Piyush Khandelwal & Lakshyaraj Singh, KIIT School of Law, Bhubaneswar, India
ABSTRACT
The position of the governor in India is largely a by-product of colonial authority, and it has evolved into the most contentious tool for unilateral intrusions by the centre 1 , upsetting the power equilibrium in a modern democracy2. In this entire "game for power" known as "politics,"3 the alternative has often had a role really suitable to be dubbed the "opposition" for a quasi-federal nation like India wherein there has rarely been a sole democratic majority system in force4.The recent dismissal of "Ms. Kamla Beniwal, the Governor of Mizoram"5 is evidence that the office of the Governor has become embroiled in genuine political dispute6 because there are no criteria either with appointment or removal neither in the Indian constitution or in any special statute, and the powers of the governor are severely constrained and constantly scrutinised. In violation of “Article 356 of the Constitution of India President's Rule was enacted 39 times between 1966 and 1977 by the Indira Gandhi government and 11 times between 1977 and 1979 by the Janata Party government"7 all of which resulted in the removal of governors who were then appointed in their place, removals that were politically motivated and arbitrary8. In reality, the Governor's position has been downgraded9 to that of a puppet in a puppet show or a 1 Political system and constitution of India / edited by Verinder Grover | National Library of Australia, "pawn" in something like a game of chess10. The basic intention of the Indian Constitution's drafters was for the Governors to be impartial guardians of and representatives between both "The central and state governments"12 satisfying and unloading their multitude obligations as well as duties, instead of posing a danger to any politico-constituent relationship13. This paper is an attempt to analyse the difficulties surrounding the office of Governors and suggest remedial measures to prevent the practise of their unfounded removal.
