The Governor's constitutional powers

Detail

Formal head, real power with ministers

• The Governor is the formal head of the state. The President is the formal head of the Union in the same way.
• Most powers are used in the Governor's name. The Council of Ministers led by the Chief Minister (CM) decides how they are used.
• Aid and advice (Art. 163): the Governor must usually act on the advice of the state's ministers. The Governor can act alone only in the few cases the Constitution allows. These are called discretionary powers.
• Keep two kinds of power apart:
• Constitutional functions: these come from the Constitution itself.
• Statutory functions: an ordinary state law gives these to the Governor. Being chancellor of state universities is one example.

Executive powers

Appointments made by the Governor

Office	Article	Key point
Chief Minister	Art. 164	The Governor appoints the CM. Other ministers are appointed on the CM's advice.
Advocate General	Art. 165	The state's top law officer. Holds office "during the pleasure" of the Governor, so the Governor can remove the Advocate General at any time.
State Public Service Commission (SPSC) chair and members	Art. 316	The Governor appoints them, but only the President can remove them (Art. 317).
State Election Commissioner	Art. 243K	Runs panchayat and municipal elections.
District judges	Art. 233	Appointed in consultation with the High Court.

Running the government

• Business rules (Art. 166): the Governor makes rules that divide work among ministers and make that work easier. All executive action is taken in the Governor's name.
• Right to information from the CM (Art. 167): the CM must:
• tell the Governor about all Cabinet decisions and proposed laws;
• give any information the Governor asks for;

• place before the full Cabinet any matter that one minister decided alone, if the Governor asks.

• State Finance Commission (Art. 243I): the Governor sets up this body every five years. It reviews the finances of panchayats and municipalities and recommends how state taxes should be shared with them.

Special areas and special duties

• Scheduled areas (Fifth Schedule): these are tribal-majority areas notified by the President. The Governor:
• sends a report on them to the President;
• can direct that an Act of Parliament or of the state legislature shall not apply there, or shall apply with changes;
• can make regulations for peace and good government there.

Details are in special-provisions-scheduled-areas.

• Special responsibilities under Art. 371: in some states the Governor has a special duty and uses individual judgment after consulting the ministers. Examples:
• law and order in Nagaland (Art. 371A);
• law and order in Arunachal Pradesh (Art. 371H);

• development boards for backward regions of Maharashtra and Gujarat (Art. 371(2)).

• Chancellor of state universities: this power comes from state university laws, not from the Constitution. It is a statutory function.

• The Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions both said that for statutory functions the Governor is not legally bound by ministers' advice, but it may be wise to consult the minister concerned [5].
• The Punchhi Commission (2010) warned that the chancellor role may drag the Governor's office into controversy and public criticism. It said the Governor's role should stay limited to constitutional duties [5].
• The Sarkaria Commission (1988) said state legislatures should not give the Governor statutory powers that the Constitution did not plan for [5].

• The West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 cited the Punchhi Commission when it moved to limit the Governor's role as chancellor [5].

• Disqualification of MLAs (Art. 192): this covers disqualification for reasons other than defection, such as holding an office of profit (a paid post under the government).

• The Governor decides, but must first get the Election Commission's opinion and must act on it.
• Disqualification for defection is different. The Speaker decides it under the Tenth Schedule.

Legislative powers

Sessions and addresses

• Summon, prorogue and dissolve the Assembly (Art. 174):
• Prorogue means to end a session without dissolving the House.
• Dissolve means to end the Assembly's term so that fresh elections are held.

• The gap between two sessions must not be more than six months.

• Special address (Art. 176): the Governor addresses the legislature:

• at the start of the first session after each general election; and
• at the start of the first session of each year.

The address sets out the government's policies.

• Messages (Art. 175): the Governor can address the House or send messages to it about a pending bill or any other matter.
• Nominations:
• The Governor nominates one-sixth of the members of the Legislative Council (Art. 171(5)). They are people with special knowledge of literature, science, art, the co-operative movement or social service.
• The Governor's power to nominate one Anglo-Indian MLA ended with the 104th Amendment (2020).

