Rajbhavan Dharma

Context: The Rajasthan Governor’s procrastination in convening the assembly session confirms the widely held impression that the Gubernatorial office (relating to a state governor) may be taking its cues from the Centre, not the Constitution.

Recent Unconstitutional Moves of Governor 

• Stalled the government’s recommendation for an assembly session.
• Vetoed the state government’s proposal for a floor test. 
• Repeated queries and the delay in convening the assembly 

Governor’s Role in Convening an Assembly Session

• Constitutional provisions: Articles 163 and 174 ensures Governor's power to summon the House of State Legislature.
• SC judgment: denies the Governor's discretionary power in the matter of summoning and dissolving the House (Nabam Rebia and Bamang Felix vs Deputy Speaker case).
• Governor cannot have overriding powers: over the representatives of Houses of the State Legislature and/or even the executive government.

Political Partisanship in Gubernatorial Office

• Charges of blatant politicisation of the gubernatorial office became more frequent in 1980 and 1990s.
• Trend of governors exceeding their brief in the formation and bringing down of governments has persisted.
• SC’s landmark Bommai judgment sought to curb the misuse of Article 356 to unseat state governments led by parties opposed to the ruling party at the Centre.
• Frequent SC interventions in Governor office have confirmed the instance of political partnership in the Gubernatorial office.