A Comprehensive Scrutiny on the Discretionary Powers of Governor: Controversial Vicinity Surrounding it

The office of Governor in India is meant to be an independent and politically neutral institution under the Indian Constitution, but it has been a source of controversy and debate in recent years. It is due to the numerous instances of misuse of the gubernatorial powers that the Governor has attracted infamous nicknames like ‘Puppet’, ‘rubber stamp’, and the ‘agent of the Centre’. The powers and functions of the Governor are not clearly defined in the Indian Constitution, leading to controversy over their role. With the advent of regional parties and advance politics in India, the role of Governor has acquired immense importance in the current political scenario. In the parliamentary system of government, the office of the Governor in a state has the capability to be at the centre of controversies for various reasons, the most controversial one being the range of discretionary powers that the governor enjoys. The misuse of the Governors office can be divided into pre and post S.R Bommai judgement in the year of 1994. Recently, some of the Chief Ministers have even advocated for the abolition of the post of Governor. The Kerala government also put forward a major recommendation seeking intervention to limit the discretionary powers of the governor. This paper aims to examine the controversies surrounding the role of governor in the current scenario and also addresses all the previous controversies and ends up with recommendations in order to sort out the issue.