Article 53: Executive Power of the Union

Every order of the Government of India is issued in the name of the President. Yet the President does not sit in meetings and decide policy. The Prime Minister does. So whose power is it? Article 53 answers the first half of the puzzle. Article 74 answers the second.

1Who holds the executive power of the Union?

• Article 53(1) says the executive power of the Union is vested in the President.
• The President can use it directly or through officers below him.
• So the President is the nominal head of the executive.
• The Prime Minister is not the formal holder, even though the PM runs the government.
• Article 53(3) adds two limits. Functions given to a state government cannot be moved to the President by this article. And Parliament may give functions to other authorities by law.
• So the President’s executive power is wide on paper, but it flows through rules and offices.

2Who really governs, the President or the Prime Minister?

Think of a ship. The captain’s name is on every paper. But the officers on the bridge steer the ship. India’s system works in a similar way.

• The President is the de jure head. The Constitution names him.
• The Prime Minister, with the Council of Ministers, is the de facto head. They decide and act.
• Executive action is taken in the President’s name. But it follows the ministers’ advice.
• This is the cabinet form of government that India took from the British model.
• The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. If the House loses faith in it, the government must go.
• The President therefore cannot run the country against the elected House.
• A court cannot ask what advice the ministers gave the President. This protects the privacy of that advice.

3How do Articles 74, 75 and 77 fit with Article 53?

• Article 74: there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head. It aids and advises the President.
• Article 75: the Prime Minister is appointed by the President. The other ministers are appointed on the PM’s advice.
• Article 77: all executive action of the Government of India is taken in the name of the President.
• Article 78: the Prime Minister must tell the President about the Council’s decisions when the President asks.
• Article 78 matters because the President can advise only if he knows what the government is doing.
• The President’s rights here are often summed up as the right to be informed, to advise and to warn.

4What changed in 1976 and 1978?

The text of Article 74 has changed twice. Exams like to ask about both changes.

• The 42nd Amendment, 1976 made the President bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.
• Before it, the Constitution did not say this in so many words. It was a settled practice.
• The 44th Amendment, 1978 added a proviso. The President may ask the Council to reconsider its advice once.
• After reconsideration, the President must act on the advice that comes back.
• So the President gets one chance to ask for a second look. He never gets a veto over the ministers’ final advice.
• Keep the two years straight: 1976 made it binding, 1978 allowed one reconsideration.

5What is the President’s role as supreme commander?

• Article 53(2) vests the supreme command of the defence forces in the President.
• Parliament regulates how this power is used, through law.
• In practice the government and the armed forces’ chiefs run day-to-day matters.
• So the President is the ceremonial Supreme Commander. This is a point of form, not of daily command.
• Major decisions on war and the armed forces are taken by the Cabinet and the Defence Minister’s ministry.

6What are the exam traps on Article 53?

• Trap 1: the Prime Minister formally holds executive power. The President does.
• Trap 2: the President acts alone. He acts on ministerial advice.
• Trap 3: the Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board. The Cabinet Secretary chairs it.
• Trap 4: the President can only use power through subordinate officers. He can use it directly or through them.
• Trap 5: Article 74 was always binding. It became binding in 1976.

7How has Article 53 been asked in exams?