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President

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President

According to the Constitution of India, the President holds the formal Executive power of the Union government. On paper, the President is given widespread Executive, Legislative, Judicial, and Emergency powers. In reality, in a parliamentary system, the President exercises such powers only as per the advice of the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers are the real Executive since they are supported by the Lok Sabha majority.

There is no direct election by the people for the selection of the President. The President is indirectly elected for a term of 5 years. Thus, the President is not elected by the citizens of India, instead, they are elected by the MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) and MPs (Members of Parliament). This election takes place in accordance with the principle of proportional representation with a single transferable vote. To qualify for the position of President, one has to be a citizen of India and a minimum of 35 years old. They should also have qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha.  Only the Parliament has the power to remove the President by following the procedure for impeachment.

The supreme commander of the defense forces of India is the President. The President has the power to appoint all the major heads of the different institutions of the government, such as

  • The appointment of the Chief Justice of India
  • The Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts of the states
  • The Governors of the states
  • The Election Commissioners
  • Ambassadors to other countries, etc.

 

Executive

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Executive

The Union Executive is responsible for implementing the laws authorized by the Legislature and enforcing the will of the state. The Executive serves as the administrative head of the government. It's comprised of the President, the Vice-President, and the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister who aid and advise the President.

Council of Ministers

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Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers in a state is similar to the Council of Ministers at the central level. At the state level, they are headed by the Chief Minister. The Governor is responsible for appointing the Council of  Ministers on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Council of Ministers in a state are responsible and accountable to the legislative assembly of that state.

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Parliament

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Parliament

Parliament under the Union Government of India refers to the national legislature and consists of two houses making it a bicameral legislature. The Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People) are the two houses in the Indian Parliament. The Parliament is considered to be the highest forum for debates in the country.

The Parliament is given the key power to discuss and enact changes, and make amendments to the Constitution of India. The process for enacting laws begins with the introduction of a bill in either of the two houses. A bill is a draft proposal, which needs to be passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and only after the President gives his nod, it becomes an act. After the introduction of a Bill, the house may take it up for discussion or refer it to a Joint Committee/Select Committee to examine each clause and report back. In the next stage, the bill is put to a vote with the members present in the house, and based on the majority votes it is either rejected or passed.

Following is a list of key functions of the Parliament:

  1. Legislative Function: The role of the Parliament is to enact legislations. Even though it is the primary law-making body, very often the role of the Parliament is to simply vote and approve legislations. The role of drafting the bill is performed by the bureaucracy under the guidance of the concerned minister. 
  2. Control of Executive and ensuring its accountability: One of the most crucial functions of the Parliament is to ensure the Executive maintains its responsibility towards the people who have elected it and does not misuse its authority. 
  3. Electoral function: The Parliament performs its electoral function by electing the President and Vice President of India. 
  4. Judicial Function: The proposals for the removal of the President, Vice President, and Judges of the Supreme Court and High Court are deliberated and decided upon by the Parliament.

State Government

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State Government

State governments in India are the governments ruling over 29 states and 8 union territories of India and the head of the Council of Ministers in a state is the Chief Minister. Power is divided between the Union government and state governments. While the Union government handles defence, external affairs etc., the state government deals with internal security (through state police) and other state issues.

Each state has a Legislative Assembly. A state legislature that has one house - State Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) - is a unicameral legislature. A state legislature that has two houses - the State Legislative assembly and State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) - is a bicameral legislature. The Vidhan Sabha is the lower house and corresponds to the Lok Sabha while the Vidhan Parishad is the upper house and corresponds to the Rajya Sabha of the Parliament of India.

Union Territory

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Union Territory

A Union Territory is a type of administrative division in the Republic of India. Unlike the states of India, which have their own governments, union territories are federal territories governed directly by the Central Government of India. The President is the executive head of a Union Territory. A Union Territory is administered by an administrator, appointed by the President.

Local Government

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Local Government

Local government in India refers to governmental jurisdictions below the level of the state. Since 1992, Local government in India has been formalized as Urban Local Governments (74th Amendment to the Constitution) and the Panchayati Raj Institutions (73rd Amendment to the Constitution). Urban localities derive their powers from the individual State governments, while the powers of rural localities have been formalized under the Panchayati Raj System. As of 2017, there are a total of 267,428 Local government bodies in India, of which 262,771 are rural and 4,657 are urban.

District and Session Courts

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District and Session Courts

The District & Sessions Courts of India are the district courts of the state governments in India. Their key role is to administer justice at a district level in India. They are set up for each district, or for more than one district together. This is done by calculating the number of cases in each district and the population distribution of that district. Every district has two types of courts; (i) Civil Courts (District Courts) (ii) Criminal Courts (Sessions Courts).

Metropolitan Courts

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Metropolitan Courts

Metropolitan Courts preside over both civil as well as criminal matters. The civil courts include city civil courts and courts of smaller causes. The criminal courts are courts of the Session Judge, Chief Metropolitan Judge and Metropolitan Magistrate.

Metropolitan courts are set up in every metropolitan area that has a population of 10 lakh people or more. Section 16 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPc),  states, "there shall be established as many courts of Metropolitan Magistrates, and at such places, as the State Government may, after consultation with the High Court specify."

According to the criminal court structure in India, the courts of Metropolitan Magistrates are ranked as the second lowest. A Metropolitan Magistrate is a first class magistrate who operates under the District & Sessions Judge. They are allowed to pass a sentence of imprisonment that does not exceed 3 years, or a fine that does not exceed INR 10,000.

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High Court

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High Court

High Courts are the topmost courts in each state and union territory. Currently, there are a total of 25 High Courts in India. Some Indian states share a common High Court, such as the states of Haryana and Punjab, and the union territory of Chandigarh.

A High Court is a principal court of original jurisdiction in every state and union territory. Although, it only when the Subordinate Courts are not permitted by law to try a matter, then High Courts can exercise their original jurisdiction in criminal or civil cases.

There is a variable number of judges in every High Court. This number is calculated by calculating the average number of main cases filed in a particular court during the last five years and dividing it either by the national average number of cases or by the average rate of cases disposed of by each judge per year for that High Court, whichever is higher.

Only those individuals who are Indian citizens can be appointed as High Court judges. They need to have held a judicial office in India and been an advocate in one or more High Court for atleast 10 years. The Judiciary itself is responsible for appointing High Court judges. This process is neither linked to the Legislature nor the Executive.

High Court judges retire at the age of 62 years and enjoy the safety of tenure until retirement. A High Court judge can only be removed through an address passed by the President. After a High Court judge retired, any office position providing a monetary benefit can not be held by them under the Government of India or a state. However, there are exceptions to this mandate. If the Chief Justice of India consents then retired judges can be nominated for o a temporary office.