Kerala Governor withdrawal of pleasure in minister

Kerala Governor withdrawal of pleasure in minister

Subject :Polity /Governance

Context :The latest controversy has arisen after Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has declared that he is withdrawing his pleasure as far as Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal is concerned.

Concept :

• Article 164 of the Constitution, which says the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the Chief Minister’s advice, adds that “the Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor”.
• Hence, in a constitutional scheme in which they are appointed solely on the CM’s advice, the ‘pleasure’ referred to is also taken to mean the right of the Chief Minister to dismiss a Minister, and not that of the Governor.
• There have been instances of Governors dismissing Chief Ministers, but those were related to constitutional situations in which the legislative majority of the incumbent ministry was in doubt.
• It is also now judicially determined that the question of majority can be answered only on the floor of the legislature through a confidence vote.
• Nothing in the Article 164 means that the Governor may independently dismiss a Minister.
• The pleasure doctrine exists only in a constitutional sense, and is exercised by the Governor only on the advice of the Chief Minister.

Governor Discretionary Powers

• Governor can act independently only when the constitution confers the powers to exercise the discretion.
• Removal of a minister is not at all an area where Governor can exercise his discretion.
• The Constitution has specifically laid down provisions whereby the Governor can exercise independent discretion. For instance,
• When he have to reserve the bill for the consideration of the President of India, Governors can decide on their own without the advice of the Council of Ministers
• When he has to recommend for the President’s rule in the state, he can act at his own discretion
• When he is given an additional charge as the administrator of the Union Territory, he can take actions at his own discretion
• When he has to determine the amount payable by the Government of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram to an autonomous Tribal District Council as royalty accruing from licenses for mineral exploration
• When he calls upon the Chief Minister to seek information regarding administrative and legislative affairs

Doctrine of Pleasure in India

• Article 310, except for the provisions provided by the Constitution, a civil servant of the Union works at the pleasure of the President and a civil servant under a State works at the pleasure of the Governor of that State (based on English doctrine of Pleasure).
• But this power of the Government is not absolute.
• Article 311 puts certain restrictions on the absolute power of the President or Governor for dismissal, removal or reduction in rank of an officer.
• The protective safeguards given under Article 311 are applicable only to civil servants, i.e. public officers. They are not available to defence personnel.

Posts excluded from doctrine of pleasure

• The tenure of the Supreme Court judges [Article 124], High Court judges [Article 218], Comptroller and Auditor General of India [Article 148(2)], Chief Election Commissioner [Article 324], and the chairman and members of the Public Service Commission [Article 317] are not dependent on the pleasure of the president or the governor, as the case may be.