GOVERNOR

Table of Contents

• Governor (Article 153)
• Appointment of Governor (Article 155)
• Term of Office (Article 156)
• Qualification (Article 157)
• Condition of Office (Article 158)
• Oath or Affirmation (Article 159)
• Contingency Functions (Article 160)
• Extent of Executive Power (Article 162)
• Powers of Governor
  • Executive Powers
  • Legislative Powers
  • Financial Powers
  • Ordinance Making Powers
  • Pardoning Power (Article 161)
• Difference Between Article 72 & Article 161
• Judicial Review on Pardoning Power

Governor (Article 153)

Article 153 provides that there shall be a Governor for each state.

Appointment of Governor (Article 155)

The Governor of a state shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.

Term of Office (Article 156)

• Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President
• He may resign by writing addressed to the President
• Tenure of governor is 5 years

Qualification (Article 157)

• He must be a citizen of India
• He must be at least 35 years of age

Condition of Office (Article 158)

• Governor cannot be a member of Parliament or a State Legislature
• He shall not hold any office of profit
• He is entitled to use of official residence, emoluments, allowances, and privileges
• Emoluments cannot be reduced during term of office of Governor.

Oath or Affirmation (Article 159)

A Governor shall take oath in the presence of the Chief Justice of the High Court, or in his absence, the senior-most judge of the High Court.

Discharging Functions in Contingency (Article 160)

The President may make provisions for the discharge of the functions of the Governor in any contingency not provided for in this Chapter.

Extent of Executive Power (Article 162)

The executive power of a state extends to matters on which the State Legislature has the power to make laws.

Powers of the Governor

🔹 Executive Powers

• Article 154: Executive power of the state vests in the Governor, exercised through officers subordinate to him.
• Article 166: All executive actions are taken in the name of the Governor.
• Article 164: Governor appoints Chief Minister and other Ministers.
• Article 165: Governor appoints the Advocate General for the State.

🔹 Legislative Powers

• Article 174: Governor summons, prorogues, and dissolves the State Legislative Assembly.

🔹 Financial Powers

• Article 200: Bills passed by State Legislature are presented to Governor for assent, withholding, or reservation for the President.
• Article 202: Governor lays the annual financial statement (budget) before the State Legislature.

🔹 Ordinance Making Powers (Article 213)

When the Legislature is not in session and immediate action is necessary, the Governor may promulgate an ordinance having the same effect as a law passed by the Legislature.

🔹 Pardoning Power (Article 161)

The Governor may grant:

• Pardon: It removes both the sentence and the conviction and completely absolves the convict from all sentences, punishments and disqualifications.
• Reprieve: It implies a stay of the execution of a sentence(especially that of death) for a temporary period. Its purpose is to enable the convict to have time to seek pardon or commutation from the President.
• Commutation: It means to substitute one form of punishment for a less severe one. For example Death sentence changed to rigourous imprisonment
• Respite: This include to substitute or lesson the sentence or lighter the form of punishment for the one that would have been imposed on the offendor originally. It is based on exceptional circumstances such as prisoner`s disability or a women offendor`s pregnancy.
• Remission: This power include to shorten the sentence while maintaining its overall meaning. For example a rigourous imprisonment of 5 years has been reduced to 3 years but the imprisonment is still rigourous and not simple.

Difference Between Article 72 & Article 161

Judicial Review of Pardoning Power

• Maru Ram v. Union of India (AIR 1980 SC 2147): In this case it was held that pardoning power is subject to judicial review.
• Epuru Sudhakar v. State of Andhra Pradesh (AIR 2006 SC 3385): In this case it was held that both Article 72 and 161 are open to judicial review.