Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. A motion under article 352 in Lok sabha(for the disapproval of the continuance of the National Emergency)

Introduction 

        The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is an authority, established by the Constitution of India under article 148, who audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The reports of the CAG are taken into consideration by the Public Accounts Committees, which are special committees in the Parliament of India and the state legislatures. The CAG is also the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the affairs of which are managed by officers of Indian Audit and Accounts Service, and has over 58,000 employees across the country.

The CAG is mentioned in the Constitution of India under Article 148 – 151.

        The CAG is ranked 9th and enjoys the same status as a judge of Supreme Court of India in Indian order of precedence. The current CAG of India is Shashi Kant Sharma, who was appointed on 23 May 2013. He is the 12th CAG of India.

Article 148 (Comptroller and Auditor-General of India)

        There shall be a Comptroller and Auditor-General of India who shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal and shall only be removed from office in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

         Every person appointed to be the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India shall, before he enters upon his office, make and subscribe before the President, or some person appointed in that behalf by him, an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule.

         The salary and other conditions of service of the Comptroller and Auditor- General shall be such as may be determined by Parliament by law and, until they are so determined, shall be as specified in the Second Schedule:

        Provided that neither the salary of a Comptroller and Auditor-General nor his rights in respect of leave of absence, pension or age of retirement shall be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.

         The Comptroller and Auditor-General shall not be eligible for further office either under the Government of India or under the Government of any State after he has ceased to hold his office.

         Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and of any law made by Parliament, the conditions of service of persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department and the administrative powers of the Comptroller and Auditor-General shall be such as may be prescribed by rules made by the President after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General.

 The administrative expenses of the office of the Comptroller and Auditor- General, including all salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of persons serving in that office, shall be charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India.

Appointment

        The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India are appointed by the President of India following a recommendation by the Prime Minister. On appointment, he/she has to make an oath or affirmation before the President of India.

Removal

        The CAG shall only be removed from office in like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court of India.         

 Motions

        Simple majority:(Polity)-It means a majority of more than 50% of the members present and voting eg-Total strength of Lok Sabha-545 Members present at time of voting-500 Members present and voting-400 Simple majority-greater than 200 ie 201 and above

Motions or Bills passed by Simple Majority

No confidence motion-

        In reference to the Indian constitution Article 75 says that "the council of ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha (lower house) It means that the ministry stays in office so long as it enjoys the confidence of the majority of the members of the Lok Sabha. In other words, the Lok Sabha can remove the ministry from office by passing a no-confidence motion. The motion needs to be supported by 50 members to be admitted.

Censure Motion-

        A censure motion is different from a no-confidence motion in the following ways. no confidence leads to compulsory resignation of the council of ministers whereas in the Censure motion it is just to show the disapproval and does not end in resignation of the ministers .The censure motion can be moved against an individual minister or a group of ministers but the no-confidence motion can be moved against the entire council of ministers only.Censure motion needs to state the reasons for the motion while the no-confidence motion does not require a reason to be specified. It can be introduced in Lok Sabha only by the opposition and if passed, council of ministers shall pass a confidence motion as soon as possible to regain the trust of the house. There is no limit on the number of censure motions that can be introduced in a session.

Adjornment Motion-

        Adjornment Motion is to draw the attention of the House to a recent matter of urgent public importance having serious consequences and in regard to which a motion or a resolution with proper notice will be too late.Leads to setting aside the normal business of the house for discussing of the urgent matter.

A motion under article 352 in Lok sabha(for the disapproval of the continuance of the National Emergency)

The removal of Vice President in the Lok Sabha-

        The Vice President does not have to be formally impeached, unlike the President of India. The Constitution states that the Vice President can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an effective majority [more than 50% of effective membership (total membership-vacancies)] and agreed to by a simple majority (50% of voting members) of the Lok Sabha [Article 67(b)].[2] But no such resolution may be moved unless at least 14 days' advance notice has been given. Notably, no ground has been mentioned in the Constitution for his removal.