Article 74 and 75 of Constitution of India: Council of Ministers and Provisions as to Ministers
Articles 74 and 75 form part of Part V, Chapter I of the Constitution of India and set out the constitutional framework for the Union Council of Ministers. Article 74 deals with the Council's duty to aid and advise the President, while Article 75 deals with appointment, size, tenure, collective responsibility, oath, membership and remuneration of Union Ministers.
Article 74 - Council of Ministers to aid and advise President
Article 74 establishes the constitutional relationship between the President and the Union Council of Ministers.
Clause (1): There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President, and the President, in exercising constitutional functions, acts in accordance with that advice.
Proviso to clause (1): The President may require the Council of Ministers to reconsider its advice, either generally or otherwise. After reconsideration, the President must act in accordance with the advice tendered.
Clause (2): A court cannot inquire into whether advice was tendered by Ministers to the President or into the content of such advice.
For the authoritative constitutional wording, use the official Constitution published by the Legislative Department or India Code linked below.
Article 75 - Other provisions as to Ministers
Article 75 regulates the appointment and constitutional position of Union Ministers.
Clause (1): The President appoints the Prime Minister. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Clause (1A): The total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, cannot exceed 15 per cent of the total number of members of the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
Clause (1B): A member of either House of Parliament who belongs to a political party and is disqualified under paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule is also disqualified from appointment as a Minister for the constitutionally specified period, subject to the election-related condition stated in the clause.
Clause (2): Ministers hold office during the pleasure of the President.
Clause (3): The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of the People.
Clause (4): Before entering office, a Minister takes the oaths of office and secrecy administered by the President in the forms set out in the Third Schedule.
Clause (5): A Minister who is not a member of either House of Parliament for six consecutive months ceases to be a Minister at the end of that period.
Clause (6): Salaries and allowances of Ministers are determined by Parliament by law and, until Parliament so determines, are governed by the constitutional provision stated in this clause.
Meaning and legal effect of Articles 74 and 75
Parliamentary executive
Articles 74 and 75 are central to India's parliamentary system at the Union level. The Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, supplies the constitutional advice on which the President acts. The reconsideration proviso in Article 74 permits the President to return advice for reconsideration, but it does not permit rejection of the advice tendered after reconsideration.
Collective responsibility
Article 75(3) makes the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. This expresses the constitutional principle that the Union executive ministry must retain the confidence of the popularly elected House.
Size of the Council of Ministers
Article 75(1A) imposes a constitutional ceiling of 15 per cent of the total membership of the Lok Sabha on the number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister.
Anti-defection consequence
Article 75(1B) links ministerial eligibility to disqualification under paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule. It prevents a member disqualified on the specified anti-defection ground from being appointed as a Minister during the period defined by the Constitution.
Important amendments affecting Articles 74 and 75
Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976: Article 74(1) was amended to expressly require the President to act in accordance with ministerial advice.
Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978: The proviso to Article 74(1) was inserted, allowing the President to require reconsideration of advice while making the advice tendered after reconsideration binding.
Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003: Clauses (1A) and (1B) were inserted in Article 75, introducing the 15 per cent ceiling on the Union Council of Ministers and the ministerial disqualification linked to the Tenth Schedule.
Official sources for Articles 74 and 75
For current and authoritative legal text, refer to the Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice and India Code. The Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003 is also relevant to clauses (1A) and (1B) of Article 75.