Vice-President of India

Also called: Vice-President, Article 63 · Topic: Union Executive: President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 5 "Universal Franchise and India's Electoral System"; Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"; Class 11, Ch 4 "Executive"

Meaning

The Vice-President of India (Article 63) holds the second-highest office in the country. The Vice-President is elected for five years by all members of both Houses of Parliament. The Vice-President chairs the Rajya Sabha as its ex officio Chairman (Article 64). When the President's office is vacant, or the President cannot work, the Vice-President acts as President (Article 65).

The office matters because it links the executive and Parliament. The Vice-President runs the Upper House every day and keeps the government running when the President's office is vacant. The Vice-President's election and removal are among the most-tested "compare with the President" questions.

Explanation

Two roles: Chairman and Acting President (Arts. 64-65)

• Ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Art. 64): ex officio means "because of the post held". The Rajya Sabha does not hold a separate election for its Chairman.
• The Vice-President is paid as Chairman. The office of Vice-President has no separate salary.

• The Vice-President is not a member of the Rajya Sabha. The Vice-President presides over the House without being one of its members.

• Acting President (Art. 65): the Vice-President acts as President when the President's office falls vacant through death, resignation or removal.

• This lasts only until a new President takes office.
• A new President must be elected within six months of the vacancy.
• If the President is absent or ill, the Vice-President carries out the President's functions until the President returns.

• While acting as President, the Vice-President does not chair the Rajya Sabha. The Deputy Chairman presides instead.

• Part of the Union Executive: the Union Executive is the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. The Vice-President's main everyday work is chairing the Rajya Sabha.

Election (Art. 66)

• Electoral college: the group of people who elect someone. For the Vice-President, it is all members of both Houses of Parliament, elected and nominated.
• The 11th Amendment, 1961 created this electoral college. Before that, members voted in a joint meeting of both Houses.

• State MLAs take no part. NCERT calls this the "only difference" from the President's election.

• Method of voting:

• Proportional representation by single transferable vote: each voter ranks the candidates 1, 2, 3 and so on. A candidate must reach a fixed winning number (the quota). If nobody reaches it, the weakest candidate is removed, and that candidate's votes pass to each voter's next choice.
• Secret ballot: nobody can see how a member voted.

• Every vote has equal value. In the President's election, votes carry different weights.

• Qualifications (Art. 66(3)-(4)): the candidate must:

• be a citizen of India;
• be at least 35 years old;
• be qualified to be elected to the Rajya Sabha;

• not hold an office of profit (a paid post under the Union, a state, or a local authority controlled by them).

• Nomination: the candidate needs 20 proposers, 20 seconders and a security deposit of ₹15,000. These rules come from the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952.

Term, vacancy, oath and disputes (Arts. 67-71)

• Term (Art. 67): five years from the day the Vice-President enters office.
• The Vice-President can resign early by writing to the President (Art. 67(a)).

• When the term ends, the Vice-President stays in office until the successor takes over [5].

• Vacancy (Art. 68): a vacancy must be filled as soon as possible. The new Vice-President gets a full new five-year term, not just what was left of the old one.

• Oath (Art. 69): taken before the President, or before a person the President appoints.
• Disputes (Art. 71): any doubt or dispute about the election is decided only by the Supreme Court.

Removal procedure (Art. 67(b))

1. Notice: a member must give at least 14 days' notice that a resolution will be moved [5].
2. Rajya Sabha vote: the Rajya Sabha passes the resolution by a majority of all its then members. This is called an effective majority: more than half of the House's actual strength at that time, leaving out vacant seats [5][6].
3. Lok Sabha agreement: the Lok Sabha must agree to the resolution [5]. - Limits and features: - The Constitution lists no grounds for removal. - There is no impeachment-style trial. Impeachment is a special process with charges and an investigation, and it is used only for the President. - Only the Rajya Sabha can start the process. - No two-thirds majority is needed. The Rajya Sabha's procedure manual says removal works much like removing the Lok Sabha Speaker, because the Vice-President's main job is chairing the House [6].

• During the resolution (Art. 92): the Vice-President cannot preside over the Rajya Sabha but can speak and take part in the proceedings [6].

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it sits: Articles 63 to 71 in Part V of the Constitution (the Union Executive).
• Art. 63: creates the office.
• Art. 64: Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• Art. 65: acts as President.
• Art. 66: election and qualifications.
• Art. 67: term, resignation and removal.
• Art. 68: filling vacancies.
• Art. 69: oath.
• Art. 71: election disputes.

• Art. 92: the Chairman does not preside while a removal resolution is being considered.

• Laws and amendments:

• 11th Amendment, 1961: replaced the joint meeting of both Houses with an electoral college.
• Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952: sets the nomination rules and the security deposit.

