Governor

Governor

Subject: Polity

Section: Federalism

Context- Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais returned the Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021, passed by the state assembly in December last year, with two objections.

Concept-

• The first objection reads, “Section 2: Sub section-I, Sub Clause-xii deals with ‘Witness Protection Scheme’ (in the English version of the Bill). This clause-xii is missing in the Hindi version of the Bill. This needs to be rectified/ corrected by the State Government so that there is a symmetry in both the versions of the Bill.”
• The second objection suggests, “There is a need to reconsider the definition of ‘mob’ as given in Section 2(vi) of the Bill, which is not in consonance or in line with the well-defined legal lexicon/glossary.

The Governor – Appointment:

• President of India appoints the Governor of State by warrant under his hand and seal for a five-year term.
• The Governor is not directly elected by the people, and neither is he elected indirectly by a special electoral college.

Qualifications: The Indian Constitution specifies two basic qualities for the selection of a Governor.

• He should be an Indian citizen.
• He must be at least 35 years old.
• Over time, the following conventions have emerged:
  • He should be an outsider who does not reside in the state where he will be appointed.
  • When appointing the Governor of a state, the President must consult with the state’s Chief Minister.

Constitutional Position: The provisions of Articles 154, 163, and 164 of the Constitution empower the constitutional post of Governor.

• Article 153 of the Indian Constitution mandates the appointment of a Governor in each state. The 7th Amendment to the Constitution however, allows for the appointment of the same person as Governor of two or more states.
• Article 154: The Governor shall have executive power over the state, which he shall exercise either directly or through officers subordinate to him in conformity with this Constitution.
• Article 163: There shall be a council of ministers, led by the Chief Minister, to assist and advise the Governor in the exercise of his powers, except when he is compelled to execute his functions at his discretion.
• Article 164: The council of ministers is collectively responsible to the state’s legislative assembly. This provision is the cornerstone of the state’s parliamentary system of governance.
• The Governor has the same Executive, Legislative, Financial, and Judicial authorities as the President of India. However, the Governor’s power is restricted in several ways compared to that of the President, as the Governor lacks the President’s military, diplomatic, and emergency authorities.

Powers of Governor with regard to assent to Bills:

• Article 200 of the Indian Constitution deals with the powers of the Governor with regard to assent given to bills passed by the State legislature and other powers of the Governor such as reserving the bill for the President’s consideration.
• Article 201 pertains to ‘Bills Reserved for Consideration’.
• The Governor of India enjoys absolute veto, suspensive veto (except on money bills) but not the pocket veto.
• The governor is empowered to reserve certain types of bills passed by the state legislature for the consideration of the President. Then, the Governor will not have any further role in the enactment of the bill.