Constitutional Law-I

SEMESTER 3

Contitutional Law-I

An Assignment ON:

Powers of Governor

SUBMITTED TO:

Professor Rakesh Kumar

University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka

SUBMITTED BY:

Toyesh Bhardwaj (004416503520)

BBA-LLB’25

University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka

 Constitutional Law-I

Governor is the executive head of the state executive he is to state what

president is to the country. All the executives actions are taken in his name
He acts on the advice of council of ministers of the state.
The Pattern of the Government of the State is similar to that of the Union,
The executive head is the constituitional head, who is to act according to
the advice of the council of ministers.

The Constituition of India by the virtue of Article 153 (There shall be

Governor for each State: Provided that nothing in this article shall
prevent the appointment of the same person as Governor for two or more
States) creates the office of the Governor. Thus each state shall have a
Goverrnor1, however one person can be appointed for the post of Governor
of two stares or even more if need be. The executive power of the state is
vested in the Governor, He shall exercise the executive power ewither
directly throught his own office or thorught the office subordinate to his.2

 
Appointent and term of office

The President appoints the Governor for a period of 5 years3. He is neither

elected by the direct vote of the people nor by indirect vote by a specially
constituited Electoral college (as in the case of of the President of India 4)
In a decided case it has been held that the office of the Governor of State
is not a employment under the Government of India and it does not come
withi the prohibition of Clause (d) of Article 139, and therefore a member
of the State Public Service Commission can be appointed as the Governor.
The office of the Governor is an independent office and not under the
control and neither the subordinate to the Government of India.5

Qualifications

1
Consitituiion of India, Article 153
2
Constituition of Inida, Article 154
3
Constitution of India, Article 155
4
Constituiton of India, Article 55
5
Hargovind v. Raghukul, AIR 1979 SC 1109
University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka
 Constitutional Law-I

According to the Article 157 a person in order to be eligible to old the

office of a Governor of a State must be a
i. A citizen of India
ii. Must have completed the age of 35 years.
iii. Must not be member of either hous of Parliament or of the house or
legislature of any State
iv. Shall not hold any other office of Profit6

Tenure and Removal of Governor

The Governor of any state holds the office at the pleasure of the President
of India, Subject to this rule the tenure of Governor has been fixed at five
years but however he may be removed from the said office by the
President at any time. The President in turn acts on the Cabinet. The
Presidential Pleasure is unjustifiable.
 
In case of death of the governor the CJ of the high court of the state high
court acts as the governor of the state
 
Role of the Governor
He acts as the link between the centre and the state. He sends the report of
the affairs of the state to the president
Even though he is the nominal head of the state he can exercise some
powers over state executive
Pocket veto (hold the bill for indefinite period of time for his time in the
office)
Suspension veto (return the bill to the MLAs for reconsideration and
changes)
Send a bill to the president for his recommendation

 
Immunities to Governor
6
Constituition of India, Article 158
University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka
 Constitutional Law-I

 The Governor shall not be held liable in any court for the exercise an
d performance of his office's powers and responsibilities.
 During his tenure of office, no criminal procedures can be started or 
continued in any court.
 During the governor's period of office, there was no process for his
arrest or incarceration from any court.
 Civil procedures against him, in which remedy is sought, can be start
ed if he is given two months' notice.

Sarkaria Commission report on office of Governor

(Recommendations only)
 A politician belonging to ruling party at the center should not be
appointed as governor of state being run by some other party
 Must be appointed after consultation with state concerned
 Must be a detached figure from state politics & must retain power to
refer any bill to center for assent.

University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka

 Constitutional Law-I

Powers of a State Governor

Executive Power
The Executive power of the State rests with the governor of the said State
and is to be exercised by him directly or through officers subordinate to
him.8
According to Article 162 that executive power of the State extend to the
matter to which the State legislature of the state has power to make laws.
All the Executive actions of the Government of state are always taken in
the name of the Governor of the said State. Even the orders and intruments
are made and executed in the name of the Governor and they shall
authenticated in the manner specified in the rules made by the Governor.

The following comes under his executive powers:

7
Governor Executive Head of States, https://iasmania.com/the-state-executive-governor-com-advocate-
general/ , (visited on November 22, 2021)
8
Constituition of India, Article 154
University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka
 Constitutional Law-I

a) Every executive action that the state government takes, is to be taken

in his name.9
b) How an order that has been taken up his name is to be authenticated,
the rules for the same can be specified by the Governor.
c) He may/may not make rules to simplify the transaction of the
business of the state government.
d) Chief Ministers and other ministers of the states are appointed by
him.
e) It is his responsibility to appoint Tribal Welfare Minister in the states
of:
i. Chattisgarh
ii. Jharkhand
iii. Madhya Pradesh
iv. Odisha
f) He appoints the advocate general of states and determines their
remuneration
g) He appoints the following people:
i. State Election Commissioner
ii. Chairman and Members of the State Public Service
Commission
iii. Vice-Chancellors of the universities in the state
h) He seeks information from the state government
i) A constitutional emergency in the state is recommended to the
President by him.
j) The governor enjoys extensive executive powers as an agent of the
President during the President’s rule in the state.10

