Discretionary powers of the Governor of a state

 

Why is it in the news ?

1.Kerala High Court quashed Governor’s nomination to university senate.

2.The four students nominated by the Governor to the university senate were set aside by the Kerala High Court. 

3. Those students who were forwarded from the Kerala University to Rajbhawan were not nominated by the Governor but the Governor instead nominated four students in the senate of Kerala University and they were alleged to be aligned with Sangh Parivar. Students who did not find a nomination from the Governor in spite of the recommendation from the Kerala University, filed a petition in the Kerala High Court. 

4.The court said that no single factor of the nominated students is shown superior to those of the petitioners. The Court directed the Governor to make a fresh nomination to the senate of  the Kerala University within six weeks. 

5.The court observed that there is no unbridled power vested with the Governor while making  the nomination to the university senate in his capacity as the chancellor of the university. If the nomination made is contrary to the requirement of the statute or if the relevant factors were not considered or if irrelevant factors were considered in making the decisions, the nomination will have to be interfered with by the constitutional courts. 

6.The court held that any arbitrary use of power violates not only the rule of equality enshrined in article 14 of the constitution but also the rule of non-discrimination under article 16. 

7.The Court held that even in the exercise of the discretionary power, the requirements of reasonableness, rationality, impartiality, fairness and equity are inherent to such exercise and can never be according to any private opinion. 

What is the discretionary power of the Governor of a state?

1.Ours is a parliamentary form of Government whereby the Governor of a state is the nominal executive while the real power is vested in the council of ministers headed by the chief minister. 

2.Both the President of India and the Governor of a state are the nominal head of the state. By the 42nd amendment act, the President is bound to accept the advice of the council of ministers. But no such provisions have been made with respect to the Governor. 

3. According to article 163 of our constitution, there shall be a council of ministers with the chief minister as the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is required to exercise his functions in his discretion. Thus, unlike the President of India who has been reduced to be the nominal head of the union government, the Governor of a state is vested with discretionary power also. When the Governor  acts at his discretion, he is not bound to accept the advice of his council of ministers. 

4.The Governor has discretionary power in following cases -

• Reservation of a bill for the consideration of the President of India under article 200.

• Recommendation of the imposition of the President’s rule in the state under article 356. 

• When appointed as administrator of an adjoining union territory under article 239 (1).

• Under the Sixth schedule the Governor of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram are empowered to settle the dispute between the Government of Assam Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and autonomous tribal district councils with respect to the sharing of the royalties that accrue from the lease of mining rights.

• The decision taken by the Governor with regard to the amount payable to the district council is final and the court cannot interfere with. 

Situational discretion 

1.When no party gets a clear cut majority in the general election of the state assembly, the Governor can appoint a leader as the chief minister who is likely to prove his majority on the floor of the House.  

2.When the chief minister suddenly dies and the party in power is not in the position to elect a leader as the successor, the Governor can appoint a leader as the chief minister.

3.When the council of ministers has lost the majority in the state assembly, the Governor is empowered to dismiss the chief minister and the council of ministers. 

4.The governor can dissolve a state assembly when the council of ministers has lost its majority on the floor of the House and no other party is in the position to form the alternate government. 

Constitutional discretionary power

1.The Governor has certain special responsibilities to discharge according to the directives issued by the President of India under article 371 (A) to (J). These are : 

• Establishment of separate development boards for Vidarbha and Marathwada. 

•  Establishment of separate development boards for Saurashtra and Kutch.

• With respect to law and order in the state of Nagaland.

• With respect to the administration of the tribal areas of Assam.

• With regard to the administration of hill areas of Manipur State.

• Social and economic advancement of the different sections of the population of Sikkim. 

• Law and order of Arunachal Pradesh.

• Establishment of separate development boards for Hyderabad and Karnataka region.  

Misuse of discretionary power 

1.In 1967, the West Bengal Governor Dharmaveer dismissed the chief minister Ajay Mukherjee on the plea that Ajay Mukherjee did not convene the legislative assembly at an early date. 

