RAS question
Who administers the oath of office to the President of India?
Correct answer: (B) Chief Justice of India.
Under Article 60 of the Constitution of India, the President's oath of office is administered by the Chief Justice of India, or in the Chief Justice's absence by the senior-most available judge of the Supreme Court.
Explanation
Article 60 fixes both the timing and the authority for the President's oath. Before entering office, every President, and every person acting as President or discharging the President's functions, must make and subscribe the oath or affirmation in the presence of the Chief Justice of India. The same article also provides the fallback: if the Chief Justice of India is absent, the oath is made before the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court who is available. This is why the answer is the Chief Justice of India, not a political office-holder. The provision deliberately places the oath before the head of the Supreme Court, with a judicial substitute only when the Chief Justice is unavailable.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Prime Minister is not named in Article 60 as the authority before whom the President makes and subscribes the oath.
- (C) The Speaker of Lok Sabha has no role in Article 60, which assigns the President's oath to the Chief Justice of India or the senior-most available Supreme Court judge.
- (D) The Vice-President is not the oath-administering authority under Article 60; the provision points to the Chief Justice of India and, in absence, a Supreme Court judge.
Concept
This tests the constitutional procedure for the Union executive, especially the oath requirements attached to the office of the President. It recurs in RAS because such questions turn on exact constitutional authorities rather than broad political hierarchy.