• President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969: passed on 28 May 1969 [7]. If the offices of President and Vice-President are both vacant, the Chief Justice of India carries out the President's functions. If the Chief Justice is not available, the senior-most available Supreme Court judge does so [7]. This lasts until a new President is elected or a new Vice-President begins to act as President, whichever is earlier [7].

• Key instances:

• 1969, V.V. Giri: Giri became Acting President after President Zakir Husain died in May 1969. Giri then resigned both posts to contest the presidential election, which left both offices vacant at once.
• 1969, Justice M. Hidayatullah: Hidayatullah was Chief Justice from 10 January 1969 to 21 January 1971 [8]. He acted as President under the 1969 Act. He is the only Chief Justice who has done so.
• 1977, B.D. Jatti: Jatti acted as President after President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed died in office.
• December 2024: opposition members gave the first-ever removal notice, against Jagdeep Dhankhar. The Deputy Chairman rejected it.
• 21 July 2025: Dhankhar resigned, citing his health, under Art. 67(a).
• 9 September 2025 election: 781 electors could vote. 767 voted, and 15 ballot papers were declared invalid. C.P. Radhakrishnan (NDA) defeated B. Sudershan Reddy (INDIA bloc and a former Supreme Court judge) by 452 votes to 300 [2].
• 12 September 2025: President Droupadi Murmu gave Radhakrishnan the oath at Ganatantra Mandap, Rashtrapati Bhavan, as Art. 69 requires [3]. He became the 15th Vice-President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha [4].
• The vacancy was filled in about seven weeks, which follows Art. 68. Radhakrishnan's full five-year term began in September 2025.

Don't confuse with

• Impeachment of the President (Art. 61): this needs the ground "violation of the Constitution", can start in either House, needs two-thirds of total membership in each House, and includes an investigation. Removing the Vice-President needs no grounds, starts only in the Rajya Sabha, needs an effective majority there plus Lok Sabha agreement, and has no trial.
• The President's election (Arts. 54-55): elected MLAs vote, nominated MPs do not, and votes are weighted. In the Vice-President's election, all MPs, including nominated MPs, vote, MLAs do not, and every vote has equal value.
• Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha: the Deputy Chairman is a member of the Rajya Sabha and presides when the Chairman is acting as President or a removal resolution is being considered. The Chairman (the Vice-President) is not a member of the House.
• US Vice-President: the US Vice-President becomes President for the rest of the term. India's Vice-President only acts as President until a new President is elected, which must happen within six months.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 64: the Vice-President is ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and is paid as Chairman, not as Vice-President.
• Trap: nominated MPs vote in the Vice-President's election but not in the President's election. MLAs do not vote in the Vice-President's election.
• 11th Amendment, 1961: replaced the joint meeting of both Houses with an electoral college.
• Art. 67(b): a removal resolution can start only in the Rajya Sabha. It needs 14 days' notice, an effective majority in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha agreement. No grounds are stated.
• President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969: if both offices are vacant, the Chief Justice acts as President, or else the senior-most available Supreme Court judge. Justice M. Hidayatullah did so in 1969 [7].
• 2025: C.P. Radhakrishnan became the 15th Vice-President. He won 452–300 on 9 September and took the oath on 12 September 2025 [2][3][4].

Mains Points

• Removal is easy and has no due process.
• There are no stated grounds, no trial, and an effective majority in the Rajya Sabha plus Lok Sabha agreement is enough.
• A ruling side with majorities in both Houses could remove a Vice-President who presides fairly. The President, in contrast, is protected by the strict Art. 61 impeachment process.

• The December 2024 notice against Jagdeep Dhankhar shows that the Chair's neutrality has become a subject of political conflict.

• Two roles that do not fit easily together.

• The Vice-President is a constitutional figure meant to stand above party politics, but also chairs a House where the ruling side may lack a majority.
• Rulings from the Chair on adjournments, money bills or debates can make the office look partisan.

• One possible reform is to make conventions on the Chair's neutrality binding, like those for the Speaker.

• Acting President, not successor. A full new term after a vacancy.

• Unlike in the USA, the Vice-President does not finish the President's term. This keeps the presidency tied to a fresh election by an electoral college that includes the states. The cost is a possible six-month gap, and in 1969 both offices were vacant at once. The 1969 Act now covers that case.
• Under Art. 68, a mid-term vacancy brings a full new five-year term, as in 2025. So the Vice-President's term need not match the Lok Sabha's or the President's timetable.

Related concepts

• Election of the Vice-President
• Removal of the Vice-President
• Acting President
• President (Discharge of Functions) Act 1969

Read more

• The Vice-President