Indian President List From 1947 to 2022: From Rajendra Prasad to Draupadi Murmu

The President of India is the first citizen of the country who is also known as the Head of the state. Article 52 of the Indian Constitution states there shall be a President of India. There are special provisions Under article 52 to 62, that states how a President is elected, his powers and functions, and also his impeachment process. There is a council of ministers headed by the Prime Minister of India to advise him on important matters.

Dr Rajendra Prasad was the first President of India who served for two consecutive terms starting from 1952 to May 13, 1962, while Draupadi Mumru is the newly elected 15th President of the Republic of India. The Oath ceremany will of newly elected President of India will be on July 25, 2022.

Procedure of Presidential Election

The President of India is elected through an indirect process. It is done through a secret ballot system of voting. Only the members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Legislative Assemblies of the states, and Legislative Assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry are eligible to give their votes in the process of electing the President.

Conditions to be elected as President

There are certain norms for a person to be eligible to become the first citizen of the country. A person who is native of India and is of minimum 35 years of age can claim his candidacy in the Presidential Election. Plus he should qualify the conditions to be elected as a member of the Lok Sabha and at the same time, he should not hold any office of profit under the central government, state government, or any public authority.

Special Powers of President

All the Executive, legislative, financial, judicial, diplomatic, military and emergency powers of the country are vested in the President. He is the head of the armed forces of the nation. All the executive actions of the Government of India are formally taken in his name. Under his Legislative powers, he can summon or prologue the Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha. He can nominate 12 members of Rajya Sabha from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service. In Lok Sabha he has the power to nominate 2 members from the Anglo-Indian Community.

Talking about his financial powers, the money bill can be introduced in the Parliament only with his prior recommendation. He constitutes the finance commission after every 5 years to determine the distribution of revenues between the center and the states.

The CJI and Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President under his Judicial Powers. He has the power to grant pardon, respite, and remission of punishment or suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offense.

All the International treaties and agreements are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the president. Being the supreme commander of the defense he has the right to appoint the chiefs of the Army, the Navy, and the Air force.

Emergency Powers of President

The Constitution of India provides extraordinary Powers to the President to deal with situations like National Emergency, defined under article 352, President's rule under article 356 and 365 and Financial emergency, defined under article 360.

Veto Powers of President

There are mainly four types of Veto powers named as Absolute Veto, Qualified Veto, Suspensive Veto and Pocket Veto. Out of these 4 types of Veto powers, the President of India has 3 vetoes except Qualified Veto. A qualified veto is possessed by the president of the United States of America only.

Impeachment Process of President

• The president can be removed from office only for the 'violation of the Constitution by the process of impeachment.
• The nominated members of either House of Parliament can participate in the impeachment of the President.
• The charges of impeachment are signed by one-fourth of members of the house and a 14 days notice is given to the President. After the engagement resolution passed by a majority of two-thirds of the total membership of that house, it is sent to another house.
• If the other house also passes the resolution by a majority of two-thirds of the total membership, then the President can finally be impeached from office.
• In India, no President has been impeached so far.

Here is the List of Presidents of India with tenure