Governor

Context:

In recent years, the bitterness between states and Governors has been largely about the selection of the party to form a government, deadline for proving majority, sitting on Bills, and passing negative remarks on the state administration.

Due to this, Governor is referred to with negative terms like an agent of the Centre, Puppet and rubber stamps.

Introduction:

The Governors of the states of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the President of India at Central level. Governors exist in the states while Lieutenant Governors or Administrators exist in union territories including National Capital Territory of Delhi. The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the Chief ministers of the statesand her/his councils of ministers. Although, in union territories, the real power lies with the lieutenant governor or administrator, except in NCT of Delhi and Puducherry where he/she shares power with a council of ministers headed by a chief minister. Few or no governors are local to the state that they are appointed to govern.

In India, a lieutenant governor is in charge of a union territory. However, the rank is present only in the union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Puducherry However, the governor of Punjab acts as the administrator of Chandigarh. Lieutenant governors do not hold the same rank as a governor of a state in the list of precedence.

The governors and lieutenant governors are appointed by the president for a term of five years.

Constitutional Provisions Related to the Governor

• Article 153 says that there shall be a Governor for each State. One person can be appointed as Governor for two or more States.
  • A Governor is appointed by the President and is a nominee of the Central Government.
• It is stated that the Governor has a dual role.
  • He is the constitutional head of the state, bound by the advice of his Council of Ministers (CoM).
  • He functions as a vital link between the Union Government and the State Government.
• Articles 157 and 158 specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor.
• Governor has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, etc. (Article 161).
• There is a CoM with the CM at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except some conditions for discretion. (Article 163)
• The Governor appoints the Chief Minister and other Ministers (Article 164).
• Governor assents, withholds assent, or reserves the bill for the consideration of the President passed by the Legislative Assembly (Article 200).
• Governors may promulgate the Ordinances under certain circumstances (Article 213).

APPOINTMENT OF GOVERNOR

The Governor of a State is appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. Articles 153 says that three should be a should be a Governor for each state. But under the 7th Amendment Act, 1956, the same person can be appointed as Governor of one or more States. When he discharges the responsibilities of more than one state, he acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers of the respective states.

Qualifications: In order to be appointed as Governor, a person:

1.must be a citizen of India; and
2.must have completed the age of 35 years.

In addition, three are two conventions that have come to develop with regard to appointment of the Governor. They are
1.Must not belong to the state where he is appointed and
2.Consult the Chief Minister of the state where to be appointed

Term of Office of the Governor

He normally holds office for five year but can be removed at any time before that by the President i.e. the Governors remain in office during the pleasure of the President. Thus he is a nominee of the Union Government. He may be asked to continue beyond the normal five years, until his successors enters upon his office. The Governor can also be transferred from one state to another by the President. The Governor may resign at any time by writing to the President. In a contingency for which the constitution makes no provision, such as death of the Governor, the President may make such provisions as he think fit for discharge the functions of the Governor of a State (Article 160). The Rajasthan High Court has held that the Chief Justice of the High Court can be asked temporarily to discharge the functions of the Governor of the State, where he can act as the Acting Governor of the State.

Conditions of Governor’s Office

1.The Governor cannot be a member of Parliament or of a State Legislature and if a person is such a member at the time of the appointment as Governor, his seat in Parliament or the State Legislature, as the case mat be, will become vacant on the date on which he assumes office as governor

2. The Governor cannot hold any other office of profit during the term of his offices.

3.He is entitled without payment of rent to the use of his official residence.

4.He is also entitiled to such emoluments, allowances and privileges as may be determined by the Parliament.

5.Where the same person is appointed Governor of two or more States, his emoluments are allocated amongst the States in such proportion as the President may determine.

6.His emoluments and allowances should not be diminished during his term of office.

7.Before entering upon his office, the Governor has to make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation by the Chief justice of the concerned state High Court and in his absence, the senior-most judge of that court available.

