Punchhi Commission

Also called: Commission on Centre-State Relations (2007-2010) · Topic: Federalism and Centre-State Relations · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Punchhi Commission was the second Commission on Centre-State Relations. It was set up in 2007 under Justice M.M. Punchhi, a retired Chief Justice of India, and it reported in 2010 with 273 recommendations in seven volumes [1].

• It matters because it made the boldest proposals so far on the office of the Governor and on emergency powers.
• These proposals included a fixed term for Governors, removal of a Governor only by the state legislature, and a "localised emergency" covering only part of a state.
• It comes up often in exam questions on Governors and on Article 356.

Explanation

Why it was set up

• Centre-State relations are how the Union and the states share the power to make laws, run the government and handle money (Parts XI and XII, Seventh Schedule).
• The first review was the Sarkaria Commission (1983–88). It made 247 recommendations [2].
• After that, states still had complaints:
• President's rule (when the Union government takes over a state's government because its constitutional machinery has failed, under Art. 356) was used too often.

• Governors were seen as agents of the party in power at the Centre.

• So a second commission was set up to look at the whole relationship again.

Basic facts

• Set up: 27 April 2007 [1].
• Chair: Justice M.M. Punchhi, a retired Chief Justice of India.
• Report: 31 March 2010 [1].
• Size: 273 recommendations in seven volumes [1]:
• Vol. I: History of Centre-State relations
• Vol. II: Constitutional governance and management of Centre-State relations
• Vol. III: Centre-State financial relations and planning
• Vol. IV: Local self-governments and decentralised governance
• Vol. V: Internal security, criminal justice and Centre-State cooperation
• Vol. VI: Environment, natural resources and infrastructure
• Vol. VII: Socio-economic development, public policy and good governance

Key recommendations

• Governors: a fixed term
• Today a Governor serves "during the pleasure of the President" (Art. 156). This means the Union can remove a Governor at any time.

• Punchhi wanted a fixed five-year term instead.

• Governors: removal only by the state legislature

• A Governor should be removed only by a resolution of the state legislature.

• This needs the words "during the pleasure of the President" to be deleted from Art. 156 [3].

• Governors should not be university chancellors

• The chancellor's job could drag the Governor into political fights.

• So the Governor should do only what the Constitution asks [4].

• "Localised emergency" (Arts. 355–356)

• The Union could take control of only a district or part of a state, not the whole state.

• The aim is to avoid imposing President's rule on an entire state for a problem in one area.

• Central forces without the state's consent

• The Union could send central forces into a state for a short time without the state agreeing, for example during communal violence.

• A more active Inter-State Council

• The Inter-State Council (Art. 263) is the forum where the Centre and the states talk through their problems.
• Punchhi wanted it to work actively.

Limits

• The recommendations are only advice. They bind no one.
• No proposal on removing Governors has become law. Art. 156 is unchanged [3].

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it fits in the Constitution:
• Art. 156: the Governor's term and removal. This is the article Punchhi wanted to amend.
• Arts. 355–356: the Union's duty to protect states, and President's rule. These are the base for "localised emergency".
• Art. 263: the Inter-State Council.

• State List, entries 1–2: "public order" and "police" belong to the states. This is why sending forces without consent is controversial.

• What happened to the report:

• The Standing Committee of the Inter-State Council, chaired by the Union Home Minister, studied all 273 recommendations [1].
• 11th meeting (9 April 2017): it took up the 67 recommendations of Vol. II [1].
• 12th meeting (25 November 2017): it took up the 118 recommendations of Vols. III, IV and V [1].

• Its views were then sent to the full Inter-State Council for a decision [1].

• B.P. Singhal v. Union of India (2010) [3]:

• The Union can remove a Governor without giving reasons.
• But the removal must not be arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable. It needs rare and exceptional reasons.
• Losing the Centre's confidence, or disagreeing with its policies, is not enough.
• Courts can check the removal through judicial review (the power of courts to strike down unlawful government action).

• Because Punchhi's proposal was never made law, this judgment is the only legal check on removal.

• The chancellor debate in the states [4]:

• Maharashtra (2021): an amendment limited the Governor's choice of vice-chancellor.
• West Bengal (2022): a bill named the Chief Minister, not the Governor, as chancellor of 31 state universities.
• Tamil Nadu (April 2022): bills moved the power to appoint vice-chancellors to the state government.
• These disputes match Punchhi's advice to keep Governors out of chancellor roles.

Don't confuse with

• Sarkaria Commission (1983–88): the first Commission on Centre-State Relations, under Justice R.S. Sarkaria, with 247 recommendations [2]. It wanted a Governor from outside the state, chosen after consulting the CM. Punchhi wanted removal only by a state legislature resolution.
• NCRWC (2002): the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, chaired by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah. It said a Governor should normally finish the full term and the CM should be consulted before early removal [3]. It did not ask for removal by the legislature.
• President's rule over the whole state (Art. 356): this is the existing system. Punchhi's "localised emergency" would cover only a district or part of a state, and it is still only a proposal.
• Inter-State Council: a standing advisory body created under Art. 263 by a Presidential Order of 28 May 1990 and chaired by the PM [2]. The Punchhi Commission was a one-time inquiry that ended when it gave its report.

Prelims Hooks

• Punchhi Commission: set up on 27 April 2007, reported on 31 March 2010, with 273 recommendations in 7 volumes [1]. Sarkaria: 247 recommendations [2].
• "Localised emergency" for a district or part of a state was proposed by Punchhi, not Sarkaria.
• Removing a Governor only by a state legislature resolution, by deleting "during the pleasure of the President" from Art. 156, is a Punchhi proposal [3].
• Trap: the Governor from outside the state, chosen after consulting the CM, is Sarkaria, not Punchhi.
• The Punchhi report was studied by the Inter-State Council's Standing Committee, chaired by the Union Home Minister, not the PM, at its meetings of 9 April 2017 and 25 November 2017 [1].
• B.P. Singhal (2010): a Governor holds office at the President's pleasure, but cannot be removed arbitrarily, and the removal is open to judicial review [3].

Mains Points

• Making the Governor's office neutral:
• Punchhi's ideas can be used as answer points: a fixed five-year term, removal only by the state legislature, and no chancellor role [3][4].
• Link them to the chancellor disputes in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu (2022) [4].

• Weakness: none of these ideas is law. Art. 156 is unchanged, so B.P. Singhal (2010) is the only check [3].

• Security vs. state autonomy:

• "Localised emergency" and short-term deployment of central forces without consent could keep Art. 356 from being used on a whole state.

• Critics say these ideas also let the Centre enter "public order" and "police" (State List, entries 1–2) without asking the state.

• "Fix the practice, not the structure":

• Like Sarkaria, Punchhi kept a strong Centre. It focused on consultation, restraint and a more active Inter-State Council.
• Its follow-up was slow. The Standing Committee finished studying the report only in 2017, seven years after it came out [1].
• This shows that Indian federalism is reformed more through conventions and forums than through amendments.

Related concepts

• Sarkaria Commission
• Inter-State Council
• Zonal councils
• North Eastern Council

Read more

• Reviewing the relationship: Sarkaria, Punchhi and the coordination bodies