What is the minimum age prescribed by Article 157 for appointment as the Governor of a State?

The correct answer is B, Karnataka. Article 168 says a State legislature consists of the Governor and either one House or two Houses. Where there are two, the upper House is the Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad, and Karnataka is one of the few States that has kept it. Article 169 allows Parliament to create or abolish a Council if the Legislative Assembly of that State passes a resolution by a special majority, which is why the list of such States is short and changes only by law. Option A, Jharkhand, has only a Legislative Assembly; so does option C, Odisha, although proposals for a Council have been discussed there; and option D, Gujarat, also has a single House. Under Article 171 one-sixth of a Council is nominated by the Governor from persons distinguished in literature, science, art, the cooperative movement and social service, which is the link between this chapter and the State Executive.

The correct answer is D, all four. A bicameral State legislature has a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council, and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh each have both Houses. Options A, B and C are wrong because each of them leaves out a State that does have a Council. Bihar has had a Council since before independence and Uttar Pradesh is the largest of the bicameral States; Andhra Pradesh revived its Council by an Act of Parliament, and Telangana received one when it was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. The Governor is central to this arrangement: under Article 168 he is part of the legislature, under Article 171 he nominates one-sixth of the Council, and under Article 169 no Council can be created or abolished unless the Assembly passes a special-majority resolution and Parliament then makes a law.

The correct answer is C, Article 155. It provides that the Governor of a State shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. This single line settles two facts examiners like: the office is filled by appointment and not by any kind of election, and the appointing authority is the President, acting on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers. Option A, Article 153, only says that there shall be a Governor for each State, with a proviso added by the Seventh Amendment of 1956 allowing one person to be Governor of two or more States. Option B, Article 154, vests the executive power of the State in the Governor, to be exercised by him directly or through subordinate officers. Option D, Article 156, deals with the term: five years, but held during the pleasure of the President, with the resignation addressed to the President.

The correct answer is C, the Chief Justice of the High Court of that State. Article 159 says the oath of office is administered by the Chief Justice of the High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to the State, and in his absence by the senior-most judge of that Court available. Option A is wrong because the President appoints the Governor under Article 155 but does not administer the oath. Option B is a common trap: the Chief Justice of India administers the oath to the President under Article 60, not to a Governor. Option D is wrong because the Chief Minister himself takes the oath from the Governor under Article 164, so the sequence runs the other way. Remember the pairing: Chief Justice of India for the President, Chief Justice of the High Court for the Governor, and the Governor for the Chief Minister and other Ministers.

The correct answer is A, pardon. Article 161 gives the Governor power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishment, and to suspend, remit or commute a sentence, in cases relating to matters to which the executive power of the State extends. The settled reading is that the power to pardon a death sentence rests with the President under Article 72 and not with the Governor. Options B, C and D are all available to him even where the sentence is one of death: commutation under option B substitutes a lighter punishment, such as life imprisonment for death; remission under option C reduces the quantum of the sentence without changing its character; and a reprieve under option D stays the execution for a period, typically so that the convict can seek mercy elsewhere. Two further limits are worth memorising: the Governor has no power at all over sentences passed by a court martial, and that power too belongs to the President.