Conditions of the President's Office (Article 59)

President office conditions are laid down in Article 59 of the Constitution, which governs the terms under which a person occupies the presidency once elected. Unlike Article 58, which fixes who may contest for the office, Article 59 fixes the restrictions and entitlements that apply once a candidate actually becomes President.

What Article 59 Provides

Article 59 has four clauses:

1. No legislative membership — The President shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of any state legislature. If a sitting member of Parliament or a state legislature is elected President, that person is deemed to have automatically vacated their legislative seat on the date they enter upon the presidential office.
2. No other office of profit — The President shall not hold any other office of profit while in office.
3. Residence, emoluments, and privileges — The President is entitled, without payment of rent, to the use of official residences, and to such emoluments, allowances, and privileges as Parliament may determine by law. Until Parliament makes such a law, the emoluments, allowances, and privileges specified in the Second Schedule to the Constitution apply.
4. Protection against reduction in pay — The President's emoluments and allowances cannot be reduced during the term of office.

Why an Automatic Vacation of Seat

The rule in clause (1) avoids ambiguity: rather than requiring the elected President to formally resign a parliamentary or assembly seat, the Constitution treats the seat as vacated automatically the moment the person enters upon the presidential office. This keeps the transition clean and prevents any period during which a person might simultaneously be a legislator and the head of state.

Financial Independence and Security of Tenure

Clause (3) guarantees the President's residence and emoluments, while clause (4) protects those emoluments from being cut during the term. Together, these provisions insulate the President's material position from political pressure by the government of the day — a safeguard comparable to the salary protections built into the offices of Supreme Court and High Court judges, and reinforcing the presidency's character as an office above ordinary political contest.

How Article 59 Fits with the Broader Scheme

Article 59 should be read alongside Article 53, which vests the executive power of the Union in the President (exercised directly or through subordinate officers, with supreme command of the armed forces also vested in this office), and Article 56, which fixes a five-year term, subject to resignation, removal by impeachment, or continuation in office until a successor enters upon the role. The office-of-profit bar in Article 59(2) mirrors the office-of-profit condition already imposed at the qualification stage in Article 58, ensuring consistency between who may contest and what that person may not do once elected.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Article 59(1): a sitting MP or MLA elected President automatically vacates their legislative seat — no separate resignation is required.
• The President's emoluments, allowances, and privileges, until fixed by Parliament, follow the Second Schedule.
• Emoluments cannot be reduced during the President's term — a protection comparable to judicial salary safeguards.

Mains

• Examine how Article 59 reinforces the constitutional design of the presidency as a non-partisan, financially secure head of state.
• Compare the conditions of office under Article 59 with the qualifications for election under Article 58, and explain why the Constitution separates the two.

FAQ

Q1. Does a Member of Parliament who becomes President need to resign their seat? No separate resignation is needed — Article 59(1) provides that the seat is automatically deemed vacated on the date the person enters upon the office of President.

Q2. Can the President hold any other paid office while serving as President? No. Article 59(2) bars the President from holding any other office of profit during the term.

Q3. Who decides the President's salary and allowances? Parliament, by law. Until Parliament legislates on the matter, the amounts specified in the Second Schedule apply.

Q4. Can the President's salary be reduced during the term? No. Article 59(4) expressly prohibits any diminution of the President's emoluments and allowances during the term of office.

Q5. Is the President entitled to a rent-free official residence? Yes. Article 59(3) entitles the President to the use of official residences without payment of rent.

Quick Revision

• Article 59 sets the conditions attached to the office of President once elected.
• No membership of Parliament or any state legislature; seat auto-vacated on entering office.
• No other office of profit permitted.
• Rent-free official residence; emoluments/allowances per Parliament's law or, failing that, the Second Schedule.
• Emoluments cannot be reduced during the term.

Sources

• The Constitution of India, Article 59 — https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india
• The Constitution of India, Second Schedule — https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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