New governors for 6 states and union territories appointed

Context:

ØOm Mathur has been appointed Governor of Sikkim

ØLakshman Prasad Acharya has been appointed Governor of Manipur.

ØFormer IAS officer K. Kailashnathan appointed as the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry

ØJharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, who was also holding additional charge of Telangana, has been appointed Governor of Maharashtra.

ØGovernor of Assam, Gulab Chand Kataria, will now be the new Governor of Punjab. He has also been appointed Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Governor:

The Governor’s appointment, his powers and everything related to the office of Governor have been discussed under Article 153 to Article 162 of the Indian Constitution.

Constitutional Provisions related to Governor

ØThe appointment and powers of government can be derived from Part VI of the Indian constitution.

ØArticle 153 says that there shall be a Governor for each State.

ØOne person can be appointed as Governor for two or more States, provision added by the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1956.

ØThe governor acts in 'Dual Capacity' as the Constitutional head of the state and as the representative.

ØHe is the part of federal system of Indian polity and acts as a bridge between union and state governments.

ØArticle 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor. They are as follows:

1A governor must:

2Be a citizen of India.

3Be at least 35 years of age.

4Not be a member of the either house of the parliament or house of the state legislature.

5Not hold any office of profit.

The term of governor's office is normally 5 years but it can be terminated earlier by:

ØDismissal by the president on the advice of the council of minister headed by the prime minister of the country. Dismissal of governors without a valid reason is not permitted. However, it is the duty of the President to dismiss a governor whose acts are upheld by courts as unconstitutional and malafide.

ØResignation by the governor.