Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation marks a rare constitutional shake-up, echoing 1969 when India’s Vice-President quit mid-term and the Chief Justice had to step in as acting President.
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NEW DELHI: In the record of Indian constitutional history, 1969 stands out for an extraordinary event: the Chief Justice of India stepping in as the acting President. This unprecedented situation emerged following the death of the sitting President and the resignation of the Vice-President.
Now in 2025, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation has sparked curiosity and drawn comparisons with a historic precedent from over five decades ago, when VV Giri quit mid-term to contest for the President’s post.
On May 3, 1969, President Dr. Zakir Husain passed away in office, becoming the first Indian President to die while serving. The then Vice-President VV Giri stepped in as the acting President. However, a few days later, on May 13, Giri resigned as Vice-President to contest the upcoming presidential election, a decision that left both the posts of President and Vice-President vacant.
This created a constitutional dilemma. Who would now act as the President of India? This resulted enter of Chief Justice of India Mohammad Hidayatullah.
Article 65 of India’s Constitution and supported by the President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969, allows for the Chief Justice of India to act as President if both the President and Vice-President are unavailable.
Accordingly, CJI Hidayatullah was sworn in as the acting President on July 20, 1969. His short, month-long tenure lasted until August 24, when VV Giri was elected and sworn in as the President of India.
CJI Hidayatullah’s brief period wasn’t ceremonial. He performed one of the most high-profile duties of a President: hosting US President Richard Nixon at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
This moment remains engraved in diplomatic history, as a sitting Chief Justice welcomed the leader of the world’s most powerful democracy, reflecting the strength and flexibility of India’s constitutional framework.
VV Giri’s decision to resign and contest the presidency was set against the backdrop of a divided Congress Party.
- The Syndicate (Congress old guard) backed Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.
- Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, asserting her political authority, covertly supported Giri.
- Gandhi issued a call for a “vote of conscience”, allowing Congress MPs to vote freely.
In the presidential election of August 1969, Giri, running as an independent, defeated Reddy by a narrow margin, 4,20,077 votes to 4,05,427, becoming India’s fourth President.
The events of 1969 showcased the adaptability of India’s constitutional mechanisms. The CJI acting as President was made possible through legal foresight, notably the President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969, enacted just before the crisis unfolded.
Justice Hidayatullah, later appointed Vice-President of India in 1979, would go on to act as President three more times during Zail Singh’s foreign visits in the 1980s.
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation in July 2025, citing health reasons, makes him the fourth Vice-President in Indian history to resign mid-term, after VV Giri (1969), R Venkataraman (1987), and Shankar Dayal Sharma (1992). Like his predecessors, the resignation sets in motion a fresh electoral process, though the circumstances this time are less politically charged.
As per Article 67(a) of the Constitution, the Vice-President may resign by submitting a written notice to the President, and under Article 68, an election to fill the vacancy must be held within six months.
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