The President is indirectly elected by an electoral college comprising the Parliament of India (both houses) and the Legislative Assemblies of each of India's states and territories, who themselves are all directly elected.
Although the Article 53 of the Constitution of India states that the President can exercise his powers directly or by subordinate authority, with few exceptions, all of the executive powers vested in the President are, in practice, exercised by the Prime Minister (a subordinate authority) with the help of the Council of Ministers.[2] The President is bound by the constitution to act on the advice of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as long as the advice is not violating the constitution.
India achieved independence from the British on 15 August 1947, initially as a Dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations with George VI as king, represented in the country by a governor-general.[3] Still, following this, the Constituent Assembly of India, under the leadership of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, undertook the process of drafting a completely new constitution for the country. The Constitution of India was eventually enacted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950,[4]:26 making India a republic.[5]:9 The offices of monarch and governor-general were replaced by the new office of President of India, with Rajendra Prasad as the first incumbent.[5]:1
The constitution of the Republic of India (Articles 53, 74(2), 79 & 111) gave the President the responsibility and authority to defend and protect the constitution of India and its rule of law.[6] Invariably, any action taken by the executive or legislature entities of the constitution shall become law only after President's assent. The president shall not accept any actions of the executive or legislature which are unconstitutional. The president is the foremost, most empowered and prompt defender of the constitution (Article 60), who has pre-emptive power for ensuring constitutionality in the actions of the executive or legislature. The role of the judiciary in upholding the constitution of India is the second line of defence in nullifying any unconstitutional actions of the executive and legislative entities of the Indian Union.
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