Which one of the following is not explicitly stated in the Constitution of India but followed as a convention ?

1. Foundation: Features of the Indian Constitution (basic)

To understand the Indian Constitution, we must look beyond the written word. While India has the longest written constitution in the world, it is not an exhaustive manual that covers every possible political situation. This is where Constitutional Conventions come into play. These are unwritten rules, practices, or customs that are not legally enforceable by a court, yet are considered binding for the smooth functioning of a democratic government. Think of the Constitution as a skeleton and conventions as the "flesh and blood" that bring it to life.

Even though our Constitution is a codified or documentary constitution (Indian Polity, Concept of the Constitution, p.23), it leaves certain powers "discretionary" on paper while expecting them to be used in a specific way in practice. For instance, Article 75 simply states that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President. It doesn't explicitly say the President must pick the leader of the majority party, nor does it detail that the PM must resign if they lose a vote of confidence. However, by convention, the President always invites the majority leader, and the PM is expected to resign if the Lok Sabha no longer supports them (Indian Polity, Prime Minister, p.207).

The beauty of conventions is that they provide flexibility. In an unwritten constitution (like that of the UK), conventions form the bulk of the constitutional framework (Indian Polity, Concept of the Constitution, p.24). In India, they supplement the written text to ensure that the parliamentary system remains truly representative and responsible to the people. Without these conventions, the legal text of the Constitution could be used in a very rigid or even undemocratic manner.

Feature	Constitutional Law	Constitutional Convention
Source	Written text, Statutes, Amendments.	Long-standing practices and precedents.
Enforceability	Enforceable by Courts of Law.	Not legally enforceable; based on moral/political obligation.
Purpose	Provides the legal framework of power.	Regulates the exercise of that power in practice.

Sources: Indian Polity, Concept of the Constitution, p.23; Indian Polity, Concept of the Constitution, p.24; Indian Polity, Prime Minister, p.207

2. The Parliamentary System: Executive-Legislative Link (basic)

To understand the Indian political structure, we must first look at the 'linkage' between those who make the laws (the Legislature) and those who implement them (the Executive). In a parliamentary system, these two organs are not strictly separated; instead, they are joined in a relationship of cooperation and coordination Indian Polity, Salient Features of the Constitution, p.29. This is the fundamental difference from a Presidential system (like in the USA), where the executive is independent of the legislature. In India, the Executive is actually a part of the Legislature, meaning every Minister must also be a Member of Parliament.

This system is frequently called Responsible Government because the Cabinet (the real executive) is held accountable to the Parliament for all its actions. It does not have a fixed term in the absolute sense; it stays in office only so long as it enjoys the confidence of the Lok Sabha Indian Polity, Parliamentary System, p.131. Within this executive branch, we distinguish between the Political Executive (elected ministers who make policy) and the Permanent Executive (civil servants who ensure the daily administration of the state) Indian Constitution at Work, EXECUTIVE, p.79.

A vital nuance for any civil services aspirant is understanding that the Constitution provides the skeleton, but conventions provide the flesh. For instance, while Article 75 simply states that the Prime Minister is appointed by the President, it doesn't explicitly detail the procedure for what happens if the government loses its majority. It is a settled constitutional convention—borrowed from the British Westminster model—that a Prime Minister must resign or seek a fresh mandate if they lose the confidence of the Lower House. This ensures that the executive never becomes stray from the will of the people's representatives.

Feature	Parliamentary System (India)	Presidential System (USA)
Relationship	Cooperation and Coordination	Strict Separation of Powers
Accountability	Executive responsible to Legislature	Executive not responsible to Legislature
Membership	Ministers must be members of the Legislature	Executive is not part of the Legislature

Sources: Indian Polity, Salient Features of the Constitution, p.29; Indian Polity, Parliamentary System, p.131; Indian Constitution at Work, EXECUTIVE, p.79

3. Article 74 and 75: The Council of Ministers (intermediate)

To understand how the Indian executive functions, we must look at the 'Twin Pillars' of the Constitution: Article 74 and Article 75. While the President is the de jure (formal) head, the Council of Ministers (CoM), led by the Prime Minister, is the de facto (real) executive. Under Article 74, the CoM provides 'aid and advice' to the President. Initially, there was a debate on whether this advice was binding. However, the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act made it explicit that the President must act in accordance with such advice. The 44th Amendment Act later added a 'cushion,' allowing the President to return advice for reconsideration once; but if the CoM sends the same advice back, the President is then bound to accept it Indian Polity, Central Council of Ministers, p.213.
Article 75 dives into the 'rules of the game' for ministers. It establishes the principle of Collective Responsibility, meaning the entire Council of Ministers stands or falls together before the Lok Sabha Indian Polity, Prime Minister, p.210. It also sets a cap on the size of the government—the total number of ministers cannot exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha, a rule added by the 91st Amendment Act of 2003 to prevent oversized cabinets for political gain Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity, Central Council of Ministers, p.213.
Crucially, while these Articles provide the skeleton, Constitutional Conventions provide the soul. For instance, Article 75 simply says the PM is appointed by the President. It doesn't mention that the President must pick the leader of the party with a majority, nor does it explicitly command a PM to resign if they lose a Vote of Confidence. These requirements are unwritten conventions that ensure the government remains democratic and accountable to the people's representatives Indian Polity, Prime Minister, p.207.

Feature	42nd Amendment (1976)	44th Amendment (1978)
Nature of Advice	Made the CoM's advice binding on the President.	Allowed President to ask for one-time reconsideration of advice.

Sources: Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.), Central Council of Ministers, p.213-214; Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.), Prime Minister, p.207, 210

4. Collective Responsibility & No-Confidence Motions (intermediate)

In a parliamentary democracy like India, the executive is not a separate entity from the legislature; rather, it is born from it and must remain accountable to it. The bedrock of this accountability is the Principle of Collective Responsibility. Mandated by Article 75 of the Constitution, this principle implies that the Council of Ministers is a single unit. They "swim or sink together," meaning every minister is jointy responsible for every decision made by the Cabinet. If the Lok Sabha passes a vote against a single department's policy or a specific bill introduced by a minister, it is often viewed as a loss of confidence in the entire government Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity, Central Council of Ministers, p.215.

While Article 75(3) establishes the principle, the Constitution is silent on the specific mechanism to enforce it. This is where Constitutional Conventions and the Rules of Procedure take over. The No-Confidence Motion is the most powerful tool used by the Lok Sabha to test this collective responsibility. Interestingly, the term "No-Confidence Motion" does not appear in the Constitution itself; it is derived from the Lok Sabha rules and the convention that a government must resign if it loses the majority support Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity, Parliament, p.242. A motion of no-confidence requires the support of at least 50 members to be admitted for discussion, and if passed by a simple majority, the entire ministry—including the Prime Minister—is bound by convention to resign NCERT Class XI, Indian Constitution at Work, Legislature, p.117.

It is crucial to distinguish between Collective Responsibility and Individual Responsibility. While the former ensures the government acts as a team, the latter ensures that a minister holds office only as long as they enjoy the "pleasure" of the President (effectively, the Prime Minister). This allows the Prime Minister to dismiss a minister to preserve the harmony and collective image of the government without requiring the whole cabinet to resign Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity, Central Council of Ministers, p.216.

Feature	Collective Responsibility	Individual Responsibility
Constitutional Basis	Article 75(3)	Article 75(2)
Accountability to	Lok Sabha (Lower House)	President (on PM's advice)
Outcome of Breach	Resignation of entire Ministry	Removal of a specific Minister

Sources: Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity, Central Council of Ministers, p.215-216; Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity, Parliament, p.242; NCERT Class XI, Indian Constitution at Work, Legislature, p.117

5. Discretionary Powers of the President (exam-level)

In our constitutional setup, the President is often called a nominal executive, meaning they generally act on the 'aid and advice' of the Council of Ministers. However, while the Constitution does not grant the President formal constitutional discretion (unlike the Governor), it does allow for situational discretion. This arises when political circumstances become fluid or ambiguous, requiring the President to act as a guardian of the parliamentary process. Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.), President, p.200. The most critical exercise of this discretion occurs during the appointment of the Prime Minister under Article 75. In a 'Hung Parliament'—where no single party or coalition wins a clear majority—the President cannot simply follow 'advice' because no stable government exists yet. In such cases, the President must use their own judgment to identify a leader who, in their opinion, can muster majority support in the Lok Sabha. Democratic Politics-I. Political Science-Class IX . NCERT(Revised ed 2025), WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS, p.68. For instance, in 1998, President K.R. Narayanan didn't just appoint a leader; he asked Atal Bihari Vajpayee to provide supporting documents from allies and mandated a vote of confidence within ten days. Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.), EXECUTIVE, p.87. Another significant situational power is the right to ask for reconsideration. Under the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, the President can return the advice of the Cabinet once for further deliberation. While they must act on the subsequent advice, this pause is a powerful tool of moral persuasion. Beyond these, situational discretion also extends to the dismissal of the Council of Ministers if they lose the confidence of the Lok Sabha but refuse to resign, and the dissolution of the Lok Sabha if the Council has lost its majority support. Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.), President, p.200.

Sources: Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.), President, p.200; Democratic Politics-I. Political Science-Class IX . NCERT(Revised ed 2025), WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS, p.68; Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.), EXECUTIVE, p.87-88

6. Vacancy and Succession: President and Vice-President (intermediate)

In the Indian parliamentary system, the continuity of the Head of State is paramount. The Constitution ensures there is never a 'vacuum' in the office of the President. When the presidency falls vacant due to resignation, removal (impeachment), death, or otherwise, a clear hierarchy of succession is triggered. Under Article 65, the Vice-President acts as the President until a new President is elected and assumes office. This election must be held within six months of the vacancy occurring Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth, Chapter 18: President, p.192.

There is a subtle but important distinction between acting as President and discharging functions. If the President is merely temporarily absent due to illness or travel, the Vice-President does not become 'Acting President' in the formal sense of occupying the seat; they simply perform the President's duties until the incumbent returns. However, in the case of a permanent vacancy, the Vice-President enjoys all the powers, immunities, and emoluments of the President while serving in that capacity.

But what happens if the Vice-President’s office is also vacant? To address this, Parliament enacted the President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969. This law establishes that the Chief Justice of India (CJI), or in their absence, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, shall act as the President Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth, Chapter 18: President, p.192. This ensures that the executive functions of the Union, such as granting assent to bills or delivering the opening address to Parliament, are never halted Introduction to the Constitution of India, D. D. Basu, The Union Legislature, p.242.

Scenario	Who takes over?	Nature of Role
Death/Resignation of President	Vice-President	Acting President (Full powers)
Temporary Illness/Absence	Vice-President	Discharging Functions
President & Vice-President both unavailable	Chief Justice of India	Acting President

Sources: Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth, Chapter 18: President, p.192; Introduction to the Constitution of India, D. D. Basu, The Union Legislature, p.242

7. Understanding Constitutional Conventions (exam-level)

While the Indian Constitution is the longest written constitution in the world, it does not — and cannot — contain a rule for every possible political situation. This is where Constitutional Conventions come into play. These are unwritten rules of political practice that are considered binding by those who operate the constitution, even though they aren't enforceable in a court of law. Think of the written Constitution as the skeleton and the conventions as the flesh that allows the body to function smoothly. As noted by scholars, even though we have a codified document, the parliamentary system we adopted is a complicated outcome of history where clear-cut propositions are often based on these evolved conventions D. D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India, HOW THE CONSTITUTION HAS WORKED, p.478.

A prime example of this is the appointment and resignation of the Prime Minister. If you look at Article 75, it simply states that the "Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President." It does not explicitly mention that the President must appoint the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha. However, by convention, the President’s discretion is limited. Similarly, the Constitution does not explicitly state that a Prime Minister must resign the moment they lose the confidence of the Lower House. This requirement is a settled convention of the parliamentary system, ensuring that the executive remains accountable to the legislature M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity, Chapter 20, p.207.