Salary

He draws a salary of Rs. 1,10,000 per month and is entitled to a rent-free official residence and other allowances. His salary and allowances are charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State and is not subject to the vote of the State Legislature.

Immunities to Governor

The Constitution grants certain immunities to a Governor, such as:

1.Article 361 says that a Governor shall not be answerable to any Court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of his office or for any act done orpurporting to be done by him in the exercise and performance of the power and duties.

2.No criminal proceedings can be instituted or continued in any court against a Governor during his term of office. Similarly, no process for the arrest or imprisonment of a Governor can be issued from any court during his term of office.

3.Civil proceedings against a Governor in which relief is claimed, can be instituted in a court while the Governor is in his office, only after two months from the date on which due notice has been given to him in writing regarding full details of the said proceedings.

Powers and Functions of Governor

Executive Powers

1. All executive actions of the government of a state are formally taken in his name.
2. He can make rules for more convenient transactions of the business of a state government and for the allocation among the ministers of the said business.
3. He appoints the chief minister, advocate general of a state, election commissioner, appoints the chairman and members of the state public service commission.
4. He can seek any information relating to the administration of the affairs of the state and proposals for legislation from the chief minister.
5. He can require the chief minister to submit for the consideration of the council of ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been considered by the council.
6. He can recommend the imposition of constitutional emergency in a state to the president.

 Legislative Powers

A governor is an integral part of the state legislature.
In that capacity, he has the following legislative powers and functions:

• He can summon or prorogue the state legislature and dissolve the state legislative assembly.
• He can send messages to the house or houses of the state legislature, with respect to a bill pending in the legislature or otherwise.
• He can appoint any member of the State legislative assembly to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker fall vacant. Similarly, he can appoint any member of the state legislature council to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both Chairman and Deputy Chairman fall vacant.
• He nominates one-sixth of the members of the state legislative council from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service, He can nominate one member to the state legislature assembly from the Anglo-Indian Community.
• He decides on the question of disqualification of members of the state legislature in consultation with the Election Commission.
• When a bill is sent to the governor after it is passed by state legislature, he can:
  • Give his assent to the bill.
  • Withhold his assent to the bill.
  • Return the bill (if it is not a money bill) for reconsideration of the state legislature. However, if the bill is passed again by the state.
• He can promulgate ordinances when the state legislature is not in session. These ordinances must be approved by the state legislature within six weeks from its reassembly.

Financial Powers

The financial powers and functions of the governor are:

• He sees that the Annual Financial Statement (state budget) is laid before the state legislature.
• Money bills can be introduced in the state legislature only with his prior recommendation.
• No demand for a grant can be made except on his recommendation.
• He can make advances out of the Contingency Fund of the state to meet any unforeseen expenditure.
• He constitutes a finance commission after every five years to review the financial position of the panchayats and the municipalities.

Judicial Power

The judicial powers and functions of the governor are:

• He can grant pardons, reprieves, respites, and remissions of punishment or suspend, remit, and commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends.
• He is consulted by the president while appointing the judges of the concerned state high court.
• He makes appointments, postings, and promotions of the district judges in consultation with the state high court.
• He also appoints persons to the judicial service of the state (other than district judges) in consultation with the state high court and the State Public Service Commission.