9
Executive Powers of Governor, https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/governor/ , (last visited on November 23,
2021)
University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka
 Constitutional Law-I

In a case it was held by the Supreme Court of India that our Constituition
has adopted British system of Parliamentary form of Government and the
basic Prnciple of this type of government is that the President and the
Governors are constituitional heads and the real executive powers are
vested in the Council of Ministers.11 (the council of ministers refereed is in
both the State and Union context)
In another case it was held by the Supreme Court that the President and the
Governors are only Constituitonal heads and they excericse their powers
and funcitons with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers and not
personally save in cases where the Governor is required by the
constituition to exercise his functions in his discretion. The
appointmentas well as removal of the members of the Subordinate
judicial Service is an executive function of the Governor to be
excercised on the advoce of Council of Ministers. Wherever Constituiton
requires ‘satisfaction’ of the President or Governor . the satisfaction refers
not to the personal satisfaction of the President of the Governor but the
satisfaction of the Council of Ministers. The appellants were dismissed
from service by the order of the concerned minister without any reference
to the Governor. They contended that removal is a personal power of the
Governor and cannot be delegated to concerned Minister or Chief
Minister. They Relied on the decision in Sardari Lal v. Union of India12 in
which the Hon’ble court held that where the President or the Governor, if
satisfied , make an order under Article 311(2) proviso (c) the satisfaction
of the President or the Governor is his personal satisfaction.
The court went on to reject the contentions made in the above mentioned
case of Sardari Lal v. Union of India and overruled the mentioned case.
The Court stated “A Governor can allocate the business of the Government
of the Ministers and such allocation is no delegagtion, and is the exercise
of Executive Powers by the Governor through the Council of Ministers or
officers under the rule of business” The appellant’s contention that the
10
Executive Powers of Governor, https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/governor/, (last visited on November 23,
2021)
11
Ram Jawaya Kapur v. State of Punjab, AIR 1955 SC 549
12
AIR 1971 SC 1571
University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka
 Constitutional Law-I

termination orders were passed by the Chief Minister or concerned

Minister without any formal approval of thje Governor and therofr
untenable. The decision of any minister or officer under the rules of
business made under any of the Article 77 (3) and Article 166 (3) is the
decision of the President or the Governor respectively. These Article do
not provide for any delegation. Therefore the decision of the Minister or
officer is the decision of the Governor or the President. As the historical
backgrounds of the Indian Constituiton were traced the Supreme Court
said “our Constituiton embodies generally Parilamentary or the Cabinet
System of the Government or the Bristish model, both for the Union and
for the States”

University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka

 Constitutional Law-I

Legislative Power
The Governor summons the Houses or the one house (depends on the state
whether the state only has a Legislative Assembly or a Legislative Council
too) of the State to meet at such time amd place he thinks fits but he must
act so on the advice of the council of ministers. However, six months must
not lapse between the last sitting in one session and the first sitting of the
next session. He may discontinue a session of the Houses or wither house
or the one house and dissolve the LegislativeAssembly.13
The following are the legislative powers of the governor:
It’s in his power to prorogue the state legislature and dissolve the state
legislative assemblies
He addresses the state legislature at the first session of every year
If any bill is pending in the state legislature, Governor may/may not send a
bill to the state legislature concerning the same
If the speaker of the legislative assembly is absent and the same is Deputy
Speaker, then Governor appoints a person to preside over the session
As President nominates 12 members in Rajya Sabha, Governor appoints of
the 1/6 of total members of the legislative council14 from the fields of:
 Literature
 Science
 Art
 Cooperative Movement
 Social Service
As President nominates 2 members in the Lok Sabha, Governor
nominates 1 member in state legislative assembly from Anglo-Indian
Community.

13
Constituiton of India, Article 174 (1) & (2)
14
Constituiton of India, Article 171

University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka

 Constitutional Law-I

He can consult Election Commission for the disqualification of

members
With respect to the bill introduced in the state legislature, he can:
o Give his assent
o Withhold his assent
o Return the bill
o Reserve the bill for the President’s consideration (In
instances where the bill introduced in the state
legislature endangers the position of state High Court.)
He has also the right to address the State legislature. As we are aware that
no bill can be considered a law without the assent of the Hon’ble President
of India. He also has the power to reserve certain bills for the assent of the
President15

15
Constituiton of India, Article 200
University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka
 Constitutional Law-I

Financial Powers
The assent of the Governor of the State is essential to introduce a money
bill into the Legislative Assembly The Governor of the State is also
required to cause to be laid before the House or the Houses of the
legislature annual financial Statements’ known as Budget.16 By the virtue
of Article 202.
The Governor also has the right to examine the state budget that is on the
discussin panel in the State Legislature.
His approval is required before a money measure can be introduced in the 
state legislature.
He advocates for the demand for funding that might otherwise be unavaila
ble.
He is in charge of the State's Contingency Fund, from which he makes adv
ances to cover unexpected expenses. 
He appoints a State Finance Commission every five years. 

