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DISCRETIONARY POWER OF GOVERNOR

03 Jan 2024 DISCRETIONARY POWER OF GOVERNOR

Posted at 11:25h in Daily current-affairs by
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UPSC MAINS SYLLABUS GS2 PAPER: Issues and Challenges Pertaining to the Federal Structure

WHY IN THE NEWS? 

The “unconstitutional” behaviour of the Governors in discharge of their “discretionary powers” in the states ruled by the Opposition Governments has come under severe scrutiny by the Supreme court of India in its recent judgements.

DISCRETIONARY POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT & GOVERNORS: 

DISCRETIONARY POWER OF THE PRESIDENT:

The President has been provided with only “situational discretion” under norms and conventions established under the Parliamentary procedures: 

  1. Appointment of the Prime Minister in the case of “Hung assembly”
  2. Dismissal of Council of Ministers (CoM) in case of passage of the Non-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha 
  3. Dissolution of Lok Sabha if the Council of Ministers (CoM) loses majority in Lok Sabha

DISCRETIONARY POWER OF THE GOVERNOR:

Under Article 153 of the Constitution, The Governor acts as the Chief Executive head of the State and is appointed by the President under his warrant and seal of hand in which capacity he acts as the “Nominee”  of the Central Government. Unlike President, the Governor has been provided with Situational as well as Constitutional Discretion: 

  1. Article 167 : Seeking info on Administrative & Legislative affairs from Chief Minister
  2. Article 201 : Reserving the State Bill for the Consideration of President 
  3. Article 356 : Recommendation for President Rule
  4. Determination of amount payable to Tribal District Council (TDC) under 6th schedule States

RATIONALE BEHIND DISCRETIONARY POWER OF THE GOVERNOR: 

  1. It ensures that States do not act against larger national interest or opposed to Directives under Part 4 of the Constitution 
  2. It ensures that Bills passed by the State do not breach independence of Judiciary which is integral to sustain the Federal structure of Indian constitution.
  3. To curb cessationist tendencies in states to ensure integrity of the Nation
  4. To prevent breakdown of Constitutional Machinery under Article  365
  5. As Union Territories are regions of strategic interest, they shall be devoid of any kind of political exigencies
  6. To ensure welfare of people in the “mineral areas” in the 6th schedule areas

Thus discretionary power of the Governor is integral for welfare of citizens to tone down any regional imbalances in Socio-economic growth and ensure uniform progress throughout the country.

WAY FORWARD: 

However, the Supreme Court of India held in Nabam Rabia Case 2006 that despite provisions of Constitutional discretion, the Governor shall act according to the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers under Article 163. 

OTHER IMPORTANT DIRECTIVES RELATED TO THE GOVERNOR: 

  1. NCT of Delhi v. Union of India(2018): The Supreme Court emphasized the need to identify the “moral values of the Constitution” based on a notion of “constitutional culture”. 
  2. Rameshwar Prasad vs UOI 2006: The Supreme Court held that the Article 361 of the Constitution provides only a limited and conditional immunity for the Governors. Thus, any motivated and whimsical conduct of the Governor is amenable to judicial review.
  3. Kishor v. State of Uttar Pradesh(2023): The Court said that the freedom of expression of public functionaries could not be curtailed other than by way of the “reasonable restrictions”, as permitted by Article 19(2) of the Constitution.  

Download Yojna daily current affairs eng med 3rd Jan 2024

UPSC MAINS 2024 PRACTISE QUESTION: 

Q: In light of the recent judgements by the Supreme court of India, critically analyse the discretionary powers of the Governors in the State. (10 M, 150 words) 

 

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