Constitution Section 53 — Executive power of the Union

Part V — THE UNION — The President and Vice-President

Constitutional

Summary

The President holds the executive power of the Union, meaning the authority to run the national government, and can exercise this power directly or through officials working under them, as long as it follows the Constitution. The President is also the supreme commander of the country’s defence forces, but the way this command is used must be set by law. This section does not give the President any powers that state governments or other authorities already have under existing laws, and it does not stop Parliament from giving certain functions to other authorities instead of the President.

Official Text

(1) The executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the supreme command of the Defence Forces of the Union shall be vested in the President and the exercise thereof shall be regulated by law.

(3) Nothing in this article shall—

(a) be deemed to transfer to the President any functions conferred by any existing law on the Government of any State or other authority; or

(b) prevent Parliament from conferring by law functions on authorities other than the President.