List Of Vice Presidents Of India And Their Term Of Office

The Vice President of India, officially the Vice President of the Republic of India, is the second-highest constitutional position in India after the President. Article 63 of the Indian Constitution stipulates that “India shall have a Vice President”. When the president is absent due to death, resignation, impeachment, or other circumstances, the vice president shall act on his behalf.

The Vice President of India is also the ex officio President of Rajya Sabha. When a bill is introduced in Rajya Sabha, the vice president decides whether it is a financial bill. If only the Vice President confirms that the bill presented in Rajya Sabha is a financial bill, it will be referred to the spokesperson Lok Sabha for a decision.

Article 66 of the Constitution of India stipulates the method of election of the vice president. The vice president is indirectly elected by a single transferable voting method according to the Proportional Representation System, which is made up of members of the electoral college from both houses of parliament. Voting is done by secret ballot by the electoral commission.

The term of a Vice President is five years but one important point to note here is that a Vice President can remain in office until the next successor takes responsibility for the office irrespective of the time of his term.

The article is focused on the description of the Vice President and their responsibilities. The article also mentions the list of vice presidents of India and their term of office, the article also focuses on describing the qualification of vice president of India as well as the election process of a vice president in India. 

List Of Vice Presidents Of India

Mentioned below is the list of Vice Presidents that served the country since Indian independence. The list of vice presidents also contains the name of presidents during the tenure of vice presidents. The list is given below. 

The above mentioned is the complete list of vice presidents of India and their term of office. One interesting fact about vice presidents is that the salary of the vice president per month is 4 lacs per month. The post of vice president was adopted from the United States of America into the Indian constitution. 

Qualification of Vice President of India

There are some eligibility criteria to serve as vice president of India, the eligibility or qualifications required are mentioned below in the following points.

• He or she must be at least 35 years old.

• He or she must be a citizen of India.

• He or she must not be a member of the Rajya Sabha.

• He or she must not hold any office of profit.

Although to become president, a person must be eligible to be elected as a member of the Lok Sabha, and the vice president must be eligible to be elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States). This difference is due to the vice president serving as ex officio president of Rajya Sabha.

Election Of Vice President Of India

The Vice President is elected indirectly, by an electoral college made up of members (elected and nominated) from both houses of Parliament, in accordance with the proportional representation system through the single transferable vote and the vote in a said election is made by secret ballot. 

The election of the vice president is slightly different from the election of the president because the members of the state legislature are not part of the electoral college, but the nominated members of the two houses are all part of the electoral college of the vice president. The nomination for a vice-presidential candidate must be signed by at least 20 voters as supporters and 20 voters as secondary members.

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional body responsible for conducting elections. The election will be held within 60 days after the expiration of the outgoing vice president's term. Election officials are appointed on a rotating basis, generally the secretary-general of both houses of parliament.

The returning official issues a notice of the proposed election and invites the candidates to nominate. Any person qualified to be elected and who wishes to stand for election must be nominated by at least twenty MPs as proponents and at least twenty other MPs as secondaries. The nomination documents are reviewed by the returning officials, and the names of all eligible candidates are added to the ballot.

Once the election is over and the votes are counted, the Regulatory Officer announces the results of the election to the Electoral College. He then reports the result to the Central Government (Ministry of Law and Justice) and the Election Commission of India and the Central Government publishes the name of the person elected as Vice President, in the Official Gazette.

The Vice President can submit a resignation to the president. The resignation takes effect from the date of acceptance.

Disputes In The Election Of A Vice President

All disputes related to the election of the vice president are referred to the Supreme Court of India, which will investigate the matter. The petition is heard by the five-member court of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court makes a decision on it. The decision of the Supreme Court is final.

The Supreme Court will investigate and rule on doubts and disputes arising from or related to the election of the Vice President in accordance with Article 71, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution. According to the Representation of the People Act of 1951, the Supreme Court can remove the Vice President for election fraud or ineligibility to become a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Subject to Article 71 (3), Parliament has established applicable rules/procedures to request the Supreme Court to resolve disputes that only arise during the election of the Vice President, and not due to his unconstitutional behaviour/behaviour or change of Indian citizenship.

The Supreme Court will also promptly resolve any doubts that arise as to which the vice president-elect might not be eligible for membership in Rajya Sabha due to unconstitutional acts committed prior to becoming vice president. The so-called unconstitutional acts committed by the President, such as the refusal of members of Rajya Sabha to impeach the Chief Justice of India and other judges. The law is based on  Article 124(4) and Judges (Inquiry) Act,1968.

Term Of A Vice President In India

The vice president's term is five years. The vice president can be re-elected multiple times. However, the position can be terminated early due to death, resignation or removal. Except for reelection, the Constitution does not provide a succession mechanism for the office of vice president in the event of a special vacancy. However, in this case, Vice President Rajya Sabha can serve as Vice President as President Rajya Sabha. 

However, when the President dies while in office and the Vice President takes over, he or she can continue to serve as President for up to 6 months, during which time a new President will be elected.

Removal Of A Vice President

As we have already discussed the list of vice presidents of India and their term of office along with the election procedure we can now understand the procedure of removal of the vice president. The constitution stipulates that the vice president can be removed from office by a resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha with an effective majority (that is, a majority of all members of the Lok Sabha at the time) and a resolution passed by the Lok Sabha with a simple majority.

However, such a resolution cannot be introduced until at least 14 days' notice has been given. Notably, there are no grounds for removal in the Constitution. According to Article 122, the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha cannot be challenged in court. No Vice President has ever been removed.

According to Article 71(1) of the constitution, the Supreme Court has the power to dismiss the Vice President if he or she commits election malpractices or fails to meet the eligibility conditions for a Rajya Sabha member while in office. According to Article 71(1), it is also the Supreme Court's responsibility to investigate any suspicions raised about a Vice President's conduct and, if the Vice President is found guilty, to remove him.

In conclusion of the article, the Vice President is one of the most powerful people in Indian politics and administration. The Vice President of India serves a minimum term of five years; there are 13 people designated as Vice President of the country since independence.