Assent to bills (Arts. 200-201)

• When a bill passed by the state legislature reaches the Governor, the Governor has three options [3]: 1. give assent to it; 2. reserve it for the President's consideration; 3. withhold assent and return it to the legislature with comments. This option is not available for money bills.

• If the House passes the bill again with or without changes, the Governor cannot withhold assent the second time (first proviso to Art. 200).

• The Supreme Court held on 8 April 2025 that, at this stage, the Governor also cannot reserve the bill for the President [2].

• Art. 201: for a reserved bill, the President either gives assent or withholds it. For a bill that is not a money bill, the President can tell the Governor to return it to the House for reconsideration.

The Tamil Nadu dispute (2025)

• Background: the Tamil Nadu legislature passed 12 bills between 13 January 2020 and 28 April 2023. Governor R.N. Ravi did not act on them [2].
• State of Tamil Nadu v. Governor of Tamil Nadu (8 April 2025): two judges, J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan [2].
• The Governor has no discretion to withhold assent under Art. 200 [2].

• The Court noted that the framers deliberately removed the words "in his discretion" from Art. 200 [2].

• 16th Presidential Reference (Art. 143):

• The President sent questions to the Court in May 2025. A five-judge bench gave its opinion on 20 November 2025 [3].
• The bench set aside the April 2025 rulings on timelines and "deemed assent" [3]. Its main points:
  • Under Art. 200, the Governor is not bound by the Council of Ministers' advice [3].
  • The Constitution does not allow "deemed assent", meaning a bill treated as approved just because the Governor did not act [3].
  • It would not be appropriate for courts to set timelines that the Constitution itself does not set [3].
  • The Governor's decisions under Art. 200 are not justiciable (courts cannot examine them on merits). In cases of prolonged inaction, the Court can still give limited directions [3].

Ordinance-making power (Art. 213)

• An ordinance is a temporary law made by the Governor when the legislature is not sitting. It has the same force as an Act of the legislature.

• Conditions: 1. The Assembly is not in session. If the state has a Council, at least one House is not in session. 2. The Governor is satisfied that immediate action is needed.

• When it ends: it lapses six weeks after the legislature reassembles. It ends earlier if the House passes a resolution rejecting it. The Governor can also withdraw it at any time.

• The longest an ordinance can last without approval is about six months plus six weeks: the maximum gap between sessions plus the six weeks.

• President's instructions are needed if the same law passed as a bill would:

• need the President's prior sanction before it is introduced; or
• have had to be reserved for the President; or

• be invalid without the President's assent.

• Re-promulgation means issuing the same ordinance again and again without the legislature ever passing it.

• D.C. Wadhwa v. State of Bihar (1986) exposed Bihar's habit of doing this. Some ordinances stayed alive for years without ever going to the legislature.
• Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar (2017, seven judges) held that re-promulgation is a "fraud on the Constitution". It also held that ordinances are open to judicial review (courts can check whether a government action is lawful).

Financial powers

• Annual financial statement (the state budget) (Art. 202): it is laid before the House in the Governor's name and on the Governor's recommendation.
• Money bills (Art. 207): these bills deal only with taxes, borrowing or spending. They can be introduced only on the Governor's recommendation, and only in the Legislative Assembly.
• Contingency Fund of the State (Art. 267(2)): this is an emergency fund for spending that cannot wait for the legislature's approval. It is at the Governor's disposal.
• CAG audit reports (Art. 151(2)): the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audits state accounts. The CAG sends these reports to the Governor, who has them laid before the state legislature.

Judicial power: pardoning (Art. 161)

• Pardoning power: the power of the head of state to forgive a punishment or reduce it. The Governor can:
• pardon: wipe out both the sentence and the conviction;
• reprieve: put a sentence on hold for a time;
• respite: give a lighter punishment for a special reason such as pregnancy;
• remit: cut the length of a sentence;

• commute: change the punishment to a lighter kind, for example death to life imprisonment.

• Scope: the power covers offences against laws on subjects to which the state's executive power extends.

