Vice-President Of India | Indian Polity for UPSC CSE PDF Download

The Post of Vice President of India

The post of the Vice‐President of India is modelled on the lines of the American Vice‐President. The Vice‐President holds the second‐highest constitutional office in the Republic of India and performs several constitutional and parliamentary duties.

• Article 63 of the Constitution of India mentions the office of the Vice‐President.
• The office of the Vice‐President helps maintain the political continuity of the State by being constitutionally placed next to the President.
• Jagdeep Dhankhar served as Vice-President of India from August 2022 until his resignation in July 2025, and was succeeded by C. P. Radhakrishnan in September 2025. 

Powers and Functions of the Vice‐President of India

The Vice‐President of India, after the President, is the highest dignitary of the Republic and is invested with important constitutional and parliamentary functions.

• The Vice‐President acts as President when the President is temporarily unable to perform the duties by reason of illness or any other cause.
• If the office of the President becomes vacant because of death, resignation, removal, or any other reason, the Vice‐President acts as President until a new President is elected and assumes office.
• The Vice‐President continues to perform the duties of the President until the elected President enters upon his office.
• The Vice‐President is the ex‐officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and presides over its sittings in that capacity.
• When the Vice‐President is acting as or performing the functions of the President, he does not perform the duties of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha during that period.

Election for the Post of Vice‐President

The Vice‐President is not elected directly by the public; rather, the office is filled by an indirect election conducted through an Electoral College.

• The electoral process for the Vice‐President is broadly similar to that of the President in method, but the composition of the electoral college is different.
• In the electoral college for the Vice‐President, both elected and nominated members of both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) participate.
• By contrast, in the Presidential electoral college, nominated members of Parliament do not take part and members of State Legislative Assemblies (elected members) also participate; for the Vice‐President, state legislatures do not participate.
• The method of election is proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote, which is the same voting method used in Presidential elections.

Qualifications Required

• A candidate must be an Indian citizen and must have completed 35 years of age.
• A candidate must be qualified to be elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
• The Vice‐President must not hold any office of profit at the time of election.
• The qualifications for the Vice‐President are on lines similar to the qualifications for the President.
• Question for Vice-President Of India

  Try yourself:The Vice President shall discharge the functions of the ________ during the temporary absence.

  • A.

    President 
  • B.

    Prime Minister
  • C.

    Attorney General
  • D.

    none

  Explanation

  -The Vice President shall discharge the functions of the President during the temporary absence of the President due to illness or any other cause due to which the President is unable to carry out his functions.
  -The Vice President shall act as the President, in case of any vacancy in the office of the President by reason of his death, resignation, removal through impeachment or otherwise.

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Oath or Affirmation

• The oath or affirmation of the Vice‐President is administered by the President or by some person appointed in that behalf by the President.
• The Vice‐President promises to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India and to discharge the duties of the office faithfully.

Term of Office

From the date on which he enters upon his office, the Vice‐President holds office for a period of five years.

• The Vice‐President may resign at any time before the expiry of the term by tendering resignation to the President.
• A vacancy in the office of Vice‐President may occur on completion of the term of five years, on resignation, on removal, on death, or if the election is declared void.

Removal and Impeachment

There is no formal impeachment procedure for the Vice‐President in the Constitution analogous to the President's impeachment; the Constitution does not enumerate specific grounds for the Vice‐President's removal.

• The Constitution does not provide a detailed impeachment procedure for the Vice‐President as it does for the President.
• In practice, removal of the Vice‐President requires action by Parliament; as stated in the source material, the Rajya Sabha can pass a resolution with a majority and the Lok Sabha can pass it (procedure for removal is not laid down in the same detailed manner as presidential impeachment).
• Disputes relating to the election of the Vice‐President are subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India.

Vacancy in the Office of the Vice‐President

Vacancy in the office of the Vice‐President can arise in the following situations:

• On the expiry of the five‐year term.
• By resignation.
• By removal from office.
• By death in office.
• By declaration that the election is void or for any other reason as may arise.

In case of expiry of the term, an election must be held in time to ensure continuity. In case of other vacancies, fresh elections are to be held as soon as practicable. The newly elected Vice‐President serves a full term of five years from the date of assumption of office.

Comparison: American Vice‐President and Indian Vice‐President

• The Indian office of the Vice‐President is informed by the American model in certain respects, but there are important differences in constitutional position and succession.
• The American Vice‐President succeeds to the Presidency and becomes President for the remainder of the unexpired term when the President's office falls vacant.
• The Indian Vice‐President, by contrast, only acts as President until a new President is elected and assumes office; he does not become President for the unexpired term in the same manner as the US practice.

Articles 63-71

Articles 63 to 71 of the Constitution deal with matters relating to the Vice‐President, including the existence of the office, election, qualifications, oath, and related provisions. These Articles set out the constitutional basis for the post of Vice‐President and the broad legal framework under which the office functions.