President's Right to Address and Send Messages to Houses

Presidential address messages to Parliament are governed by Article 86 of the Constitution, which gives the President two distinct powers: the right to address either House of Parliament or both Houses assembled together at any time, and the right to send messages to either House on a pending Bill or on any other matter. Together, these powers place the President inside the day-to-day working of Parliament, not merely at its ceremonial opening.

The Two Powers Under Article 86

Article 86 states that "the President may address either House of Parliament or both Houses assembled together, and for that purpose require the attendance of members," and separately, that "the President may send messages to either House of Parliament, whether with respect to a Bill then pending in Parliament or otherwise," with the receiving House required to consider the matter "with all convenient despatch."

Power	What it allows
Right to address (Art. 86(1))	President may address one House, or both Houses together, at any time; can require members' attendance
Right to send messages (Art. 86(2))	President may send a message to either House on a pending Bill or on any other matter; the House must take it up promptly

Unlike the opening address under Article 87, which must be delivered at fixed points in the parliamentary calendar, the Article 86 power is discretionary in timing — the President may exercise it "at any time," on any subject the President considers necessary to bring before Parliament.

How Article 86 Differs from Article 87's Special Address

Article 86 and Article 87 are often studied together because both concern communication from the President to Parliament, but they serve different purposes:

Feature	Article 86	Article 87
Nature	General, discretionary right to address/send messages	Mandatory special address
Timing	At any time, as the President chooses	Only at the first session after a general election and the first session of each year
Subject	Any matter, or a specific pending Bill	Informs Parliament of the "causes of its summons"
Attendance	May be to one House or both	Always to both Houses assembled together

Article 86, in other words, is a standing, open-ended constitutional channel, while Article 87 is a scheduled, obligatory event tied to the parliamentary calendar.

A Power Rarely Exercised in Practice

Although Article 86 gives the President a broad and continuing right to address Parliament or send it messages on any matter, constitutional commentary on the working of the Constitution over more than seven decades records that the President has, in practice, addressed Parliament only on the occasions mandated by Article 87 — after each general election and at the start of each year's first session — and has not otherwise exercised the separate power to send messages to the Houses. The gap between the scope of the power and its actual use illustrates a broader feature of the Indian presidency: significant formal powers exist on paper, but by convention the President exercises them on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, and does not use them to inject independent policy positions into Parliament outside the ministerial channel.

Where Article 86 Fits Within the President's Legislative Role

Article 86 is one part of a wider set of legislative powers the Constitution gives the President as an integral organ of Parliament under Article 79:

• Summoning, proroguing and dissolving — the President summons and prorogues the Houses and can dissolve the Lok Sabha (Article 85).
• Addressing and messaging — the President may address either House or both, and send messages on a Bill or otherwise (Article 86).
• Special address — the President addresses both Houses together at the start of the first session after a general election and the first session of each year (Article 87).
• Assent to Bills — a Bill passed by Parliament is presented to the President, who may assent, withhold assent, or (for non-Money Bills) return it for reconsideration (Article 111).
• Ordinances — when Parliament is not in session, the President may promulgate Ordinances having the force of law (Article 123).
• Summoning a joint sitting — the President can summon a joint sitting of both Houses to resolve a deadlock over a Bill (Article 108).

Read together, these provisions show why the President is constitutionally described as part of Parliament rather than an authority standing outside the legislature.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Article 86(1): President may address either House or both Houses together, at any time, and require members' attendance.
• Article 86(2): President may send messages to either House on a pending Bill or any other matter; the House must consider it "with all convenient despatch."
• Article 86 differs from Article 87, which mandates a special address only after a general election and at the start of each year's first session.
• The President exercises these powers on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.

Mains

• Distinguish between the President's general right to address Parliament under Article 86 and the mandatory special address under Article 87.
• Discuss why a broad constitutional power, such as the right to send messages under Article 86, may remain largely unused in practice within a parliamentary system.
• Examine Article 86 as part of the President's overall legislative role within Parliament.

FAQ

Q1. What does Article 86 of the Constitution provide? It gives the President the right to address either House of Parliament or both Houses together at any time, and to send messages to either House on a pending Bill or any other matter.

Q2. How is Article 86 different from Article 87? Article 86 is a general, discretionary power exercisable at any time; Article 87 is a mandatory special address the President must deliver at the first session after a general election and the first session of each year.

Q3. What must a House do when it receives a Presidential message under Article 86? The House must consider the matter required by the message "with all convenient despatch," that is, promptly and without unnecessary delay.

Q4. Has the President ever used the power to send messages to Parliament? Constitutional commentary on the working of the Constitution notes that, in practice, the President has not used the separate message-sending power, addressing Parliament only on the occasions required under Article 87.

Q5. On whose advice does the President exercise the Article 86 power? As with other constitutional functions, the President exercises this power on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

Quick Revision

• Article 86(1): right to address either House or both Houses, at any time.
• Article 86(2): right to send messages on a pending Bill or otherwise; House must act "with all convenient despatch."
• Article 87: mandatory special address — after general election and first session of each year (contrast with Article 86's discretionary timing).
• In practice, the message-sending power under Article 86(2) has reportedly never been used.
• President exercises Article 86 powers on ministerial advice, as part of Parliament under Article 79.

Sources

• Constitution of India, Article 86 — legislative.gov.in
• Constitution of India, Article 87 — legislative.gov.in
• Lok Sabha Secretariat — official records on parliamentary procedure.

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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