UNIT 2 TOPIC 4

CONTROVERSIAL ROLE OF GOVERNOR

Governor is the Chief executive head and constitutional head of the state. But like the president,
he is a nominal head of the state in the parliamentary form of government where he appears more
as an agent of the centre rather than a constitutional head. In a state the real powers are within the
hands of Council of Ministers headed by Chief Minister.
The role of Governors is always been a controversial issue between the states and central
government. The governor is not an elected office-holder. Many Governors have been retired
military officers or civil servants or politicians. Besides, the governor is appointed by the central
government and therefore, actions of the governor are often viewed as interference by the central
government in the functioning of the state government. When two different parties are in power at
the centre and the state, the role of the governor becomes even more controversial. The sarkaria
commission that was appointed by the central government in 1983 and submitted its report in 1988
to examine the issues relating to centre-state relations, recommended that appointments of
Governors should be strictly non-partisan.
Powers and role of governor become controversial for one more reason. One of the most
controversial articles in the constitution is Article 356, which provides for President’s rule in any
state. This provision is to be applied, when ‘a situation has arisen in which the government of the
state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this constitution’. It results in the
takeover of the state government by the central or union government. The President’s proclamation
has to be ratified by Parliament. President’s rule can be extended till three years. The governor has
the power to recommend the dismissal of the state government and suspension or dissolution of
state assembly. This has led to many conflicts. In some cases, state governments were dismissed
even whwn they had a majority in the legislature, as had happened in Kerala in 1959 or without
testing their majority, as happened in several states after 1967. Some cases went to the Supreme
Court and the Court has ruled that constitutional validity of the decision to impose President’s rule
can be examined by the judiciary.
Article 356 was sparingly used till 1967. After 1967 many states had non congress governments
and the congress was in power at the centre. The cenre was often used this provision to dismiss
state governments or has used the office of the governor to prevent the majority party or coalition
from assuming office. For instance, the central government removed elected governments in
Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in the decade of 1980s. After the S.R. Bommai
judgement of Supreme Court in 1994, in which the Court laid down the conditionality of achieving
parliamentary approval for application of Art.356 has reduced its arbitrary use to a large extent.
Advent of coalition politics is also an important factor, due to which the role of the governor has
changed. As regional parties come to occupy greater space at the central level, the govenments at
centre have limited scope of annoying them.

APPOINTMENT
Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru suggested the method for the appointment of Gvernor which was accepted
by the constituent assembly. According to him, “The Governor shall be appointed by the President
of India by warrant under his hand and seal”. The Governor holds the office during the pleasure of
the president. So he doesn’t enjoy any security of tenure, though constitutionally his normal
term(article156) is of five years.
CONVENTIONS REGARDING APPOINTMENT
1) Governor from other states
2) Advice from the Chief Minister of the concerned state
QUALIFICATIONS(article157)
1. Citizen of India.
2. Completed the age of 35 years.
CONDITIONS(article158)

• Not a member of either houses

• Should not hold any other office of profit
SALARY AND ALLOWANCES
According to article 158

• Governor’s emoluments, allowances and privileges shall be determined by the Parliament

of India
• Emoluments and allowances should not be diminished during his term of office
• Usually, there is a governor for each state, but the 7th constitutional amendment act of 1956
facilitated the appointment of the same person as a governor for two or more states. When
the same person is appointed as the governor of two or more states, the emoluments and
allowances payable to him shall be allocated among the states in such proportion as
determined by President of India.
• He is entitled without payment of rent to the use of his official residence(the Raj bhawan)
In 2018, the Parliament has increased the salary of the governor from Rs.1.10 lakh to Rs.3.50 lakh
per month.
SPECIAL PRIVILEGES

• For the exercise of his powers he is not answerable before any Court
• During his tenure no criminal suit can be filed against him
• To a file a civil suit against him, one or two month’s prior notice has to be given
• He cannot be arrested during his tenure
OATH(article159)
In his oath, the governor swears:
a) To faithfully execute the office;
b) To preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law; and
c) To devote himself to the service and well being of the people of the state.
The oath is administered by the Chief Justice of the concerned state High Court and in his absence,
the senior-most judge of that Court available.

SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

In HARGOVIND PANT V. RAGHUKUL TILAK [1979] case, the Supreme Court affirmed that
the “office of the governor was subordinate or subservient to the Government of India”.
In S.R. BOMMAI V. UNION OF INDIA [1994] case, the Supreme Court said, “The office of the
governor is intended to ensure protection and sustenance of the constitutional process of the
working of the constitution by the elected executive”. This case was about the powers of the
governor to dismiss state government under article 356. The Supreme Court ruled that a floor test
should be the only way to determine the majority of the government and not the subjective opinion
of the governor.
One must consider the Supreme Court’s verdict in B.P. SINGHAL V. UNION OF INDIA on the
interpretation of Article156 of the constitution and the arbitrary removal of the Governors before
the expiration of their tenure. This judgement is crucial as a fixed tenure for Governors could go
quite a long way in promoting neutrality and fairness in fulfilling their duties, unmindful of the
dispensation at the centre.
The case of RAMESHWAR PRSAD,2006 on the validity of the president’s rule and dissolution
of the Bihar assembly in 2005. The Supreme Court ruled that governor cannot take decisions on
the basis of his subjective assessments.
In march 2016, in uttarakhand, 9 MLAs of congress rebelled against harish rawat-led congress
govt.. Governor kk paul asked central govt. for imposing president rule. The uttarakhand High
Court quashed the president’s rule and rawat proved his majority.
The five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court led by then Chief justice J.S. Khehar in
the NABAM REBIA JUDGEMENT OF DECEMBER, 2016 ruled that article163 does not give
Governors a “general discretionary power” as is often misunderstood. “The area for the exercise
of his discretion is limited. Even this limited area, his choice of action should not be arbitrary or
fanciful. It must be choice dictated by reason, actuated by good faith and tempered by caution,”
the constitutional bench, of which the current Chief Justice Dipak Mishra was a part of, held. The
Supreme cort ruled that governor is just an executive and nominee and not an elected
representative, and his powers flow from the aid andd advice of the cabinet Ministers. Use of
discretionary powers for summoning or dissolving assembly sessions without the advice of the
cabinet is unconstitutional. In Arunachal Pradesh, a group of MLAs of congress approached the
governor for impeaching the speaker Nabam rebia. The modi govt. imposed presidential rule which
was later shifted by the Supreme Court.
In GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI V. UNION OF INDIA [2018] case, then Chief Justice
of India, Dipak Mishra, clarified that democracy and federalism are firmly imbibed in india’s
constitutional ethos while retreating that democracy requires the constant affirmation of
constitutional morality.
In 2018, KARNATAKA ASSEMBLY case, the Supreme Court ruled that the discretionary powers
of the governor cannot be arbitrary or fanciful.After 2018 Karnataka elections, the BJP won 104
seats out of the 222 seats on which elections were held. Congress won 78 seats and extended
unconditional support to janata dal-secular who had won 37 seats. A party or coalition needed the
support of 112 members for a simple majority in the assembly. The governor called BS
Yeddyurappa, the leader of the BJP to form the government. The Supreme Court intervened and
orded a live telecast of the floor test. Yeddyruppa resigned before the floor test and HD
Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal-secular and Congress Alliance formed the government.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF SARKARIA AND PUNCHI COMMISSION