2.The U.P. Governor B. Gopala Reddy dismissed the chief minister Charan Singh in 1970 even though the chief minister was ready to convene the session of assembly to prove majority. 

3.The Governor of Haryana B.N. Chakravarty allowed the chief minister Rao Birendra Singh and Bansilal to continue for a long time without proving majority in the House. 

4.Andhra Pradesh Governor Ram Lal dismissed the chief minister N.T. Ramarao even though the chief minister was prepared to prove his majority in the House. 

5.Recently, Tamil Nadu Governor Mr. Ravi reserved the NEET bill for the consideration of the President of India because he was completely against the exemption of Tamil Nadu students from national eligibility cum entrance test. 

6.More than 100 times, the President’s rules were imposed upon states for one reason or another. After the installation of Janata Party government at the centre in 1977, nine Congress ruled states were put under President’s rule. Assemblies were dissolved and elections were held on the ground that Congress had lost the mandates of the people. Similarly, in 1980, when the Congress came back to power at the centre, President’s rule was imposed upon Janata Party Governments in nine states and assemblies were dissolved. Fresh elections in those states were ordered.  In 1993, after the demolition of Babri Masjid, the BJP ruled states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh were imposed under the President’s rule. Thus, we see that the discretionary power of the Governor has been misused several times on the dictates of the union government.

The real position of the Governor 

1.The constitution vests enormous power with the Governor of a state but in actual practice these powers are to be exercised by him only on the advice of the council of ministers. In addition he has been bestowed with discretionary powers in certain situations but these discretionary powers are subject to the judicial review by the Supreme Court and the High Courts. By different judgements, the Supreme Court and the High Courts curtailed the discretionary powers of the Governor. For example, in S.R. Bommai case (1994), the Supreme Court held that the test of majority would be done only on the floor of the House. Recently, the Supreme Court ordered the Kerala Governor to give assent to  the pending five bills passed by the state assembly. 

2.To conclude - The Governor is not only the head of the state but he is also the representative of the central government in the state. In order to strengthen the power of the union government, the provision was made to appoint a nominated Governor who continues in his office during the pleasure of the President of India. So, in the case of a Governor, there is no fixed tenure. He has to act on the dictates of the union government.  His position has been modelled like the Canadian Governor of a state.

Can same sex marriage be legalised in India?

 

Why is it in the news?

1. A supreme court bench led by chief justice DY Chandrachud issued notices to the centre and the attorney general of India seeking their response to two petition filed to allow solemnization of same sex marriage under the special marriage act,1954

2. One of the petitions argued that recognition of same sex marriage was only a sequel of Navtej Singh Johar judgement of 2018 decriminalising homosexuality and the Puttuswami judgement 2017 affirming the right to privacy as fundamental rights

3. The petition also argued that SMA was ultrawires to the constitution because it discriminate between same sex marriage and opposite sex marriage 

4. The petition states that the act denies same sex couples both legal rights and social recognition because only after the marriage becomes legal, couples can be guaranteed right of wages, gratuity, adoption, surrogacy, succession, inheritance and taxation.

5. The petitioners emphasised that SMA ought to apply to a marriage between any two persons regardless of their gender identity and their sexual orientation. So, the petitioners wanted to make 1954 SMA act gender neutral

6. So, SC transferred the various pending cases from various HCs to itself.

What is the government stand

1. However, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said that as per the law marriage was permissible between a biological man and a biological woman

2. The acceptance of the institution of the marriage between two individual of the same gender is neither recognised nor accepted in any uncodified personal law or any codified statutory laws

What is the status of same sex marriages in other countries

1. A total of 32 countries around the world have legalised same sex marriages. 

2. In US, the SC pronounced same sex marriage legal in 2015. Now, senate has also sanctioned same sex marriage legal

3. In 34 countries, definition of marriage has been fixed in their constitution that prevent marriage between couples of the same sex

