Qualification, Oat, Conditions and Term of Office

Qualifications
To be eligible for election as Vice-President, a person should fulfil the following qualifications:

1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. He should have completed 35 years of age.
3. He should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
4. He should not hold any office of profit under the Union government or any state government or any local authority or any other public authority.

But, a sitting President or Vice-President of the Union, the governor of any state and a minister for the Union or any state is not deemed to hold any office of profit and hence qualified for being a candidate for Vice-President.

     Further, the nomination of a candidate for election to the office of VicePresident must be subscribed by at least 20 electors as proposers and 20 electors as seconders. Every candidate has to make a security deposit of * 15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India.

Oath or Affirmation
Before entering upon his office, the Vice-President has to make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation. In his oath, the Vice-President swears:

1. to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India; and
2. to faithfully discharge the duties of his office.

The oath of office to the Vice-President is administered by the President or some person appointed in that behalf by him.

Conditions of Office
The Constitution lays down the following two conditions of the VicePresident’s office:

1. He should not be a member of either House of Parliament or a House of the state legislature. If any such person is elected Vice-President, he is deemed to have vacated his seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his office as Vice-President.
2. He should not hold any other office of profit.

Term of Office
The Vice-President holds office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office. However, he can resign from his office at any time by addressing the resignation letter to the President. He can also be removed from the office before completion of his term. A formal impeachment is not required for his removal. He can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an absolute majority (ie, a majority of the total members of the House) and agreed to by the Lok Sabha. But, no such resolution can be moved unless at least 14 days’ advance notice has been given. Notably, no ground has been mentioned in the Constitution for his removal.
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    The Vice-President can hold office beyond his term of five years until his successor assumes charge. He is also eligible for re-election to that office. He may be elected for any number of terms.