SARKARIA COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ON GOVERNOR-
➢ Should be an eminent person;
➢ Must be a person from outside the state;
➢ Must not have participated in active politics at least for some time before his appointment;
➢ It even suggested that when the state and the centre are ruled by different political parties,
the governor should not belong to the ruling party at the centre;
➢ He should be a detached person and not too intimately connected with the local politics of
the state;
➢ He should be appointed in consultation with the Chief Minister of the state, Vice-President
of India and the speaker of the Lok sabha;
➢ His tenure of office must be guaranteed.
➢ After demitting his office, the person appointed as governor should not be eligible for any
other appointment or office of profit under the union or a state government except for a
second term as governor or election as Vice-president or President of india, as the case may
be;
➢ At the end of his tenure, reasonable post retirement benefits should be provided.
The SARKARIA COMMISSION recommended that article 356 should be used in very
rare cases when it becomes unavoidable to restore the breakdown of constitutional
machinery in the state. The commission recommended that before talking action under
article 356, a warning should be issued to the state government that it is not functioning
according to the constitution.
M.M. PUNCHI COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ON GOVERNOR-
➢ Like sarkaria commission, it also recommended that the person who is slated to be governor
should not have participated in active politics.
➢ State Chief Minister should have say in the appointment of the governor.
➢ Appointment of governor should be entrusted to a committee comprising the Prime
Minister, Home Minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Chief Minister of the concerned
state. The Vice-President can also be involved in this process.
➢ Doctrine of pleasure should end and should be deleted from the constitution.
➢ Governor should not be removed at the whim of the central government. Instead, a
resolution by state legislature should be there to remove Governor.
The PUNCHI COMMISSION recommended the amendment in article 355 and356 of the
constitution.
OTHER COMMISSIONS AND THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS---
 I. The ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS COMMISSION[1968] recommended that the report
of the governor regarding the president’s rule has to be objective and the governor should
exercise his own judgement in this regard.
II. The RAJAMANNAR COMMITTEE[1971] recommended deletion of the articles 356 and
357 from the constitution. The necessary provisions for safeguards against arbitrary action
of the ruling party at the centre under article 356 should be incorporated in the constitution.
The committee emphasised that the governor of the state should not consider himself as
the agent of the centre but play his role as the constitutional head of the state.
III. JUSTICE V. CHELLIAH COMMISSION[2002] recommended that article356 must be
used sparingly and only as a remedy of the last resort after exhausting all actions under
article 256, 257 and 355.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNOR

A Governor possess executive, legislative, financial and judicial powers analogous to the President
of India.
EXECUTIVE POWERS
The executive power of the state is vested in the governor by the article 154 of the constitution
✓ All executive actions are formally taken in his name
✓ All executive powers extend to all those subjects on which the state legislature is
empowered to make laws
✓ Appoints and administers oath to Chief Minister and other Ministers and can remove
minister on the recommendation of the CM
✓ Appoints Advocate-General of state
✓ Appoints State Election Commissioner
✓ Appints Chairman and members of State Public Service commission
✓ Appoints Tribal Welfare Minister in Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa
by the 94th amendment act 2006
✓ Responsibility to look after the interests of backward tribes and scheduled castes living in
states of assam, madhya pradesh and odisha.
✓ Appoints Vice-Chancellors of Universities
✓ Acts as Chancellor of Universities
✓ Ask information from chief minister on the matters of state administration art.167
✓ Ask coucil of ministers to discuss any such matter on which the decision has been made
by any minister in his individual capacity art. 167
✓ Can recommend imposition of art.356 in a state
LEGISLATIVE POWERS
The governor is the part of the state legislature and he make use of following legislative powers
✓ Summons and prorogue session of state legislature (gap of two sessions, not more than six
months)
✓ Dissolve state legislative assembly
✓ Addresses first session of state legislature after general elections
 ✓ Send messages to house or houses of state legislature, with respect to a bill pending in the
legislature or otherwise
✓ Can call for a joint sitting of the both houses
✓ Can appoint any member in state legislative assembly to preside over its proceedings when
the office of both the speaker and deputy-speaker falls vacant art.180
✓ Can appoint any member in state legislative assembly to preside over its proceedings when
the office of both the chairman and deputy-chairman falls vacant art.184
✓ Nominates 1\6 of the members of state legislative Council
✓ Can nominate one member to the state legislature assembly from angl-indian community
art.333
✓ Can give his assent to a bill, or withhold his assent and can return the bill for
reconsideration of the state legislature. However, if the bill is passed again with or without
amendments, the governor has to give his assent
✓ Can reserve the bill for reconsideration(article201) if the bill is—
o Ultra-vires to the provisions of the constitution
o Opposed to DPSPs
o Against the larger interest of the country
o Of grave national importance
o Deals with compulsory acquisition of property
✓ Can promulgate ordinances when the state legislature is not in session, during time of
emergency but must be approved by state legislature within 6 weeks from its
reassembly.art.213
✓ Annual reports of various agencies like SPSC and Auditor General are submitted to him
that he causes them to be laid be laid before the legislature for consideration
FINANCIAL POWERS
✓ He sees that the annual financial statement is laid before the state legislature before the
commencement of every financial year
✓ Money bill in state legislature cannot be introduced without his prior approval
✓ Can make advances from the contingency fund of the state to meet any unforeseen
expenditure
✓ Constitutes finance commission every after five years to review the financial position of
the panchayats and the muncipalities
JUDICIAL POWERS
✓ Can grant pardons, reprives, respites and remissions of punishment or suspend, remit and
commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to
which the executive powers of the state extends.(article161)
✓ Appoints judges of concerned High Courts with consulation of the President
✓ Makes appointments, postings and promotions of the district judges in consultation with
the state High Court
✓ Appoints persons to the judicial service of the state(other than district judges) in
consultation with the state High Court and state public service commission
MISCELLANEOUS POWERS
 ✓ The governor settles disputes between regional committee and the state governments
✓ He can make regulations for the protection of the interests of the minorities

