Public Administration Mains 2023 : Solved Paper-2 (Question: 4)

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Public Administration Mains 2023 : Solved Paper Question Paper-2 (Question-4)

Section A

Exam Name: UPSC IAS Mains Public Administration (Paper-II)
Year : 2023
Marks: 250
Time Allowed: 3 Hours

4. (a) "There shall be Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except .... ." This constitutional provision is being intensively debated nowadays. Elucidate. 20

This constitutional provision is Article 163 of the Indian Constitution, which states that:

"There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.

This provision implies that the Governor of a state is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister in most matters, except those where he or she can act in his or her discretion as per the Constitution.

However, the Constitution does not clearly specify the matters in which the Governor can exercise his or her discretionary powers, and leaves it to the interpretation and practice of the Governor and the courts.

The provision challenges the constitutional principles and values of the parliamentary system, where the executive is derived from and responsible to the legislature, and where the head of state is a nominal or ceremonial figure. The Governor may act as an active or partisan player, who influences or affects the political or policy decisions of the state, and encroaches upon the domain or functions of the state legislature or the state executive. There is a need to clarify and rationalize the discretionary powers of the Governor, and to ensure that they are exercised in a judicious and impartial manner.