Procedure for Removal of Governor
Recently a political party has proposed to remove the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
Election of the party to form the government, deadline for proving majority, meetings on bills and issuing critical statements about state administration have been the main reasons for bitterness between states and governors in recent years.
This has led to the governor being referred to with negative terms such as center agent, puppet and rubber stamp.
Procedure for appointment and removal of Governor–
- Under Articles 155 and 156 of the Constitution, the Governor is appointed by the President. He holds office during the pleasure of the President.
- If the President wants to remove the person sitting in the office of the Governor before the completion of the term of five years, then the Governor has to step down.
- No such provision has been made in the Constitution as to the manner in which the Governor and the State may publicly resolve differences in case of differences.
Recommendations and decisions related to the Governor
- In BP Singhal v. Union of India (2010) the Supreme Court held that there is no limit or restriction on the doctrine of pleasure, but the power to remove from office cannot be exercised in an arbitrary, discretionary or unreasonable manner.
- Sarkaria Commission, 1988: Governors should not be dismissed before completing their five-year term, except in rare and unavoidable circumstances. Provision should be made for the removal of the Governor in the Legislative Assembly itself.
- Venkatachaliah Commission (2002): It recommended that governors should be allowed to complete their five-year term in general. If he is to be removed before the completion of the term, then the central government should do so only after consulting the Chief Minister.
- Punchhi Commission, 2010: The phrase “at the pleasure of the President” should be dropped from the Constitution. The Governor should be removed only by a resolution of the State Legislature.
Source – The Hindu