DISCRETIONARY POWERS OF GOVERNOR

The discretionary powers of Governor under art.227 to reserve any bill for the assent of president
has become controversial.
▪ The powers can be used by the Governor for delaying the bill for a long time.
▪ He can exercise veto over the bills passed by state legislature.
▪ Appoints CM when no party has a majority
▪ Can dissolve state legislative assembly if Council of Ministers has lost its majority
▪ Can seek information regarding administrative and legislative matters from CM
▪ Determines amount payable by govt. of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to an
autonomous tribal district council
▪ The governor of nagaland is given special powers to deal with insurgency in the state
▪ Governor can be asked to look after the administration of a UT which he will manage
according to his discretion
▪ Governor of Assam is given discretionary powers to administer the tribal areas in the state

ROLE OF GOVERNOR
DUAL ROLE
• CONSTITUTIONAL HEAD
The Governor is the constitutional head of the state and his position is the same which is that of
the president in the centre. In states also there is parliamentary form of govt. in which the real
powers are with the Council of Ministers and for the exercise of these powers it is responsible to
legislature. The governor generally acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
In the words of H.V. KAMATH, “The governor is more like a puppet controlled by the Chief
Minister on one hand and president that is virtually to say Prime Minister, on the other”.

• LINK BETWEEN CENTRE-STATE GOVERNMENT

Dr. Pattabhai Sitaramayya who was the governor of Madhya Pradesh while
striking the bell lying on the table said, “This is the only thing I can do here without
having to seek the permission of my Ministers”.
Sh. N.K. Kanungo the former governor of gujrat said, “Though he was supposed to
be centre’s eyes and ears in Ahmedabad, he had no source of information other than
the morning newspapers”.
If in the centre and the state there is the government of the same political party, then
the Chief Minister of the state is more close to the central govt. and he gets done
many things without even informing the governor in such a situation it is not the
governor rather the Chief Minister who becomes the representative of the centre in
the state.
CHANGING ROLE
The governor performs the role of constitutional head during the political stability in the state but
plays an active role during the political instability. He has some powers which are not even with
the president in the centre and these powers make him effective executive head. The office of
governor has to play different roles under different circumstances and therefore, it is said that he
changes his colour like that of a chameleon.
❖ Agent of the centre—When in the constitutional assembly the decision about the
appointment of governor by the president was made, then this was kept in mind that he had
to play the role of an agent of the union governmentin the state. Therefore, many people
call the governor as eyes, ears, arms, nose and mouth of the centre in the state. He keeps
the centre informed about every development in the state and functions as the guardian of
the interests of the centre in the state. V.N. Narayanan has termed the Governors as
‘Puppets in Raj Bhawans’.
❖ Link between centre and states—Governor carries the information of the centre to the state
and vice versa. According to K.M. Munshi, “The governor is the watchdog of constitutional
property and link which joins the state with the centre. He thus secures the constitutional
unity of India”.
❖ Guardian of the constitution—The governor plays the role of the guardian of the
constitution and sees that the provisions of the constituion are not violated in the state. In
case he feels that the state govt. is not working according to the constitution, he can
recommend to the president for the imposition of president rule in the state.
❖ Real ruler of the state—When president’s rule is imposed in the state then the entire state
administration is run by the governor on behalf of the president. Some critics are o f the
