Governor flexes his authority in Kerala

The Verdict of the Supreme Court declaring the appointment of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University V-C Dr. Rajasree M S as Void has precipitated a new political slugfest between the Kerala Government headed by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Centre-appointed GovernorArif Mohammad Khan.

Citing the Supreme Court verdict, the governor directed 9 other VCs to resign on the grounds that the appointment of other Vice-Chancellors was also not in line with the UGC norms. However, the VCs got interim relief from the Kerala High Court, which observed that in his capacity, the Governor could not have asked for the resignation of the vice-chancellor.

The standoff between the Governor and the Chief Minister can be traced back to last year when, following the reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as the Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University, the Governor launched a broadside against the Government alleging political intervention in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in the university.

The miffed Governor had even shot off a letter to the state government requesting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to take over as the Chancellor through an ordinance as he intended to step down as the chancellor of universities in Kerala. It was seen as a veiled swipe against the government.

Although the Chief Minister declined the request to take over as the chancellor, his government amended the University Act by taking away the powers of the chancellor to appoint the University Appellate Tribunal without consulting the high court on the matter.

The Kerala Assembly passed Kerala University Laws (Amendment) BILL,2022, which effectively curtails the role of the chancellor in the appointment process of Vice-Chancellor and gives the State government a greater say in the matters of appointment. Not surprisingly the Governor has withheld the assent to the Bill.

Role of Governor in state university

In most of the cases, Governor acts as the ex-officio chancellor of the universities in that state.

As a chancellor, he exercises independence in the conduct of universities as against the Central Universities, where the Chancellors are appointed by the President, who is the visitor to the university.

M.M Punchi commission in its recommendation has suggested that Governors should not be burdened with the role of chancellors.

The chancellor, as a visitor, shall have the right to authorize inspections of academic and non-academic aspects of the universities.

However, the face-off was exacerbated when the Governor in a letter to the Chief Minister demanded the dismissal of the State Finance Minister K.N. Gopalan, on the grounds that he has violated the oath of office and undermined the unity and integrity of India, but what confused all was the statement that " Balagopalan has ceased to enjoy [his] pleasure.

How potent is the posturing of the Governor?

Notwithstanding the blustering of the Governors, the constitution keeps them on a short leash as far as the influence on the executive is concerned.

Article 164 of the Indian Constitution mentions in a sub-clause that "The ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of Governor" as referred to by the Governor in the letter, but this does not at all imply that the Governor can unilaterally dismiss the Ministers.

In 'Shamsher Singh &Anr vs State Of Punjab' (1974), a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court said: "We declare the law of this branch of our Constitution to be that the President and Governor, custodians of all executive and other powers under various Articles, shall, by virtue of these provisions, exercise their formal constitutional powers only upon and in accordance with the advice of their Ministers save in a few well known exceptional situations."

In 'Nabam Rebia And Etc. vs Deputy Speaker And Ors' (2016) the Supreme Court cited Dr. B R Ambedkar: "The Governor under the Constitution has no function which he can discharge by himself; no functions at all. While he has no functions, he has certain duties to perform, and I think the House will do well to bear in mind this distinction."

The recent tussle between Pinarayi Vijayan and Arif Mohammad Khan is not the first occasion in the country when the hostile relations between the Governors have hindered the legislative and executive functions in a state. Not long ago NCT of Delhi witnessed a protracted confrontation between the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the then Lt. Governor Najib Jung. In West Bengal, CM MamtaBanarjee and the then Governor Jagdeep Dhankarindulged in a war of words very often and the tussle redounded in the CM blocking Dhankar on "Twitter".