'The President acts only as advised by the Council of Ministers.' Elaborate with reference to ministerial appointments and resignations.

Q. 'The President acts only as advised by the Council of Ministers.' Elaborate with reference to ministerial appointments and resignations. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Article 74(1) provides for a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister "to aid and advise the President," who shall act in accordance with such advice [1]. Ministerial appointments and resignations are the clearest working proof of this advice-bound Presidency.

Constitutional basis of the binding advice - The 42nd Amendment (1976) made ministerial advice binding; the 44th Amendment (1978) allows the President to seek reconsideration only once, after which the advice must be accepted [1]. - Article 74(2) bars courts from inquiring into what advice was tendered, shielding the real decision-maker. - In Shamsher Singh v. State of Punjab, the Supreme Court held that the President is a constitutional head who exercises formal powers on ministerial advice.

Ministerial appointments - Article 75(1): the Prime Minister is appointed by the President, but other Ministers are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister — the text itself removes presidential choice over composition [1]. - Portfolio allocation follows the same route: communiques of the President's Secretariat record that the President, "as advised by the Prime Minister," assigned a Cabinet Minister additional charge of a ministry [3]. - Article 75(1A) caps the Council at 15% of Lok Sabha strength and 75(1B) bars a defection-disqualified member — limits fixed by law, not by the President [1].

Ministerial resignations - Article 75(2) states that Ministers hold office "during the pleasure of the President," yet that pleasure is exercised solely on the Prime Minister's advice [1]. - The July 2026 Press Communique accepting Shri Ravneet Singh's resignation from the Union Council of Ministers "with immediate effect, under clause (2) of Article 75" expressly records it as done "as advised by the Prime Minister" [2]. - A resignation becomes operative on acceptance rather than on tendering — but acceptance is formal once advice arrives.

Discretion survives only in the residual space where advice is absent or doubtful — choosing a Prime Minister in a hung House, or dismissing a ministry that has lost majority. Proposals such as the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 on removal of detained Ministers would narrow that space further [4]. The Presidency thus derives its strength not from independent will but from being the constitutional guarantor of responsible government.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. The Constitution of India, Department of Legal Affairs — Articles 74(1), 74(2), 75(1), 75(1A), 75(1B), 75(2); 42nd and 44th Amendments 2. Press Communique, Press Information Bureau (July 2026) — acceptance of resignation from the Union Council of Ministers under clause (2) of Article 75, as advised by the Prime Minister 3. Press Communique, President's Secretariat — issuing authority for appointment, resignation and portfolio-assignment announcements 4. The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 — PRS Legislative Research — proposed removal of Ministers upon detention