SC hits reset button, asks governors to function within limits
The Supreme Court has pressed the reset button for governors through its judgments in the cases relating to the split in the Shiv Sena legislature party and the control of officers working for the Delhi state government. The court has underlined that the governors have increasingly been overstepping their constitutional limits and has directed them to function strictly within the boundaries laid down for them. In the Delhi government versus Union of India case, the court has clarified that the elected government of the state has all the legislative and executive powers over the administration of services, barring exceptions, and the lieutenant governor, who is the representative of the Union government, is bound by the aid and advice of the elected government. The judgment settles a long tussle between the chief minister and the L-G of Delhi.
The apex court also termed as unconstitutional the decision of the then Maharashtra governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, to call for a floor test, and said that the Constitution does not empower the governor to play a role in party disputes. “Dissent and disagreement within a political party must be resolved in accordance with the remedies prescribed under the party constitution or through any other method the party chooses to opt for. Neither the Constitution nor the law enacted by Parliament provides for a mechanism by which disputes among members of a particular political party can be settled. They certainly do not empower the governor to enter the political arena and play a role (however minute) either in inter-party disputes or in intra-party disputes,” the SC said in its order. The SC judgment has reiterated the constitutional position of governors and defined the Laxman Rekha for them. It re-establishes the supremacy of the elected governments, which represent the will of the people. It sends a clear message to all the governors who have been locked in bitter tussles with elected state governments over issues of governance.
The governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, besides Delhi, among others, have been complaining about gubernatorial overreach and interference in the administration of their states. The governors of these states have held back important bills and appointments proposed by these state governments. The SC order will go a long way in settling this critical constitutional issue.