A Constitutional Conundrum - An Analysis Of The Governor’s Post

Ashish Mathaly, Mihir N Singh & Tia Sikka, Christ (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY)

ABSTRACT

The governor is considered the constitutional head of the state and is mandated to further the agenda as a custodian of constitutionalism. Article 157 of the constitution states the qualifications of a governor merely entail the candidate to be an Indian citizen of 35 years age minimum. Owing to the method of appointment, i.e. by the president, an indirect obligation is placed on the governor to abide by the ruling party, which then factors into an unintended bias of the candidate. The same causes misuse of the post for political purposes that defeats the concept of federalism itself. A political tactic employed by the post of the governor, to topple the state-elected government is the capricious application of Article 356. If the state’s constitutional machinery fails, only the president of India, receiving a report from the governor, has the authority to declare an emergency. The issue also arises since the post of the governor is the only nominated constitutional post without a fixed tenure and no job security, which places a burden on the candidate to align their decisions with the interest of the ruling party.

This paper through a doctrinal method of study, attempts to highlight the responsibilities attached to the governor’s post and the exploit of the same. This research attempts to minimize the existing flaws in the law that uphold the ideals of federalism and reduce arbitrariness.

Keywords: Governor, Federalism, Qualifications, Appointment, Arbitrariness