Governor

Also called: Article 153, Article 155 · Topic: State Government: Governor, Chief Minister, State Legislature and Union Territories · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 10 "Grassroots Democracy – Part 1: Governance"; Class 7, Ch 6 "The State, the Government, and You"; Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"; Class 11, Ch 4 "Executive"; Class 11, Ch 7 "Federalism"

Meaning

The Governor is the constitutional head of a state. The state's executive power (the power to run the government and carry out its laws) is vested in the Governor under Art. 154. The President appoints the Governor (Art. 155), and the Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President (Art. 156). The Governor usually acts on the advice of the Chief Minister and the council of ministers, but has more discretion (freedom to act on their own judgment) than the President has at the Union level.

The office matters because it links the Union and the states. Its holder is chosen by the Union but must act fairly towards the state. This makes the Governor central to debates on federalism and on Union–state tension.

Explanation

How the office works: nominal head vs real executive

• Each state copies the Union's parliamentary system. In this system, the executive comes from the legislature and answers to it.
• Nominal head (the formal head, who acts in the state's name): the Governor.

• Real executive (the people who actually govern): the Chief Minister (CM) and the council of ministers.

• Art. 154: the state's executive power is vested in the Governor. The Governor uses it directly or through officers below them.

• In practice, the CM and ministers use this power in the Governor's name.

• Collective responsibility: the ministers answer to the Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) as one team. If the Assembly passes a no-confidence vote, the whole ministry leaves office.

• Art. 163: the Governor acts on the ministers' advice, except where the Constitution allows the Governor to act alone. This is why the Governor has more discretion than the President.
• Roots of the model: provinces had already known responsible government under the Government of India Act, 1919 (dyarchy) and the Government of India Act, 1935 (provincial autonomy).

Appointment, qualifications and conditions

• Art. 153: there shall be a Governor for each state.

• 7th Amendment (1956): one person can be Governor of two or more states.

• Art. 155: the President appoints the Governor by warrant under his hand and seal. A warrant is a formal written order.

• Under Art. 74, the President acts on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers. So in effect the Union government chooses the Governor [2].

• Art. 157: qualifications. The Governor must be:

• a citizen of India;

• at least 35 years old.

• Art. 158: conditions of office.

• The Governor must not be a member of Parliament or of a state legislature. If a sitting member is appointed, the seat is treated as vacated on the day they take office.
• The Governor must not hold any other office of profit (a paid government post that could create a conflict of interest).
• The Governor gets a rent-free official residence, plus the emoluments and allowances that Parliament fixes by law.
• Emoluments cannot be reduced during the term.

• Art. 158(3A) (7th Amendment, 1956): if one person is Governor of several states, the President decides how the states share the cost.

• Art. 202(3): the Governor's emoluments are charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State. "Charged" means the Assembly can discuss the amount but does not vote on it.

• Art. 159: oath. The Governor takes the oath before the Chief Justice of the state's High Court, or the senior-most judge available.
• Art. 361: personal immunity (protection from court action) during the term:
• The Governor does not answer to any court for acts done in office.
• No criminal case can be started or continued against the Governor.
• The Governor cannot be arrested or imprisoned.
• A civil case about personal acts needs two months' written notice.

Tenure and removal: the limits of the office

• Art. 156(1): the Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President.
• Art. 156(2): the Governor may resign by writing to the President.
• Art. 156(3): the term is five years, but the Governor continues until a successor takes charge [6].

• The five years is subject to the President's pleasure. So the Governor can be removed at any time.

• Pleasure doctrine: the person serves only as long as the appointing authority wishes.

• There is no fixed term.
• There is no impeachment.

• There are no grounds for removal written in the Constitution.

• Conventions (practices that are followed but are not written law):

• The Governor should be an outsider, not someone from the same state.
• The CM should be consulted before the appointment. The Sarkaria Commission (1988) recommended this [3].
• The Governor should not have been active in politics in the recent past [5].

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it sits: Part VI (Arts. 152–237) covers state government. Arts. 153–159 deal with the Governor's office, Art. 163 with the Governor's discretion, Art. 202(3) with emoluments and Art. 361 with immunity.

• Jammu & Kashmir was left out of Part VI's definition of "State" (Art. 152) until 2019. That year Art. 370 stopped applying and the state was reorganised into Union Territories.

• Constituent Assembly debate (30–31 May 1949) on draft Article 131 (now Art. 155) [4]:

• Option 1: direct election by everyone entitled to vote in the state's Assembly elections [4].
• Option 2: appointment from a panel of four, elected by state legislators by proportional representation by single transferable vote and secret ballot [4].
• The Assembly chose appointment by the President. The article was adopted on 31 May 1949 [4].

• Reason: an elected Governor could become a rival power centre to the CM. Nehru agreed that an appointed Governor would stand apart from state politics [4].

• Debate on the pleasure clause (31 May 1949) [6]:

• One member warned that the clause would make the Governor "a creature of the President".

• An amendment tried to limit removal to treason, threats to the Union's security, incapacity, bribery or corruption. It was rejected.

• Hargovind Pant v. Raghukul Tilak (1979):

• The Governor holds an independent constitutional office.

• The Governor is not an employee or servant of the Union government.

• B.P. Singhal v. Union of India (7 May 2010, five-judge Constitution Bench):

• Background: after the change of government at the Centre in 2004, the Governors of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana and Goa were removed [2].
• Held: the Union can remove a Governor at any time, without giving reasons and without a hearing [2].
• But the power cannot be used arbitrarily, capriciously or unreasonably. It should be used only in rare and exceptional cases, for valid and compelling reasons [2].
• Invalid grounds: being out of step with the Union's policies or ideology, the Union having lost confidence in the Governor, or a change of the ruling party at the Centre [2].

• Limited judicial review (the courts' power to check whether a government action is legal) is available. The removed Governor must first show a prima facie case of arbitrariness, meaning one that looks valid at first sight [2].

• In practice:

• Governors were still replaced in large numbers after the changes of government in 2004 and 2014.
• Many Governors have been retired politicians, civil servants or military officers.

• A 1952 cartoon in Class 11 NCERT shows Union ministers unwilling to "become" Governors. Even then, people saw it as a low-power posting.

• Reform commissions:

Body	Year	Key recommendation
Sarkaria Commission	1988	Consult the CM before appointment. Let the Governor finish the 5-year term except in rare, compelling cases. Tell the Governor the grounds for removal and give a chance to explain [2][3]
NCRWC (Venkatachaliah Commission)	2002	Governors should normally finish 5 years. Consult the CM before removing a Governor early [2]
Punchhi Commission	2010	Delete "during the pleasure of the President". Remove a Governor only by a resolution of the state legislature [2][5]

• None of these has become law, and they do not bind the Union [5].
• The Standing Committee of the Inter-State Council finished discussing all 273 recommendations of the Punchhi Commission. They are to go before the Inter-State Council for a decision [7].

Don't confuse with

• President: the President is elected by an electoral college and can be removed only by impeachment (Art. 61). The Governor is appointed (Art. 155) and serves at the President's pleasure, with no impeachment procedure.
• Chief Minister: the CM heads the real executive and answers to the Vidhan Sabha. The Governor is the nominal head and answers to the President.
• Fixed-term office: the "five years" in Art. 156(3) is not a guaranteed term. It is subject to the President's pleasure under Art. 156(1), so the Governor can be removed before the five years end.
• Union employee: the Governor is appointed by the Union but is not its servant (Hargovind Pant, 1979). It is an independent constitutional office.

Prelims Hooks

• 7th Amendment (1956) → one person can be Governor of two or more states (Art. 153 proviso). The President decides how the states share the cost (Art. 158(3A)).
• Art. 155 → appointed by the President by warrant under hand and seal. Art. 157 → minimum age 35. Trap: there is no requirement to be qualified for election to the Assembly.
• Art. 159 → oath before the Chief Justice of the state High Court, not the President or the Chief Justice of India.
• Art. 202(3) → emoluments are charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State, so the Assembly does not vote on them.
• B.P. Singhal (2010) → a change of government at the Centre or a policy difference is not a valid ground for removal. Limited judicial review applies [2].
• Constituent Assembly (May 1949) rejected a directly elected Governor and a panel of four elected by STV [4]. Punchhi (2010) → removal by state legislature resolution. Sarkaria (1988) → consult the CM before appointment [3].

Mains Points

• Agent of the Centre or constitutional head?
• Arts. 155–156, read with Art. 74, put both appointment and removal in the Union's hands.
• Large-scale replacements in 2004 and 2014 show how dependent the office is on the Union.

• B.P. Singhal (2010) set limits but allowed only narrow judicial review [2]. Argue that security of tenure is needed for an impartial Governor.

• Why the framers chose nomination, and what it cost.

• Nomination avoided two elected power centres in one state [4].
• It kept a Union–state link in a "Union of States".

• The trade-off: since the Union picks the Governor, the Union can use the office for partisan ends. This matters more because the Governor has more discretion under Art. 163 than the President has, and it weakens cooperative federalism (the Union and states working together as partners).

• Reform roadmap.

• Sarkaria (1988): consult the CM; appoint an outsider who has not recently been active in politics; let the Governor finish the 5-year term [2][3].
• NCRWC (2002): consult the CM before early removal [2].
• Punchhi (2010): delete the pleasure clause; allow removal only by the state legislature [2][5].
• None has been enacted, and the Inter-State Council route has been slow [7]. A strong answer can propose putting these into a constitutional amendment or a statutory selection process.

Related concepts

• Qualifications of the Governor
• B.P. Singhal case

Read more

• The state executive and the office of Governor