Governor (Art. 161) vs President (Art. 72)

Point	Governor (Art. 161)	President (Art. 72)
Laws covered	Laws on matters within the state's executive power	Laws on matters within the Union's executive power
Court-martial (military court) sentences	No power	Has power
Death sentence	Can suspend, remit or commute it, but cannot pardon it (textbook position)	Can pardon it
Advice	Bound by state Cabinet's advice	Bound by Union Cabinet's advice

Cases on Art. 161

• State of Haryana v. Raj Kumar @ Bittu (3 August 2021, two judges: Hemant Gupta and A.S. Bopanna) [4]:
• Section 433-A CrPC said that a life convict whose offence could carry a death sentence must serve at least 14 years before release [4].
• The Court held that the Governor's power under Art. 161 is free of this limit. The Governor can release such a prisoner before 14 years [4].
• The Governor uses this power on the aid and advice of the State Government [4].
• The Court quoted Maru Ram (1980): the state government, "whether the Governor likes it or not", can advise and act under Art. 161, and the Governor is bound by that advice [4].

• Exam note: the ruling is about releasing life convicts early. It does not give the Governor power to fully pardon a death sentence. The textbook rule in the table above still holds.

• A.G. Perarivalan v. State (May 2022):

• Facts: Perarivalan was a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The Tamil Nadu Cabinet recommended his release. His plea stayed with the Governor for about two and a half years [6]. The Governor then sent it to the President.

• Holdings:

  • Under Art. 161, the Governor is bound by the state Cabinet's advice.
  • The delay and the reference to the President were unconstitutional.
  • The Court ordered his release under Art. 142 (the Supreme Court's power to do "complete justice").

• Judicial review of pardons: the grounds on which courts can examine pardon decisions are covered in union-executive.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 161: the Governor has no power over court-martial sentences. A Governor cannot pardon a death sentence but can commute it. The President can do both (Art. 72).
• SPSC members: the Governor appoints them (Art. 316), but only the President removes them (Art. 317).
• Art. 192: the Governor decides an MLA's disqualification (other than for defection) and must follow the Election Commission's opinion. Defection cases go to the Speaker under the Tenth Schedule.
• Art. 213 ordinance: it lapses six weeks after the legislature reassembles. Its maximum life is about six months and six weeks.
• Krishna Kumar Singh (2017, seven judges): re-promulgation is a "fraud on the Constitution", and ordinances are open to judicial review.
• 104th Amendment (2020): ended the Governor's nomination of an Anglo-Indian MLA. Nomination of one-sixth of the Legislative Council (Art. 171(5)) continues.
• 16th Presidential Reference (opinion of 20 November 2025, five judges): no "deemed assent", no court-set timelines, and the Governor is not bound by ministers' advice under Art. 200 [3].
• Trap: being chancellor of state universities is a statutory function under state laws, not a constitutional one [5].
• Art. 151(2): CAG reports on state accounts go to the Governor, who has them laid before the legislature.
• Art. 267(2): the Contingency Fund of the State is at the Governor's disposal.

Mains Points

• Delay on bills (centre-state friction):
• The April 2025 judgment tried to stop Governors from sitting on bills [2].
• The November 2025 reference opinion reversed that approach. It ruled out deemed assent and court-set timelines, allowing only limited directions for prolonged inaction [3].

• Possible fix: a constitutional amendment that sets time limits under Art. 200. This would close the gap that the courts declined to fill.

• Pardoning power:

• Maru Ram (1980), Raj Kumar (2021) and Perarivalan (2022) make clear that clemency under Art. 161 is really the state Cabinet's decision [4].

• This strengthens elected government. It also raises worries about political misuse, because a party in power could release convicts selectively.

• Governor as chancellor:

• The Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions advised limiting the Governor to constitutional roles [5].
• Several states, such as West Bengal (2022), have moved to remove the Governor as chancellor of state universities [5].

• Argument for removal: it keeps the office neutral. Argument against: universities may become politicised under ministers.

• Ordinances: D.C. Wadhwa (1986) and Krishna Kumar Singh (2017) show that Art. 213 is an emergency tool, not a substitute for the legislature. Re-promulgation weakens legislative accountability.