Under which one of the following Articles, the procedure for removal of the President of India through the process of impeachment has been laid down?

The correct answer is B) Article 61. Article 61 lays down the procedure for impeachment of the President for violation of the Constitution. A charge can be initiated in either House of Parliament only after a resolution, moved on 14 days' prior notice and signed by at least one-fourth of the members of that House, is adopted by a two-thirds majority of its total membership. The other House then investigates the charge, and the President has the right to appear and be represented. If that House also sustains the charge by a two-thirds majority of its total membership, the President stands removed from the date of that resolution.

• Article 53 vests the executive power of the Union in the President. It deals with executive power, not removal.
• Article 74 provides for a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President.
• Article 13 declares that laws inconsistent with Fundamental Rights are void. It has nothing to do with the President's tenure.

The core concept is the accountability of constitutional office holders while protecting the President's independence from routine political pressure. Impeachment is a quasi-judicial process, which is why it is so difficult to achieve. For Mains, this supports a useful argument on why removal by a simple majority would be unsuitable for the head of state. No President has so far been removed through this procedure.

Trap: Aspirants mix Article 61 with Article 56 (tenure and resignation) or Article 62 (filling a vacancy in office), or assume that a simple majority in Parliament can remove the President.