His Highness, the Vice President of India: A Superfluous Office?

The post of Vice President of India should invite a critical appraisal, and it may also be examined if it could be made a part of history.

By R NARAYANAN

NEW DELHI, August 4, 2025 —Derek O’Brien, in his Facebook post, challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a response on the “brutal 25% Trump tariff?”

This was narrated by O’Brien, a veteran TMC Rajya Sabha MP, known for his intellectual brilliance, relative political honesty, no-nonsense attitude, and outspoken criticism of the present dispensation.

He has been a critic of Mr. Jagdeep Dhankhar, former Vice President, and his comments about Dhankhar at one of his press meets, though unsavoury, were quite popular. A few days ago, I saw his article in The Indian Express, offering a few suggestions to the new incumbent of the post of Vice President. Very interesting suggestions, indeed. He once said that 30% of the time in one Rajya Sabha session was taken up by Dhankhar. But I would say that at least another 10% of the time was consumed by the members of the Council arguing with Dhankhar.

Now my question is whether the office of the Vice President is truly indispensable. Can we not keep this post vacant at least until the next Presidential election, due in 2027? Why not synchronise the elections for President and Vice President, just as we propose to do under the concept of “One Nation, One Election” — where simultaneous elections are proposed for the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and local bodies?

I agree that this statement of mine may seem odd or even absurd, if not outright nonsensical. Nevertheless, I suggest you go through the Constitution carefully before branding me a fool.

Article 63 says that there shall be a Vice President. Please don’t jump on me citing the term shall, implying that it is a mandatory position. Article 93 also says that the Lok Sabha shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker. Here too, the term shall is used. Yet, remember that the post of Deputy Speaker remained unfilled for the entire term of the 13th Lok Sabha and for nearly a year in the 14th Lok Sabha.

I recall a government rule under the General Financial Rules stating that if a post remains vacant for two years, it is deemed to be abolished. The presumption is that if an office can function without a post for two years, it can continue without it indefinitely. You may be surprised to know that a few State Legislatures also did not fill the post of Deputy Speaker, faithfully following the footsteps of the Hon’ble Speaker.

The Union Executive, as per the Constitution, consists of the President, Vice President, Council of Ministers, and the Attorney General. The term “Vice President” is, in a way, a misnomer. Vice implies deputy — but the Vice President never acts as Deputy to the President while holding that post. This is because, as Vice President, he is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

The moment he assumes the office of President — whether temporarily or permanently — he becomes the full-fledged President, is administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India, and becomes entitled to all the privileges, immunities, salary, and allowances of the President. He also receives the constitutional protection under Article 361, which is otherwise available only to the President and Governors. But as Vice President, he does not get these immunities, since in that capacity he merely functions as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha — akin to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

As Vice President, he does not receive a separate salary. His salary is drawn only in his capacity as Chairman. He discharges the functions of Chairman by presiding over the sittings of the Rajya Sabha. Nevertheless, is he part of the Union Legislature? No. The Union Legislature comprises the President, Lok Sabha, and Rajya Sabha. The Vice President is not part of the Union Legislature, even though he functions as its presiding officer. He is part of the Union Executive yet does not discharge any executive functions.

His constitutional importance arises only when the office of the President becomes vacant — due to resignation, death, or impeachment. In such cases, the Vice President immediately steps in and becomes the full-fledged President. He is then administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India.

In the case of a casual vacancy as well, the Vice President becomes the President and is administered the oath of office. But unfortunately, the Constitution does not provide any clear mechanism to determine such vacancies unless the President personally declares that he/she is indisposed or away on a private visit. There is practically no other situation where the Vice President steps in as Acting President.

As per Article 66, the Vice President is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament — both elected and nominated. Prior to the 11th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1961, the Vice President was elected at a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, and no electoral college was envisaged.

A general reading of the Constitution may give the impression that the post of Vice President is essential to deal with unforeseen vacancies in the Presidency — for example, the sudden death of a President. This indeed happened in 1969.

President Zakir Husain died in May 1969. V. V. Giri, the Vice President, assumed charge as President immediately. The post of Vice President then became vacant. V. V. Giri wished to contest the Presidential election. Although there was no legal compulsion for him to resign from the Presidency (since the post is not considered an “office of profit”), he resigned to demonstrate greater ethical standards.

This created a peculiar situation where both the offices of President and Vice President were vacant simultaneously.

To overcome this constitutional vacuum, Parliament invoked Article 71 and enacted the President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969, which provided that in such contingencies, the Chief Justice of India would act as President. In the absence of the Chief Justice of India, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court would act as President. Accordingly, the then Chief Justice of India, Mohammad Hidayatullah, assumed charge and functioned as President until V. V. Giri was formally elected.

In other words, there is no absolute necessity for the post of Vice President, since the President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969 adequately addresses the absence of both the President and Vice President.

Now, it’s important to understand how the Vice President is removed from office. The Constitution provides that no reasons need to be cited for the removal of the Vice President, unlike in the case of the President, who can be impeached only for violation of the Constitution.

There is no minimum support requirement (such as one-fourth of members) to introduce a resolution for removing the Vice President — unlike the impeachment of the President.

There is no inquiry or opportunity to be heard, unlike the elaborate process of Presidential impeachment.

The only requirement for removal of the Vice President is a 14-day notice. The resolution must be passed by the Rajya Sabha by absolute majority, and then agreed to by the Lok Sabha.

In contrast, the President can be impeached only if both Houses pass the motion by a super special majority (two-thirds of the total membership).

Most importantly, when the Vice President resigns, dies, or is removed, there is no constitutional mandate to fill the post within six months — unlike the case of the President, where an election must be held within six months, and the Vice President may act as President only during that period.

Article 68 (2) clearly says that the election to fill a vacancy in the office of Vice President — due to death, resignation, removal, or otherwise — shall be held “as soon as possible” after the occurrence of the vacancy. The same wording appears in Article 93 regarding the Deputy Speaker.

Now, the question arises: In the absence of the Vice President, who would preside over the Rajya Sabha?

There is absolutely no issue here. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the panel of presiding officers can handle the sittings efficiently. Of course, the previous panel (nominated by the Chairman) may lapse, but the Deputy Chairman would be competent to constitute a new panel via a resolution of the House.

Therefore, the most pragmatic approach is to keep the post of Vice President vacant — at least until 2027 — so that it can be synchronised with the Presidential election.

Further, let’s be honest: today, many people don’t even know the name of the Speaker, or 95% of Ministers, or 50% of Chief Ministers. Many may not even know the name of the President. But Mr. Dhankhar was repeatedly in the news. That’s probably one of the most important reasons for his premature exit.

In other words, even if we get a new Vice President, the person must be low-profile. Otherwise, there may be another unceremonious exit.

Hence, isn’t it better to maintain the dignity of this post — in absentia?

(This is an opinion piece, and views expressed are those of the author only)

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