The election for the Vice President is conductedthrough a secret ballotwhere themembers ofElectoral College consisting of Members of the both Houses of Parliament including, the nominated members of Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabhavote. The voting is done by proportional representation by single transferable vote.

Freedom of religion includes the freedom to profess, follow and propagate any religion. Freedomof religion is subject to certain limitations.

The government can impose restrictions on the practice of freedom of religion in order to protect public order, morality and health.

Thismeans that the freedom of religion is not an unlimited right. The government can interfere in religious matters for rooting out certain social evils.

For example in the past, the government has taken steps banning practices like sati, bigamy or human sacrifice. Such restrictions cannot be opposed in the name of interference in right to freedom of religion.

The Constitution does not allow forcible conversions.

Since 1950, government made many laws that limited this right to property. This right was at the centre of the long debate over the relationship between rights and directive principles. Finally, in 1973, the Supreme Court gave a decision that the right to property was not part of the basic structure of the Constitution and therefore, parliament had power to abridge this right by an amendment.

In 1978, the 44th amendment to the Constitution removed the right to property from the list ofFundamental Rights and converted it into a simple legal (constitutional) right.

The Electoral College to elect a person to the office of the Vice-President consists of all members of both Houses of Parliament (both elected and nominated members). The electoral college for electing the President of India comprises of only the elected members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies.

Dr. Ambedkar considered the right to constitutional remedies as ‘heart and soul of the constitution’. It is so because this right gives a citizen the right to approach a High Court or the Supreme Court to get any of the fundamental rights restored in case of their violation. The Supreme Court and the High Courts can issue orders and give directives to the government for the enforcement of rights.

Discretionary Powers of the President.

Constitutionally, the President has a right to be informed of all important matters and deliberations of the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister is obliged to furnish all the information that the President may call for. The President often writes to the Prime Minister and expresses his views on matters confronting the country. Besides this, there are at least three situations where the President can exercise the powers using his or her own discretion. In the first place, we have already noted that the President can send back the advice given by the Council of Ministers and ask the Council to reconsider the decision. In doing this, the President acts on his (or her) own discretion. When the President thinks that the advice has certain flaws or legal lacunae, or that it is not in the best interests of the country, the President can ask the Council to reconsider the decision. Although, the Council can still send back the same advice and the President would then be bound by that advice, such a request by the President to reconsider the decision, would naturally carry a lot of weight. So, this is one way in which the president can act in his own discretion.

Secondly, the President also has veto power by which he can withhold or refuse to give assent to Bills (other than Money Bill) passed by the Parliament. Every bill passed by the Parliament goes to the President for his assent before it becomes a law. The President can send the bill back to the Parliament asking it to reconsider the bill. This ‘veto’ power is limited because, if the Parliament passes the same bill again and sends it back to the President, then, the President has to give assent to that bill. However, there is no mention in the Constitution about the time limit within which the President must send the bill back for reconsideration. This means that the President can just keep the bill pending with him without any time limit. This gives the President an informal power to use the veto in a very effective manner. This is sometimes referred to as ‘pocket veto’.

Then, the third kind of discretion arises more out of political circumstances. Formally, the President appoints the Prime Minister. Normally, in the parliamentary system, a leader who has the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha would be appointed as Prime Minister and the question of discretion would not arise. But imagine a situation when after an election, no leader has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha. Imagine further that after attempts to forge alliances, two or three leaders are claiming that they have the support of the majority in the house. Now, the President has to decide whom to appoint as the Prime Minister. In such a situation, the President has to use his own discretion in judging who really may have the support of the majority or who can actually form and run the government.

It is possible that sometimes our rights may be violated by fellow citizens, private bodies or by the government. When any of our rights are violated we can seek remedy through courts. If it is a Fundamental Right we can directly approach the Supreme Court or the High Court of a state. That is why Dr. Ambedkar called the Right to Constitutional Remedies, ‘the heart and soul’ of our Constitution. Fundamental Rights are guaranteed against the actions of theLegislatures, the Executive, and any other authorities instituted by the government. There can be no law or action that violates the Fundamental Rights.

An ordinance made when both the Houses are in session is void. Thus, the power of The President to legislate by ordinance is not a parallel power of legislation

Ordinance can’t be issued to amend constitution.

Every ordinance issued by the President during the recess of Parliament must be laid

Before both the Houses of Parliament when it reassembles. If the ordinance is approved by both the Houses, it becomes an act. The maximum life of an ordinance can be sixmonths and six weeks, in case of non-approval by the Parliament (six months being the maximum gap between the two sessions of Parliament).

Quo Warranto is issued by the court if the court finds that a person is holding office but is not entitled to hold that office restricts that person from acting as an office holder and to enquire into the legality of claim of a person to a public office. The writ can be issued only in case of a substantive public office of a permanent character created by a statute or by the Constitution.

A writ of Prohibition is issued by a higher court (High Court or Supreme Court) when a lower court has considered a case going beyond its jurisdiction.