16
Constituion of India, Article 202
University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka
 Constitutional Law-I

Judicial Powers/ Pardoning Power

A Governor of the State must have the power to grant pardons, reprieves,
respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the
sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating
to matters to which the executive power of the State extends17. (The
Executive power of the Sate extends to the matters on which the State has
the authority to make laws on)
The Governor's judicial authorities and functions are as follows:
As mentioned above the
Governor possesses the following pardoning abilities when it comes to 
punishment:
o Pardon
o Reprieve
o Respite \Remit
o Commute
When selecting justices to the High Court, the President meets with the Go
vernor.
The Governor appoints, posts, and promotes district judges in cooperation 
with the state Supreme Court.
He also selects people to the judicial services in collaboration with the stat
e high court and the state public service commission.18
A governor's power under Article 161 is undisputedly exercised on the aid
and advice of the chief minister and his council of ministers. The Supreme
Court of India in Satpal v. State of Haryana, AIR 2000 SC 1702, held
that:
"The authority to grant pardon under Article 161 is extremely broad, with 
no restrictions on the time, occasion, or circumstances under which it may 
be used. 

17
Constituition of India, Article 161
18
Judicial Powers of Governor, https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/governor/ , (last visited on November 23,
2021)
University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka
 Constitutional Law-I

However, because the authority in question is a constitutional one, it is sub
ject to judicial review on specific restricted grounds. 
As a result, the court would be justified in overturning a Governor's order 
made in the exercise of power under Article 161 of the Constitution. 19
If the Governor is found to have exercised the power without consulting th
e Government, or if the Governor exceeds his or her authority in exercisin
g it, or if it is established that the Governor has passed the order without ap
plying his or her mind, or if the order in question is a mala fide one, or if t
he Governor has passed the order for some other reason."20

19
Powers Of A Governor: Head Of State Or Mouthpiece Of Centre
https://www.mondaq.com/india/constitutional-administrative-law/1080480/powers-of-a-governor-head-of-
state-or-mouthpiece-of-centre, (last visited on November 23, 2021)
20
Satpal v. State of Haryana, AIR 2000 SC 1702
University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka
 Constitutional Law-I

Ordinacne-making Power
 The Ordinance making power of the Governor by the virtue of
Article 213 of the Constitution is similar to that of the President
under Article 123. The Governor can issue Ordinance only when the
following two condition s are fulfilled
1. The Governor can only issue Ordinances when the Legislative
Assembly of a State is not in session or where there are two houses
in a Stare Both Houses are not in session i.e. the Legislative
Assembly and the Legislative Council.
2. The Governor must be satisfied that circumstances exist which
render it necessary for him to take immediate action. The Court
cannot question the validity of the Ordinance on the ground that
there was no necessity or sufficient ground for issuing the Ordinance
by the Governor. The existence of such necessity is not a justiciable
issue. The exercise of Ordinance-making power is not discretionary.
The Governor excersies this power on the advice of the Cabinet.
An Ordinance shall have the same force and effect as an Act of the
Legislature. It can override the judgment of the High Court under Article
266.21
However, he is prohibited from promulgating ordinances that contains
provisions, which under the constitution requires previous sanction of the
President. In such cases, he can make ordinances taking prior permission
of President
An ordinance issued by governor ceases to be in operation 6 weeks after
the re-assembly of the legislature unless approved earlier.

21
State of Orissa v. Bhupendra Kumar, AIR 1962 SC 945
University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka
 Constitutional Law-I

Emergency Powers
 Power to make a report to the President anytime he believes a
situation has occurred in which the state's government cannot
function in line with the constitution, thereby urging the President to
assume control of the state's government.
 When the Presidential rule is implemented to a state, the governor
becomes the state's agent for the Union government, taking the reins
of administration in his own hands and running the state with the
help of civil servants in accordance with President's directives.
 If no political party wins a majority in the state's Vidhan Sabha, the
Governor has the authority to choose the Chief Minister at his
discretion.
 In an official report, the Governor tells the President of a specific
emergency in the state and imposes 'President's Rule' on the
President's behalf. In such circumstances, the Governor disregards
the recommendations or functions of the Council of Ministers and
directs the state's operations.

University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, Dwarka