Public opinion in India

1. According to a 2015 poll, 29% of Indian supported same sex marriages 

2. According to 2019 poll by Mood of the Nation, 24% of Indian agrees with the same sex marriages while 62% disagrees 

Marriage is the bedrock of family in India

1. In India, Hindu marriage is a matter of religious duties. It is a sacrament. 

2. Marriage is not a social contract 

3. Marriage leads to a good conjugal life with the purpose to procreate children and a duty towards the society

4. Among Hindus marriage is a union of two persons of different sexes to reciprocate their passion for sexual urge and aims at biological, emotional, social and spritual fulfilment

5. The marriage in Hindu must satisfy two conditions -  gotra exogamy and sapinda exogamy even Hindu marriage act of 1955 bars marriages within 5 generation on the paternal side and three generation on the mother side but it permits marriage of cross cousin which is customary particularly in South India

6. The aim of Hindu marriage is to procreate children, to fulfil religious duties and enjoyment of sex

7. Among Muslims, marriage is a contract and its object is to promote normal family life 

8. Islam discourages celibacy 

9. Among Muslims marriage can be solemnised only after the proposal (Iajab) forwarded by bridegroom to bride and acceptance of the proposal (Qubul) by bride 

10. Muslim marriage is based upon the doctrine of equality 

11. Preference is given to parallel cousins and cross cousins 

Conclusion

1. Although there are several countries which have legalised same sex marriage yet in our country where institution of marriage is rooted in our cultural ethos, any legalisation of same sex marriage would jeopardise the institution of marriage 

2. Same sex marriage may lead to disease particularly HIV 

3. India is still a developing country. It must not emulate advanced countries of the world. It must evolve in its own way.

How effective is a police tracking dog ?

 

1. Tracking dog is used for detection of crime which is committed by unknown person

2. Explosive and mine identification 

3. Detection of human waste materials

4. Search and rescue missions 

5. Locating drugs

6. Finding dead body

7. Distinguishing between different forms of narcotics 

8. To disperse crowd in Australia 

Success rate of dog squad 

1. Age

2. Sex (male dogs are more effective in determining a trail than a female dogs)

3. The personality of dog

4. Its repo with dig handler

5. After the incident, the dog squad should be pressed into service as soon as possible. Delay will reduced success rate

6. If after the incident, it rained in and around the scene of crime then dog squad become not so effective in tracking  the culprit

7. If a big river or rivulet come in between the tracking route, dog squad fails to track further and fails to achieve the target

How does the dog track?

1. It is believed that the feet secrete more scent from an individual. These scent spread into air and also on ground 

2. The footprint left by suspect on vegetation, mud, soil get scent left by the suspect

3. The tracks scent often a mixture of both the air scent and the ground scent being left by the suspect

4. Dogs are able to determine a track scent by identifying the a combination of human odour and environmental odours released by an individual

What are popular police dog breeds?

1. German shepherd

2. Bloodhounds 

3. Belgian malinois 

4. Labrador

5. Doberman

6. Beagle

Training

1. Dog handler has to undergo required police training for 1 to 2 years and thereafter he is trained for dog handling

2. A dog is trained for more than 1 year

3. A dog must pass basic obedience training course before he can be consider for police department

4. After experience and achievement police dog is also ranked

Evidentiary value of dog tracking 

1. Dog tracking of a criminal is relevant fact under section 8 of evidence act

2.  But it is weak evidence and to get the culprit punished, there must be supportive evidence to prove the guilt beyond reasonable doubt

Conclusion

1. It has been found that tracking by dog has success rate of more than 70% provided that it should be used immediately after the incident.

How to safeguard yourself from accidental death on the Road?

 Introduction

1. India has 1% of the total vehicles of the world but there are 11% accidental deaths on the road in India out of the total accident of the world.

