Article 74 of the Constitution of India

(a) Can the President in India reject the advice tendered by a cabinet which has lost the support of majority in the House to dissolve the house of people?

(b) Can the President of India dismiss a council of Ministers which enjoys the confidence of Parliament but in the opinion of the President has lost the confidence of the people?

As per Article 74 of our Constitution, the President has to act in accordance with the aid and advise of the council of ministers.

Solution:

As per Article 74 of our Constitution, the President has to act in accordance with the aid and advise of the council of ministers. The Supreme Court, in a judgement given in 1971, held that the council of ministers does not cease to hold office even after the dissolution of Lok Sabha and Article 74 is mandatory.

Hence, even when the Lok Sabha is dissolved, the President continues to work as per the aid and advice of previous council of ministers till the new COM assumes office.

If the Lok Sabha is to be dissolved before the full term of five years, then a formal order by the President to this effect is essential and the dissolution does not take place automatically as in the case of the completion of five years. Thus the Election Commission can issue a Notification on the

constitution of the next Lok Sabha only when the President dissolves the present House. While this rule is inviolable, there have been incidents in the past, (1952 and 1957), when even after the elections, the Lok Sabha was not dissolved and the sitting members of those Houses attended "lame-duck"

sessions. 

Under Article 75(3) of the Constitution, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. By a vote of no confidence, the Lok Sabha can bring down a government. Dissolution at a theoretical level, does not subject the Lok Sabha to the wishes of the Government but to the wishes of the electorate. In practice, however, a person who leads a disciplined party having a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha can become a very powerful Prime Minister and coupled with a weak President at the helm of the affairs of the executive, may very easily secure such a dissolution."