letters of their credentials before the President of India.
• The President of India receives the Heads of different States whenever they happen to pay a visit to India.

Emergency Powers of the President

Of all the powers vested in the President of India, the Emergency Powers are the most important. The President of India has three types of Emergency Powers which has a direct bearing on that State.        

• Emergency caused by War, Foreign Aggression or/and Internal Disturbances and its effects on that state. If the president declares a state of emergency then the Parliament can enact laws for the whole country. The Fundamental Rights of Citizens stand suspended and the administration takes a Unitary Form of Government.
• Emergency caused by the Constitutional Breakdown and its Effects on the State. If the Governor of a State reports to the President that continuation of a  Government according to the provisions of the Constitution is not possible, the President can declare an emergency in that state. In such a situation, the Council of Minister and the legislature are dissolved and the administration is carried on by the Governor as per the directive of the President.
• Financial Emergency and its Effects on the state. If there is an imminent danger to the financial stability of the country, the President can proclaim Financial Emergency. Consequent to this proclamation the president can reduce the pay and allowances of the government servants. He can also exercise control over the finances of the States.

Position of the President

From the above discussion, it becomes quite clear that the President holds an office of great prestige, but if we go a little deep we see that he enjoys very little power. The president cannot declare an emergency all by himself. It is on the advice of the Prime Minister that the President cannot declare an emergency all by himself. It is on the advice of the Prime Minister that the President can declare a state of emergency. A written request is sent by the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to the President and only then he can declare a state of emergency. Moreover, such a declaration must be approved by the parliament within one month.

Vice President of India 

Election of the Vice-President

The Vice-President of the Indian Union is elected jointly by the Houses of Parliament. The procedure for his election consists of a secret ballot, proportion representation and a single transferable vote. An absolute majority of votes polled is also required for the election of the Vice-President. He now gets a salary of Rs. 40,000 per month besides various allowances and privileges.

Functions of the Vice-President of India

• Ex-Officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha:  Like the Vice-President of the U.S.A., the Vice-President of the Indian Union acts as the ex-official Chairman of the Rajya sabha.
• Acting as the President of India: If the office of the President falls vacant due to his resignation, death, Impeachment illness or absence from the country the vice-President of India, like his counterpart in the U.S.A., takes over as the President. But unlike the Vice-President of the U.S.A., our Vice-President holds this office only till a new President is elected.

Prime Minister

Appointment, Position, Powers and Functions of the Prime Minister

Appointment of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority group in the Parliament. The majority group selects one person as their leader. This very leader, after due confirmation of the President, comes to be known as the Prime Minister. So long as he enjoys the confidence of the Parliament he remains at his post. The moment he loses his confidence he ceases to be the Prime Minister. Thus the real source of his power is the confidence of the Parliament and the people.

Constitutional Status on Position of the Prime Minister or why is he more powerful than the President?

The office of the Prime Minister is very important under the Indian Constitution. according to the wording of the constitution, The Prime Minister is the Prime advisor of the President and holds office till his pleasure. But in practice, the Prime Minister exercises all the powers enumerated in the name of the president. The Prime Minister exercises all the powers enumerated in the name of the President. The Prime Minister is the real ruler and the leader of the country. He is directly elected by the people while the President is indirectly elected. This very fact makes his position more powerful than the President sometimes, it is also said that he is First among Equals’. But to say so is to undermine his position. He can appoint and drop any minister as and when he desires to. He, Undoubtedly, holds the most important position in the country as he wields many powers.

Powers of the Prime Minister  

• The Prime Minister has the right to form his Council of Ministers and to make distribute Portfolios among them. if any Minister disagrees with the Prime Minister. the latter can get him removed from the Council of the Ministers.
• He allocates work to the different members of the council of Ministers. He acts as a coordinator among the various ministers so that the whole work of administration is carried on smoothly.
• The Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers formulate the internal as well as the external policies of the Government. He and his Council of Ministers have the right to get the state of war or peace declared by the President. He and his Council of Ministers put their policies before the Parliament and get them ratified by it.
• The President makes important appointments only on the advice of the Prime Minister. Appointments of the Governors, Ambassadors, Judges etc. are made on the Prime Minister’s advice.
• The President proclaims an emergency on the advice of the Prime Minister.
• It is on the advice of the Prime Minister that the President summons or prorogues the sessions of both the Houses of the Parliament and dissolves the Lok Sabha. 

Union Council of Ministers

There is a Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers has three categories of Ministers besides the Prime Minister. They are :

• Cabinet Ministers: They are the most important members of the Council of Ministers. They are the full-fledged Ministers who hold important portfolios.
• Minister of State: They are the second category of Ministers. They may or may not hold an independent charge of any portfolios. The Prime  Minister may or may not consult them.
• Deputy Ministers: They are the third category of Ministers who assist the Cabinet Ministers and the Council of Ministers.

Differences between the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers

There are certain differences between the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers which should be clearly understood. Firstly, the Council of Ministers is a wider body while the Cabinet is only its one part. It is the innermost part of the Council of Minister. There are about 60 ministers in the Council of Ministers but in the Cabinet, there are about 12 ministers. Secondly, the Cabinet Ministers are full-fledged Ministers who hold important portfolios like Defense, Finance, Home, etc. They are the most trusted colleagues of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister always consults them. He may or may not consult the other ministers. But the decisions of the Cabinet are binding on all the members whether they are a party to the decisions or not.