2. Over 4 lakh road accident in 2021

3. 16.8% increase in road accident fatalities rising from 133201 in 2020 to 155622 in 2021

4. In 2020, 371884 individuals were injured 

5. The death rate per thousand vehicles has increased from 0.45 in 2020 to 0.53 in 2021

6. UP had the most road accident fatalities (14%)in 2021, followed by Tamil Nadu 9.88% , Maharashtra 8.94% 

7. In Mizoram, Punjab, Jharkhand, UP, there were more fatalities than injuries

8. Two wheelers were responsible for greatest number of fatal road accident in 2021 (69240 deaths) accounting for 44.5% of all road fatalities 

9. Car deaths were about 23531 (15.1%) followed by Trucks with 14622 deaths (9.4%), 

10. India witnesses 53 road crashes every hour killing 1 person every 4 minutes 

11. Over 13 lakh people died and another 50 lakh people were injured in road accidents in the past 10 years

12. Highest number of road accidents accounting 30.3% of all road accidents occurred on National Highways, 23.9% on state highways 

Why is it in the news?

1. According to one news item, 83 % car occupants who died in 2021 were not wearing seat belts 

2. 19.8 k car occupants were killed across India in 2021

3. 16.4k died due to not wearing seat belts including 8000 passengers 

4. 69.4 k two wheeler riders were killed in accidents 

5. 46.6 k died for not wearing helmets including 13.7 k pillion riders

6. 2 out every 3 two wheeler riders who died in road crashes last year were not wearing helmets

7. In 2021, 153972 people met accidental death in 2020 it was 131714 and in 2019 it was 151113 accidental deaths

8. Out of these deaths over speeding accounted for 107236 accidental deaths, wrong side driving accounted for 8122 deaths, use of mobile phone accounted for 2982 deaths, drunk driving accounted for 3314 deaths, jumping traffic lights 679 deaths, others 31639 deaths 

9. Person kill in road crashes, the share of two wheelers was 69385 (45.1%) of total deaths

10. Pedestrians 29124 (18.9%), cars/ taxis, LMVs 19811 (12.9%), truck 9476 (6.2%), auto rickshaws 5966 (3.9%), bicycles 4702 (3.1%)

11. Nearly 47 thousand people out of a total 6938 two wheeler riders killed in accidents in 2021 were not wearing helmets

Causes of road accidents in India

1. Speeding - 64% of deaths occur due to speeding the speed limit of 80 km/ hour is not adhered to on four lane highway

2. Drinking and Driving -

3. Lack of discipline 

4. Poor law enforcement

5. Inadequate training - in 2018, it was found that 26% of drivers who caused accidents did not possess a valid licence 

6. Inappropriate planning of road - speed breakers are not ahead of crossing

7. Excessive proximity - it means vehicles are not kept at safe distances

What can be done ?

1. An estimated 347258 lives could be save annually through the use of electronic speed control and changes in road engineering

2. Strict regulations related to drunk driving could save 16304 lives 

3. Seat belt laws can save 51698 lives per year while motorcycle helmet laws can save 121083 lives 

4. Radar and speed detection camera systems can be installed at important cross roads 

5. Road safety auditing and road safety engineering building should be the focus of training, workshops and courses

6. In addition, advanced breaking ought to be mandated for all vehicles 

7. Penalties for traffic violations, vehicles defects, juvenile driving have been increased under the motor vehicle amendment act 2019 

8. Central government established National road safety board to minimise road accidents 

Conclusion

1.Education, awareness, incentivisation of drivers are key to reduce road accidents

2.Promoting save safe driving, encouraging good road behaviour, building an ecosystem 3.that support road safety can reduce road accidents

4.National road safety stakeholders need to construct zero fatality corridors 

5.The support of artificial intelligence can check fatigue, drowsiness of drivers and give them real alerts which help them to save many accidents.

6.These digital technology can help track driver behaviour like speeding, sudden breaking, fuel saving, over time driving.