{"id":3504,"date":"2026-08-11T22:11:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/state-executive\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T02:57:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:27:53","slug":"state-executive","status":"publish","type":"psir_note","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/state-executive\/","title":{"rendered":"State Executive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PSIR Notes<\/a>\u203a<\/span>I-B Indian Government and Politics<\/a>\u203a<\/span>State Executive<\/span><\/div>\n
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Paper I \u00b7 Indian Government and Politics<\/div>\n

State Executive<\/h1>\n
Syllabus \u00b7 Paper I-B \u00b7 4<\/b> \u2014 (a) Principal Organs of the Union Government : Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature and Supreme Court. (b) Principal Organs of the State Government : Envisaged role and actual working of the Executive, Legislature and High Courts.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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The Governor<\/h3>\n

India is federal with a strong Centre; the state executive operates under Part VI<\/span>. States have no separate constitutions or citizenship; a uniform parliamentary model; the Governor as nominal head; the CM and Council as the real executive; an integrated judiciary; Centre’s influence through Arts 249, 257, 356 and emergency provisions.<\/p>\n

Articles: 153<\/span> (Governor for each state), 154<\/span> (executive power), 155<\/span> (appointment by President), 156<\/span> (pleasure of President), 157<\/span> (qualifications), 159<\/span> (oath), 161<\/span> (pardon), 163<\/span> (aid, advice & discretion), 164<\/span> (CM & ministers), 200<\/span> (assent\/reservation), 213<\/span> (ordinances), 356<\/span> (report on breakdown).<\/p>\n

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The office of Governor is “acutely controversial”.<\/p>\n

Granville Austin<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The Governor is “a Constitutional sentinel and a vital link between the Union and the State.”<\/p>\n

Sarkaria Commission<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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“He is the representative not of a party; he is the representative of the people as a whole of the State. It is in the name of the people that he carries on the administration.”<\/p>\n

B.R. Ambedkar<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

B.R. Ambedkar<\/span> also held that the Governor “has no functions which he can discharge by himself” and must follow ministerial advice in all matters. Appointment debate:<\/span> the Assembly rejected an elected Governor (a direct mandate could clash with the elected ministry; risk of rival authority; need for a Union link); K.M. Panikkar<\/span> and H.N. Kunzru<\/span> feared the Governor might become an agent of the Centre.<\/p>\n

Powers:<\/span> Executive<\/em> \u2014 appoints CM and ministers, Advocate General, SPSC members; Chancellor of state universities; governs during President’s Rule. Legislative<\/em> \u2014 summons\/prorogues\/dissolves the legislature; assents to\/returns Bills; reserves Bills for the President; ordinances. Financial<\/em> \u2014 recommends Money Bills; Contingency Fund advances; State Finance Commission. Judicial<\/em> \u2014 pardon under Art 161 (not death sentences, unlike the President); appoints district judges in consultation with the High Court.<\/p>\n

Removal:<\/span> Art 156 \u2014 holds office during the President’s pleasure. In B.P. Singhal v. Union of India<\/span> (2010): the Governor is not an employee of the Centre; removal cannot be arbitrary or mala fide; reasons need not always be disclosed but a valid reason must exist. The Sarkaria Commission<\/span> urged that a five-year tenure not be disturbed except for rare and compelling reasons; the Punchhi Commission<\/span> criticised the arbitrary pleasure doctrine and recommended an opportunity to defend the position.<\/p>\n

Governor’s Discretion & Recent Role<\/h3>\n

Article 163<\/span><\/span> allows discretion only where the Constitution requires \u2014 not general; it must be reasoned, cautious, in good faith and constitutionally limited. Main areas:<\/span> appointment of CM in a hung Assembly (H.M. Seervai<\/span> warns that inviting a minority group first can help it attract defectors through ministerial promises); the floor test (S.R. Bommai<\/span> requires a floor test, not subjective assessment); dismissal of a ministry that has lost majority and refuses to resign (M.V. Pylee<\/span> \u2014 justified if the CM compromises national unity); reservation of Bills (Art 200); President’s Rule report (Art 356); legislative sessions where the CM avoids the Assembly; special responsibilities (Sixth Schedule<\/span>, Arts 371A\u2013H).<\/p>\n

Cases narrowing discretion<\/span><\/p>\n