Vice President of India

The office of the Vice President of India (Art. 63) is modeled on that of the American Vice President.
The second-highest constitutional office in India – Rank only next to the office of PRESIDENT OF INDIA in order of precedence. VP is also ex-officio chairperson of Rajya Sabha (Art.64)
Vice President is a member of neither Lok Sabha nor Rajya Sabha.
The original Constitution provided that the Vice President would be elected by the two Houses of Parliament assembled at a joint meeting. This cumbersome procedure was done away with by the 11th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1961.

• First Vice President of India – Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (1952)
• Present Vice President of India – Jagdeep Dhankhar (Since 2022)

The Vice-term President’s office begins on the day he takes up his position and lasts for five years. He may, however, resign from his position at any moment by sending a letter of resignation to the President. His dismissal does not require a formal impeachment. He may be dismissed by a Rajya Sabha resolution approved by the Lok Sabha with an absolute majority (i.e., a majority of the entire House’s members).
Additionally, he is up for re-election to that position. He is eligible to run for any amount of terms.

Article 64 – The Vice-President of India shall be ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States

The Vice-President shall serve as the ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States and shall not hold any other office of profit; provided, however, that during any period in which he performs the duties of the office of President or carries out those functions under article 65, he shall not perform those of the office of Chairman of the Council of States and shall not be entitled to any salary or allowance payable to the Chairman of the Council of States under article 97.

Article 65 – Vice-President to act as President or to discharge his functions during casual vacancies in office or during the absence of the President

Article 66 – Election of Vice President

• The Vice-President, like the president, is elected not directly by the people but by the method of indirect election.
• Thus, this electoral college is different from the electoral college for the election of the President in the following two respects:
  • It consists of both elected and nominated members of the Parliament (in the case of the president, only elected members).
  • It does not include the members of the state legislative assemblies (in the case of the President, the elected members of the state legislative assemblies are included).

Qualification of Vice President

To be eligible for election as Vice-President, a person should fulfill the following qualifications:

1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. He should have completed 35 years of age.
3. He should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
4. He should not hold any office of profit under the Union government or any state government or any local authority or any other public authority.

Article 67 – Term and Office of Vice President

The Vice-President will serve for a period of five years beginning on the day he assumes office, with the following exceptions:
(a) A Vice-President may resign from office in writing addressed to the President;
(b) A Vice-President may be removed from office by a resolution of the Council of States adopted by a majority of the Council’s then-current members and approved by the House of the People; however, no resolution for the purposes of this clause shall be deemed to be;
(c) A Vice-President shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his term, continue to hold office until his successor enters his office.

Article 68 – Vice-President to act as President or to discharge his functions during casual vacancies in office or during the absence of the President

(1) Prior to the term’s expiration, a vote must be held to fill a vacancy brought on by the vice president’s term in office expiring.
(2) As soon as a vacancy in the office of vice president arises due to a person’s death, resignation, or removal from office, or for any other reason, an election to fill the vacancy shall be held. The person elected to fill the vacancy shall, subject to the provisions of article 67, be entitled to hold office for the full term of five years beginning on the date on which he assumes his office.

Article 68 – Oath or Affirmation of Vice President

Before entering his office, the Vice-President has to make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation.
The oath of office to the Vice-President is administered by the President or some person appointed on that behalf by him.

Condition of Vice President’s Office

The Constitution lays down the following two conditions for the Vice-President’s office:

1. He should not be a member of either the House of Parliament or a House of the state legislature. If any such person is elected Vice-President, he is deemed to have vacated his seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his office as Vice-President.
2. He should not hold any other office of profit.

Vacancies of Office

• A vacancy in the Vice-President’s office can occur in any of the following ways:
• On the expiry of his tenure of five years.
• By his resignation.
• On his removal.
• By his death.
• When he becomes disqualified to hold office or when his election is declared void.
• When the vacancy is going to be caused by the expiration of the term of the sitting vice-president, an election to fill the vacancy must be held before the expiration of the term.
• If the office falls vacant by resignation, removal, death, or otherwise, then the election to fill the vacancy should be held as soon as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy.

The newly- elected vice-president remains in office for a full term of five years from the date he assumes charge of his office.

The function of the Vice President

1. By virtue of his office (i.e., ex-officio), he is the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Hence, the normal function of the Vice-President is to preside over the Rajya Sabha.
2. The Vice-President acts as President when there is a vacancy in the office of the President.
3. The vacancy may occur by reasons of death, resignation, removal by impeachment, or otherwise. He discharges the functions of the President when the President is unable to perform his functions. The reasons may also include the absence of the President from India or illness or some other cause.
4. He is not a member of the Rajya Sabha; he has no right to vote, but can exercise a “Casting Vote”.
5. The Vice-President shall, during, and in respect of the period while he is so acting as, or discharging the functions of the President, have all the powers and immunities of the President and be entitled to such emoluments, allowances, and privileges as may be determined by the Parliament by law and, until provision in that behalf is so made, such emoluments, allowances, and privileges as are specified in the Second Schedule.
6. While he acts as the President, he will not draw the salary of the Chairman of the Council of State as he ceases to perform these duties as the Chairman.

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