The Governor is the official executive head of the state. He forms a major part of the state executive where he serves as the chief executive head. The central government nominates a governor for every state. The executive body of the state is made up of the Governor, the Chief Minister, the Council of Ministers, and the Advocate General of the State. The Governor, as the President, is the head of the state government. Article 153-167 in the Indian Constitution deals with the provisions relating to the state governments of the country.
The governor is a nominal head or constitutional head and at the same time, he is the centre’s agent as the central government nominates the governor in each state. In India, the governor is the constitutional head and all the executive functions of the state are carried out in the name of the governor.
- They are head of twenty-nine states and seven union territories.
- The Governor of India should act on the advice of the council ministers headed by the Chief Minister.
- While states are ruled by governors, union territories are ruled by lieutenant governors or administrators.
Powers And Functions Of The Governor
The Governor of the State has Executive, Legislative, Financial, and Judicial Powers which are summarized as follows.
1. Executive Powers of the Governor
- Every executive action taken by the State Government is to be done in his name.
- They may/ may not make rules to facilitate the transaction of business of the State Government.
- They appoint the Chief Ministers and other ministers of the states.
- Governor has the power to appoint a Tribal Welfare Minister in the states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha (The 94th Amendment Act, 2006 excluded Bihar)
- Governor appoints the Advocate General of the states and fixes their remuneration
- Governor appoints the State Election Commissioner and the Chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission.
- He also appointed vice-chancellors of universities in the state.
- He sought information from the state government
- A constitutional emergency in the state is recommended by the President.
During the President’s rule in the state, the Governor has extensive executive powers as the agent of the President.
2. Legislative Powers of the Governor
- It is in his power to prorogue the state legislature and dissolve the state legislatures.
- If a bill is pending in the state legislature, the governor can/cannot send the bill related to it to the state legislature.
- If the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is absent and he is the Deputy Speaker, the Governor appoints a person to preside over the session.
- As the President nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha, the Governor appoints the members of the Legislative Council from the following fields: Literature, Science, Art, Co-operative, Movement
- As the President nominates 2 members to the Lok Sabha, the Governor nominates 1 member from the Anglo-Indian community to the State Legislative Assembly.
3. Financial Powers of the Governor
- He ensures that the Annual State Budget is placed before the State Legislature.
- His recommendation is a pre-requisite for introducing a Money Bill in the State Legislature
- He recommends a demand for grants that cannot be given otherwise.
- The Contingency Fund of the State is under him and he makes advances to meet the unforeseen expenditure.
- it also constitutes a Finance Commission after every 5 years to review the financial position of Panchayats and Municipalities.
4. Judicial Powers of the Governor
- He has the power to grant pardon, relief, suspension of punishment, remission of remission to any person convicted of any offence against any law.
- In consultation with the state High Court, Governor makes appointments, postings, and promotions of the district judges.
- He also makes appointments of persons to the judicial services in consultation with the State High Court and the State Public Service Commission.
Constitutional Position of Governor
As the governor is the nominal head of the state, he does not have the right to exercise real power. The real power lies in the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers. While analyzing its constitutional position, specific reference should be made which is laid down in Articles 154, 163, and 164.
The Constitutional Position of the governor is provided in the following article.
- Article 154 – He is the executive head of the state. All executive functions shall be performed by him or by officers subordinate to him by the Constitution.
- Article 163 -He shall be aided and advised by the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers unless he is acting in his discretion
- The power to act at his discretion is a power that is not given to the President.
- 42nd Amendment Act suggested the Council of Minister’s binding on the President but not on the Governor in the State
- Article 164-The Council of ministers is collectively responsible for the state legislative assembly.
- Article 256-states that every State shall exercise its executive powers by the laws made by Parliament. ,
The Constitutional Amendment was amended in 1976. in process of the control of the Lieutenant Governor. For this reason, it should be conscious. The decision of the Governor is final, if any question arises whether the matter is in the discretion of the Governor or not. Therefore, it can be said that they have constitutional discretion but their action should be under the direction of the Central Government.
State Wise Current Governors in India
State |
Governor |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | Biswabhusan Harichandan |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Brig. B.D. Mishra |
| Assam | Prof. Jagdish Mukhi |
| Bihar | Phagu Chauhan |
| Chhattisgarh | Sushri Anusuiya Uikey |
| Goa | Shri P.S. Sreedharan Pillai |
| Gujarat | Acharya Dev Vrat |
| Haryana | Shri Bandaru Dattatreya |
| Himachal Pradesh | Shri Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar |
| Jharkhand | Shri Ramesh Bais |
| Karnataka | Shri Thaawar chand Gehlot |
| Kerala | Arif Mohammad Khan |
| Madhya Pradesh | Shri Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel |
| Maharashtra | Bhagat Singh Koshiyari |
| Manipur | La Ganesan |
| Meghalaya | Shri Satya Pal Malik |
| Mizoram | Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati |
| Nagaland | Prof. Jagdish Mukhi |
| Odisha | Ganeshi Lal |
| Punjab | Bunwari Lal Purohit |
| Rajasthan | Kalraj Mishra |
| Sikkim | Ganga Prasad |
| Tamil Nadu | RN Ravi |
| Telangana | Tamilisai Soundararajan |
| Tripura | Shri Satyadeo Narain Arya |
| Uttar Pradesh | Smt. Anandiben Patel |
| Uttarakhand | Gurmit Singh |
| West Bengal | Jagdeep Dhankar |