The 14th Vice-President of India submits his resignation to President
▪ The 14th Vice-President of India – Jagdeep Dhankhar
Vice-President of India
▪ Article 63 – Office of Vice-President of India.
▪ Article 64 – Serves as the ex-officio Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and cannot hold any other
office of profit.
▪ Article 65 – Vice President shall act as President in the event of a vacancy or the President’s inability to discharge duties.
▪ Article 67 – Serves a five-year term from the date of assuming office and continues until their
successor assumes charge.
▪ Article 67(a) – A Vice President may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office.
▪ Article 67(b) – Vice President may be removed if an effective majority “all the then members of Rajya Sabha” passes a resolution for his removal, which must then be “agreed to” by the Lok Sabha, with at least 14 days’ notice given before moving the resolution.
✓ Resolution for removal is introduced only in RS
▪ Constitution mentions no ground for removal.
▪ As of now, no Vice President of India has ever been removed from office through impeachment.
▪ V.V. Giri (Vice President from 1967–1969) resigned in 1969 to contest the presidential election after the death of President Zakir Husain.
Types of Rights
▪ Natural Rights – Inherent and inalienable (e.g., right to life, liberty). Not directly enforceable by courts.
▪ Fundamental Rights – Guaranteed in Part III of the Constitution; directly enforceable under Article 32.
▪ Constitutional Rights – Found in the Constitution (but outside Part III); e.g., right to property, free trade.
▪ Statutory Rights – Given through laws passed by Parliament or State Legislatures; e.g., MGNREGS, Food Security.
▪ Right to Vote: Current Legal Status
✓ Right to vote is a statutory right, not a fundamental or constitutional right (as per current Supreme Court rulings).
✓ Article 326: Grants universal adult suffrage — every citizen above 18 years has the right to vote, unless disqualified.
✓ Section 62 of the RP Act, 1951: Only those on the electoral roll can vote; excludes prisoners and disqualified persons.
Key Court Judgments
✓ N.P. Ponnuswami (1952) & Jyoti Basu (1982): Right to vote is statutory.
✓ PUCL case (2003): Justice Reddy called it a constitutional right, though not fundamental.
✓ Kuldip Nayar (2006) & Anoop Baranwal (2023): Reaffirmed as statutory right.
✓ Justice Ajay Rastogi’s dissent (Anoop Baranwal): Called voting a form of expression under Article 19(1)(a); essential to free and fair elections, part of the basic structure — suggested that it should be elevated to a constitutional right.
