Q10. Assertion: A Governor can never be made subject to court proceedings for any act.
Reason: Governors hold office at the President’s pleasure.
Choose the correct option.
[UPPCS Special Mains 2004]
(A) Both true with correct explanation
(B) Both true but unrelated
(C) Assertion true, reason false
(D) Assertion false, reason true
Answer: (D) Assertion false, reason true
Explanation: Constitutional immunity under Article 361 is substantial but not absolute for every conceivable act and circumstance. Article 156 does place the Governor in office during the President’s pleasure, making the reason correct.
Q9. Consider Governor:
(1) presidential appointee,
(2) serves at presidential pleasure,
(3) formal State executive head,
(4) normal five-year term.
Which are true?
[UPPCS Mains 2004]
(A) 1 and 2 only
(B) 1, 2 and 3 only
(C) 2, 3 and 4 only
(D) All four
Answer: (D) All four
Explanation: Articles 154, 155 and 156 establish these fundamental features. Though five years is the ordinary tenure, the Governor can be removed earlier or may continue until a successor enters office.
Q8. Who stays in office for as long as the President permits under the pleasure doctrine?
[MPPSC Prelims 2004]
(A) Governor
(B) High Court judge
(C) Chief Election Commissioner
(D) Legislative Assembly Speaker
Answer: (A) Governor
Explanation: Governors serve during presidential pleasure by virtue of Article 156. The doctrine differs from the safeguards for judicial and election offices, which are constitutionally protected against ordinary discretionary removal.
Q7. Why was direct election of Governors rejected in framing the Indian Constitution? Consider election costs, rivalry with Chief Minister and parliamentary government.
[UPPCS Prelims 2003]
(A) Only election cost mattered
(B) Only party issues mattered
(C) Election cost, competing authority and parliamentary system mattered
(D) It was prohibited by the British Crown
Answer: (C) Election cost, competing authority and parliamentary system mattered
Explanation: Direct election risked expensive duplication and competing claims of authority between Governor and elected Chief Minister. A nominated constitutional head was considered more compatible with the responsible parliamentary ministry.
Q6. Who was the first woman Governor of an Indian State after independence?
[Chhattisgarh PSC Prelims 2003]
(A) Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
(B) Padmaja Naidu
(C) Sarojini Naidu
(D) Sarla Grewal
Answer: (C) Sarojini Naidu
Explanation: Sarojini Naidu assumed the governorship of the United Provinces in August 1947. Padmaja Naidu later held the governorship of West Bengal; the dates distinguish these two prominent figures.
Q5. From which fund is the Governor’s salary charged?
[Jharkhand PCS Prelims 2003]
(A) Consolidated Fund of the State
(B) Consolidated Fund of India
(C) State Contingency Fund
(D) Both State and Union Consolidated Funds
Answer: (A) Consolidated Fund of the State
Explanation: The Governor’s emoluments are charged expenditure on the State Consolidated Fund under the constitutional financial framework. Charged expenditure is not voted annually like ordinary grants, preserving the office’s financial security.
Q4. Which Governor of Rajasthan was removed from office during the Janata Party period in 1977?
[UPPCS Mains 2003]
(A) Dr Sampurnanand
(B) Raghukul Tilak
(C) Sukhdeo Prasad
(D) Bali Ram Bhagat
Answer: (B) Raghukul Tilak
Explanation: Raghukul Tilak held the governorship of Rajasthan before being removed in 1977 following a change at the Union level. Governor removal relates to presidential pleasure under Article 156, not State Assembly impeachment.
Q3. Why was the elected-Governor proposal discarded by the Constituent Assembly?
(1) Extra election.
(2) Partisan election issues.
(3) Possible rivalry with Chief Minister.
(4) Parliamentary system.
[UP Urban Development Authority/LDA Prelims 2002]
(A) 1 and 2
(B) 2 and 3
(C) 1, 3 and 4
(D) 2, 3 and 4
Answer: (C) 1, 3 and 4
Explanation: Constitution framers favoured nomination to avoid another election, competing political legitimacy and friction with parliamentary responsible government. The Governor was designed as constitutional head, while the elected ministry holds political confidence.
Q2. National Women’s Day on 13 February commemorates the birth of which first woman State Governor?
[UPPCS Prelims 2002]
(A) Indira Gandhi
(B) