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THE CONSTITUTION, MADE UNDERSTANDABLE

Article 53
Executive power of the Union

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26 Parts12 Schedules506 indexed article entries, including historical omissions
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Source edition: as on 1 May 2026. Omitted and struck-down reference entries remain labelled. Open the authoritative PDF ↗

Article 53 / Part V

Executive power of the Union

included in edition
THE PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDE

What does this mean?

Union executive power is vested in the President and exercised under the Constitution, directly or through subordinate officers. This must be read with the Council of Ministers' aid-and-advice framework rather than as personal rule.

The Union's President, ministers, Parliament, Supreme Court and Comptroller and Auditor-General.

PURPOSE & CONTEXT

Why is this provision here?

Executive action needs an identifiable constitutional source of authority and an institutional chain of responsibility under the Constitution.

Historical evidence

This Article number belongs to the original constitutional framework, but its present wording may include later amendments or substitutions. A provision-specific original Assembly debate has not been verified here. The explanation of function above is editorial inference from the text, not an attributed single motive of the framers. The original draft-making archive is a research resource, not proof of a particular historical reason.

The explanation of purpose is an editorial reading of the provision. A drafting motive is attributed only where a linked historical source supports it.

Limits, exceptions & reading carefully

Educational summary of the linked source text. Exceptions, provisos, implementing laws and applicable judgments must be read before applying it to a real case.

Read the official constitutional text
53. Executive power of the Union.—(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.

Extracted from the Legislative Department’s May 2026 edition. Page footnotes may refer to neighbouring provisions; check their markers in the PDF. Inclusion in this edition does not by itself establish commencement or judicial effect.