India’s tenth President was the first to send a Cabinet’s advice back for reconsideration — not once, but twice. This article covers K.R. Narayanan’s life and presidency.
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K.R. Narayanan
The first President to send a Cabinet’s advice back for reconsideration
1949
Joins the Foreign Service
After studying at the London School of Economics, later serves as Ambassador to Thailand, Turkey, and China.
1992
Becomes Vice President
Serves until 1997, immediately before his own presidential run.
25 Jul 1997
Becomes 10th President
Wins about 95% of the vote. First Dalit President, and the first from Kerala.
1997–1998
Sends Cabinet advice back, twice
Returns advice to impose President’s Rule in UP, then Bihar, citing the Supreme Court’s Bommai ruling.
A New Precedent
No President before him had actually used this power. His use of it, grounded in a 1994 court ruling, gave every later President a real precedent to point to.
Must Know
- K.R. Narayanan was India’s tenth President, serving from 25 July 1997 to 25 July 2002.
- He was the first Dalit to become President, and the first person from Kerala to hold the office.
- Born on 27 October 1920 in Uzhavoor, Kerala, he studied at the London School of Economics before joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1949.
- He served as India’s Ambassador to Thailand, Turkey, and China, and later as Vice President from 1992 to 1997.
- He won the 1997 presidential election with about 95% of the vote, one of the largest margins in the office’s history.
Good to Know
- In 1997 and again in 1998, he returned the Union Cabinet’s advice to impose President’s Rule in Uttar Pradesh and then Bihar, asking for reconsideration.
- He cited the Supreme Court’s 1994 S.R. Bommai judgment, which limits when President’s Rule can be validly imposed on a state.
- He was the first Indian President to exercise this specific power of returning such advice — a precedent later Presidents could point to.
- He spoke often and directly about the condition of Dalits, Adivasis, and women in India, more openly than most Presidents before him.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- Narayanan’s use of the Bommai judgment shows the President’s discretionary powers evolving through interaction with the judiciary, not just constitutional text — a 1994 court ruling directly shaped how a President acted three years later.
- His path to the Presidency, through the Foreign Service and academia rather than mainstream party politics, was unusual among his predecessors, most of whom rose through elected office.
- Coming from a Dalit background to the country’s highest constitutional post made his presidency widely read as a symbol of India’s constitutional promise of equality, independent of his specific policy positions.
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