Bureaucracy or the Civil Service

The President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers form the Political Executive in the centre while the body of the Civil Servants is called the Administrative or the Permanent Executive. The Cabinet (or the Council of Minister) only formulates the policies while the real execution is left to the Civil or Public Servants. These civil servants at the centre are selected by the Union Public Service Commission and they are called the I.A.S office. Similarly, The different State Public Service Commissions hold the competitive examinations and select the officers of the Provincial Civil Service (P.C.S). These officers, whether at the central level or at the State level, hold key positions in their respective spheres. Formerly, under British rule, they had only limited duties to perform such as maintaining law and order and collecting revenue. But with the independence of India, their duties have been multiplied manifold. In addition to the above duties, they have to perform various general welfare duties as well, such as education, health, construction of rail and roads, maintenance of the means of transport and communication etc. As such, a great many qualities are expected in a public servant. First of all, he should be intelligent so that he can understand his work well. Secondly, he should be honest in his dealings and hard-working in his profession. Thirdly, he should be regular and punctual and should be fully devoted to his job Fourthly, he should be polite, cooperative and always prepared to serve the people. It is also the duty of the people to cooperate with these Civil servants so that they are able to perform their jobs smoothly and efficiently.

The Judiciary

In a federal state like India, U.S.A., etc. many a time conflicts can arise between the Central and the State governments or between two or more states. For example, there are certain conflicts between Haryana and Punjab over the question of the distribution of river waters or certain Parts of Hindi speaking or Punjabi speaking areas. In such a case who shall settle or decide the different disputes arising between the Central and State Government or between two or more states. So the Supreme Court or Judiciary is a must for the smooth running of every federation.

How does the Judicial setup function?
At the head of the Judicial system, there is the Supreme Court followed by the High Courts.

The Supreme Court is the highest judicial tribunal of India and as such it wields very extensive powers. It enjoys various Original, Appellate and Advisory Powers.

• Its Original jurisdiction extends to disputes arising between the Union Government and the states, between one state and the other and the citizen and the State. the Supreme Court is the guardian of the Fundamental Rights of the citizens.
• The Appellate Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court extends to both the criminal and the civil cases. It can hear appeals both in criminal and civil cases against the decision of the High Courts of different States.
• The Supreme Court also acts as the Guardian of the Indian Constitution. It can declare the laws passed by the Parliament and State Legislatures ultra vires (or voids)  if such laws infringe any Article of the Constitution.
• In its Advisory, capacity the Supreme Court can guide the President on matters which he refers to it from time to time.
• The Supreme Court, as head of all the Courts of the country, also supervises and controls their working.

Then the High Courts, like the Supreme Court, also interpret the Constitution of the country and can declare any law of the state legislature as invalid if they find such a law of action against the Constitution. They can determine the constitutional validity of any legislation or the execution of the state when it is challenged before them. This power is known as the judicial review. Sometimes, this action of the High Courts striking down the laws of the executive led to the tension between the State Legislative Assemblies on the one hand and the State judiciary on the other.

The High Court also acts as the Guardian of the fundamental rights of the citizens. Moreover, High Courts have been given powers to give judgements and directives to protect the public interest and human rights. If the public interest of any citizen of affected by the action of the government, he can approach the courts. This is called public interest litigation.  They also check malpractices like corruption and bribery on the part of any public officer. They interfere to prevent misuse of government powers.

Appeals against the District Courts and other Subordinate Courts can also be heard by the High Courts.

At the lowest level of judiciary come the District courts and other Subordinate Courts. They decide both the criminal and the civil cases in their own areas. Appeals against their decisions are heard by the High Courts of their respective states.

Of all the political institutions in the country, legislature executive, judiciary etc., the judiciary enjoys high confidence of the people.

Independence of Judiciary

For a successful federal democracy, it is most essential that the court of law should be independent to administer justice and to interpret the Constitution and the different laws passed by various legislatures from time to time.  Independence of judiciary implies that neither the executive nor the legislature nor any government or private agency should be able to influence the judges. in the course of their discharge of duties as a judge  Such independence of the judiciary has been ensured in India by means of the following provisions:

• Security of Service: The judges have sometimes to give decisions against the Government, which can be embarrassing. As such they have been given full security of service. It has been provided in the constitution that the judges shall be appointed by the president but cannot be removed from office by him. Only in the event of gross misbehaviour, acting against the provisions of the Constitution, Corruption or misuse of office can a judge be removed from service by means of an impeachment by the Parliament.
• Security of Pay and Allowances: In order to make a judge desist from accepting bribes or falling prey to any financial implications, they have been given handsome salaries, besides many allowances and other facilities. The Judges of the Supreme Court formerly used to get a monthly salary of Rupees 10,000 in the case of the Chief Justice and Rs. 9,000 in the case of other Judges. However, as a result of the recommendations of the Fifth pay Commission, their pay has been further hiked. The Judges of the Supreme Court will get
  Rs. 30,000 per month while the Chief Justice will get above Rs. 30,000 level.
• Independent Procedure of the Court: The Supreme Court and the High Courts are free to decide their own procedure of work and their establishment. They are not likely to be influenced by any outside agency.
• No Practice after Retirement: In order to make the Judges impartial, they have not been allowed to practice after retirement.                             
• Free Decisions and Decrees: The judges are free to announce their decisions and decrees in their  Conuts without any danger to their courts without any danger to their person, property and fame. Their decisions cannot be criticised by the public or the press. Their personal safety is the duty of the State and is ensured at all costs.