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THE CONSTITUTION, MADE UNDERSTANDABLE

Article 58
Qualifications for election as President

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Source edition: as on 1 May 2026. Omitted and struck-down reference entries remain labelled. Open the authoritative PDF ↗

Article 58 / Part V

Qualifications for election as President

included in edition
THE PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDE

What does this mean?

A presidential candidate must meet citizenship, age and Lok Sabha eligibility conditions and the stated office-of-profit restriction. These are constitutional qualifications in addition to election procedures under law.

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

PURPOSE & CONTEXT

Why is this provision here?

The office needs predictable rules on selection, eligibility, continuity and accountability. This Article supplies the particular part of that framework described above.

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
58. Qualifications for election as President.—(1) No person shall be eligible for election as President unless he— (a) is a citizen of India, (b) has completed the age of thirty-five years, and (c) is qualified for election as a member of the House of the People. (2) A person shall not be eligible for election as President if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said Governments. Explanation.—For the purposes of this article, a person shall not be deemed to hold any office of profit by reason only that he is the President or Vice-President of the Union or the Governor *** of any State or is a Minister either for the Union or for any State.
Source-page notes · may concern neighbouring Articles

1. The words "or Rajpramukh or Uparajpramukh" omitted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch. (w.e.f. 1-11-1956).

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.

FOLLOW THE PARLIAMENTARY RECORD

References naming Article 58

These stored records explicitly mention this Article. A mention does not establish that it was amended or that a particular interpretation is correct. Read the original source for context.