UP Governor and Council of Ministers: Articles and Powers

Every state in India is run by an executive that the Constitution sets out in Part VI, Articles 153 to 167, and Uttar Pradesh is no exception. On paper the executive power of the state is vested in the Governor; in practice it is used by a Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister, which holds office only as long as the Vidhan Sabha supports it. For UPPSC, UPSSSC, UP Police and SSC papers this chapter is a question bank of articles, appointments and firsts, so the plan of the chapter follows the plan of the Constitution: first the Governor, then the Chief Minister, then the Council of Ministers that works under him.

The Governor of Uttar Pradesh

Article 153 provides a Governor for each state and Article 154 vests the executive power of the state in him, to be exercised by him directly or through officers subordinate to him. The Governor is appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal under Article 155, which makes him an appointee of the Union and not an elected officer. Article 156 gives him a term of five years but says he holds office during the pleasure of the President, so the term is not a guarantee; he addresses his resignation to the President. Article 157 lays down only two qualifications: he must be a citizen of India and must have completed thirty-five years of age. Article 158 bars him from being a member of Parliament or of a state legislature and from holding any office of profit, and charges his emoluments on the Consolidated Fund of the state. Article 159 requires him to take the oath before the Chief Justice of the High Court of the state, or in his absence before the senior-most judge available, which for Uttar Pradesh means the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. His official residence is Raj Bhavan at Lucknow, and under the state's university laws he is also the Chancellor of the state universities. Sarojini Naidu, appointed in August 1947 to the United Provinces, was its first Governor and the first woman Governor of any province or state in India; she died in office at Lucknow in March 1949.

What the Governor can do

The pardoning power under Article 161 is narrower than the President's under Article 72 in two ways that examiners like: the Governor cannot pardon a sentence of death, and he has no power over a sentence passed by a court martial. He can, however, suspend, remit or commute a death sentence.

The Chief Minister

Article 164 says the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor and the other ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Constitution gives no procedure for choosing him; by convention the Governor calls the leader of the party or coalition that commands a majority in the Vidhan Sabha. A person who is not a member of either House may be appointed, but under Article 164(4) he must become a member within six consecutive months or cease to be a minister. The Chief Minister allots portfolios, presides over the cabinet, is the sole channel of communication between the Council of Ministers and the Governor, and under Article 167 must furnish any information on administration that the Governor calls for and place before the Council any matter on which a minister has decided alone. Govind Ballabh Pant was the first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and held office until 1954. Sucheta Kripalani, who took charge in October 1963, was the first woman Chief Minister of any state in India. Mayawati, who first became Chief Minister in June 1995, was the first Dalit woman to head a state government in the country, and Akhilesh Yadav, sworn in during March 2012 in his late thirties, is the youngest person to have held the office in the state.

The Council of Ministers

Article 163 provides a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at its head to aid and advise the Governor, except where he is required to act in his discretion, and adds that the question whether a matter is within his discretion shall not be enquired into by any court. Article 164(1A), inserted by the Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act of 2003, caps the total number of ministers including the Chief Minister at fifteen per cent of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly, with a floor of twelve; because the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha has 403 elected members, the state can have at most sixty ministers. Ministers hold office during the pleasure of the Governor, and the Council is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly, which is the rule that makes a no-confidence motion fatal to the whole ministry. The Council has the usual three ranks: cabinet ministers, ministers of state with independent charge and ministers of state. Article 165 provides an Advocate General appointed by the Governor as the chief law officer of the state, and Article 166 directs that all executive action be expressed in the name of the Governor and allows him to make rules for the convenient transaction of business. The permanent machinery under the ministers is the secretariat at Lucknow, headed by the Chief Secretary, with each department under a principal secretary or secretary.

Discretion and President's rule

A Governor acts on his own judgment in a small set of situations: choosing a Chief Minister when no party has a clear majority, deciding whether a ministry that appears to have lost the confidence of the House should be dismissed, reserving a bill for the consideration of the President under Article 200, and reporting to the President under Article 356 that the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution. Such a report leads to President's rule, during which the state is administered in the name of the President through the Governor and the law-making power of the Vidhan Sabha is exercised by Parliament. Uttar Pradesh has been placed under President's rule on several occasions, each time followed by fresh elections or the formation of a new ministry.