opinion that under such a situtation the position of the governor is not less than that of a
dictator.
The coucil of members is dissolved and all its powers come into the hands of the governor.
Remember that even the president does not have this power.
❖ Formation of government—When there is clear majority of a particular party or an alliance
in the state legislative assembly elections, then there is no problem in forming the govt. by
the governor. But when no party or an alliance is in position of the formation of the
government, then the governor has to act very carefully. To provide stable govt. to the state
is the resonsibility of the government and he should keep in mind only one thing that which
party is in position to provide stable government. The decision regarding the majority
support should be taken on the basis of the floor test in the state assembly. In such
cicumstance the governor need not to look towards the centre for guidelines, rather he
should take decision on his own keeping in mind the general situation.
❖ Dismissal of government—Under special circumstances the governor has to dismiss the
govt. also. In such circumstances the governor should not blindly follow the advice of the
state chief minister, rather he should see whether the govt. enjoys majority confidence in
the legislative assembly or not. In case there is doubt, the governor should convene the
session of the legislative assembly to remove his doubt.
 ❖ Sending the report about failure of constitutional machinery—In present situation when
there are governments of different parties in the centre and the states, the central govt. can
put pressure on the governor to send the report of their liking. But under such circumstances
the governor should not work under the pressure of the govt. in the centre rather, he should
take neutral decisions and should send correct reports.
❖ Give his approval over the bills—Under constitution the Bills passed by the state legislature
are send to the governor for his approval. The governor can reserve certain bills for the
president’s approval. But the governor should strictly follow the constitution regarding the
reservation of bills for the approval of the president and should rise above partisan politics.
❖ Constitutional head—The governor is a constitutional head and under art.163 of the
constitution there is provision of coucil of ministers to advise him in running the
administration. But in case the council of ministers is reduced to minority, then the
governor is not bound to accept its advice.
“The governor is not only a figure head but an important functionary expected to lubricate the
machinery of the government and to see that all the wheels of the government are going on well.”,
by P.K.Sen.

REASONS FOR DECLINE IN POSITION OF GOVERNOR

▪ Incompetent Governors
▪ Arbitrary removal of governor
▪ Appointment of active politicians on the office of governor
▪ Agents in the states of ruling party in centre
▪ Difficult role of Governors
▪ Criticism of their own governments by Governors
▪ Lack of Neutrality
“Governor is a puppet whose one string is in the hands of Central govt. and other in the hands of
state government.”

SUGGESTIONS TO STRENGTHEN THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR

1) The recommendations of sarkaria commission should be implemented
2) According to L.M. Singhvi, only competent person should be appointed as Governors
3) The Governors should make their decisions on spot and for every little thing they need not
to rush to new delhi
4) The Governors should keep themselves above party politics and they should break their
relationship with their political party
5) The majority support to the government should be tested on the floor of the house and not
in the raj bhawans
6) The Governors should take keen interest in the welfare of the state concerned
THE GOVERNORS HAD BECOME THE PUPPETS IN RAJ BHAWANS AND RUBBER STAMPS
UNDER CONTROL OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT. THE GOVERNORS HAD TO WORK AS THE
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PEOPLE NOT OF THE PARTY.