Reasons for an appointed governor

• The original plan in the Draft Constitution was to have elected Governors. But in the Constituent Assembly, it was replaced by the method of appointment by the President.
• It would save the country from the evil consequences of still another election, run on personal issues.
• To sink every province into the vortex of an election with millions of primary voters but with no possible issue other than personal, would be highly detrimental to the country’s progress.
• The Governor were to be elected by direct vote, then he might consider himself to be superior to the Chief Minister, who was merely returned from a single constituency, and this might lead to frequent friction between the Governor and the Chief Minister.
• The expenses involved and the elaborate machinery of election would be out of proportion to the powers vested in this Governor who was to act as a mere constitutional head.
• A Governor elected by adult franchise to be at the top of the political life in the State would soon prefer to be the Chief Minister or a Minister with effective powers.
• The party in power during the election would naturally put up for Governorship a person who was not as outstanding as the future Chief Minister with the result that the State would not be able to get the best man of the party.
• All the process of election would have to be gone through only to get a second rate man of the party elected as Governor.
• Being subsidiary in importance to the Chief Minister, he would be the nominee of the Chief Minister of the State, which was not a desirable thing.
• Through the procedure of appointment by the President, the Union Government would be able to maintain intact Its control over the States.
• The method of election would encourage separatist tendencies. The Governor would then be the nominee of the Government of that particular province to stand for the Governorship.
• The stability and unity of the Governmental machinery of the country as a whole could be achieved only by adopting the system of nomination.

Reasons for having an elected governor

• A nominated Governor would not be able to work for the welfare of a State because he would be a foreigner to that State and would not be able to understand its special needs.
• There was a chance of friction between the Governor and the Chief Minister of the State no less under the system of nomination, if the Premier of the State did not belong to the same party as the nominated Governor.”
• The argument that the system of election would not be compatible with the Parliamentary or Cabinet system of Government is not strong enough in view of the fact that even at the Centre there is an elected President to be advised by a Council of Ministers.
• Of course, the election of the President is not direct but Indirect
• An appointed Governor under the instruction of the Centre might like to run the administration in a certain way contrary to the wishes of the Cabinet.
• In this tussle, the Cabinet would prevail and the President-appointed Governor would have to be recalled.
• The system of election, therefore, was far more compatible with good, better and efficient Government plus the right of self-Government
• The method of appointment of the head of the State executive by the federal executive is repugnant to the strict federal system as it obtains in the U.S.A. and Australia.

President v/s Governor

President v/s Governor – Ordinance making power

Controversies Related to Governor’s Role:

• Abuse of Power by the Centre: There are numerous examples of the Governor’s position being abused, usually at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre.
  • The process of appointment has generally been the cause behind it.
  • Biased Ideology: In several cases, politicians and former bureaucrats identifying with a particular political ideology have been appointed as the Governors by the central government.
    • This goes against the constitutionally mandated neutral seat and has resulted in bias, as appears to have happened in Karnataka and Goa.
  • Puppet Rulers: Recently, the Governor of Rajasthan has been charged with the violation of the model code of conduct. His support of the central ruling party is against the spirit of non-partisanship that is expected from the person sitting on constitutional posts.
    • Due to such incidents, negative terms like an agent of the Centre, Puppet and rubber stamps are used to describe a governor of the state.
  • Favoring a Particular Political Party: Governor’s discretionary powers to invite the leader of the largest party/alliance, post-election, to form the government has often been misused to favour a particular political party.
  • Misuse of Power: A Governor’s recommendation for President’s Rule (Article 356) in a state has not always been based on ‘objective material’, but on political whim or fancy.

Way Forward

• Governor’s Discretion Should Be Only Her Discretion: For the smooth functioning of government, it is equally essential that the governor must act judiciously, impartially and efficiently while exercising his discretion and personal judgment.
• Strengthening of Federalism: In order to check misuse of the office of governor, there is a need to strengthen federal setup in India.
  • In this regard, the Inter-State council and the role of Rajya Sabha as the chamber of federalism must be strengthened.
• Reform the Method of Appointment of Governor: The appointment can be made from a panel prepared by the state legislature and actual appointing authority should be the Inter-state Council, not the central government.
• Code of Conduct for Governor: This ‘Code of Conduct’ should lay down certain ‘norms and principles’ which should guide the exercise of the governor’s ‘discretion’ and his powers which he is entitled to use and exercise on his judgment.

IMPORTANT ARTICLES RELATED TO GOVERNOR

Source: Indian Express

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