The distinction between written provisions and conventions is vital for understanding how a democracy breathes. A written constitution is consciously formulated by a body like a Constituent Assembly M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity, Concept of the Constitution, p.23, but an unwritten element — consisting of practices, principles, and judicial decisions — inevitably grows around it M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity, Concept of the Constitution, p.24. In India, conventions fill the gaps where the law is silent, such as the practice of the President usually inviting the leader of the single largest party in a hung assembly, or the convention that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha resigns from their party (though this is less strictly followed in India than in the UK).

Feature	Constitutional Law (Articles)	Constitutional Conventions
Source	Written text/Statutes	Customs and long-standing practices
Enforceability	Enforceable by Courts	Not legally enforceable (Political sanction)
Purpose	Provides the legal framework	Provides operational flexibility

Sources: Introduction to the Constitution of India, D. D. Basu (26th ed.), HOW THE CONSTITUTION HAS WORKED, p.478; Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth (7th ed.), Chapter 20: Prime Minister, p.207; Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth (7th ed.), Concept of the Constitution, p.23-24

8. Specific Convention: Resignation upon Loss of Majority (exam-level)

In a parliamentary democracy like India, the heart of the executive's legitimacy lies in its relationship with the legislature. While Article 75(3) of the Constitution explicitly states that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha, the document is surprisingly silent on the exact procedure to be followed when that responsibility is broken—specifically, when the government loses its majority. This is where one of the most fundamental constitutional conventions steps in: a Prime Minister who loses the confidence of the Lower House must either resign or advise the President to dissolve the House D. D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India, The Union Executive, p.228.

This convention ensures that a 'minority' government cannot continue to exercise power against the will of the representative chamber. Interestingly, the Constitution mentions in Article 75(2) that ministers hold office during the 'pleasure of the President.' However, by convention, this 'pleasure' is not a personal whim; the President cannot dismiss a Prime Minister who still enjoys a majority in the Lok Sabha. Conversely, once a majority is lost (often demonstrated through a No-Confidence Motion), the Prime Minister loses the moral and legal right to govern. At this juncture, the Ministry has two choices:

• Resignation: The Cabinet steps down to allow the formation of an alternative government.
• Dissolution: The Ministry advises the President to dissolve the House and call for fresh elections, on the premise that the current House no longer reflects the actual views of the electorate D. D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India, The Union Executive, p.228.

The distinction between the text and the practice is vital for the UPSC. While the text focuses on appointment and collective responsibility, the obligation to quit is a product of parliamentary practice and convention M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity, Prime Minister, p.207. This ensures the system remains democratic, as the executive remains tethered to the support of the people's direct representatives.

Feature	Constitutional Text (Art 75)	Constitutional Convention
Requirement	Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha.	PM must resign or seek dissolution upon loss of majority.
Dismissal	Ministers hold office during 'pleasure of the President'.	President only withdraws 'pleasure' if confidence is lost and PM refuses to resign.

Sources: Introduction to the Constitution of India, The Union Executive, p.228; Indian Polity, Prime Minister, p.207

9. Solving the Original PYQ (exam-level)

Now that you have mastered the structural details of the Union Executive and Article 75, this question tests your ability to distinguish between the written text of the Constitution and the unwritten conventions that govern our parliamentary democracy. While the Constitution provides the framework for the Council of Ministers, it does not detail every procedural outcome. The correct answer, (B) The Prime Minister has to resign if he loses majority in the Lower House, is the cornerstone of the Westminster model. Although Article 75(3) explicitly states that the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha, the specific mandate for the Prime Minister to resign upon losing a majority is a constitutional convention rather than a literal verse in the document.

To navigate this question successfully, you must filter out the "traps" often set by the UPSC. Option A is incorrect because any Minister, including the Finance Minister, can be a member of either the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha. Option C represents a desirable political practice for regional diversity, but it is neither a constitutional requirement nor a formal convention. Finally, Option D is a factual distractor; in the event of a dual vacancy in the offices of President and Vice-President, the Chief Justice of India (or the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court) officiates as President, as established by the President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969, not the Speaker of the Lower House.

As emphasized in Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth, the Indian parliamentary system relies heavily on these conventions to ensure the executive remains accountable to the legislature. Understanding these unwritten rules is just as vital as memorizing the Articles themselves, as they bridge the gap between constitutional theory and political reality.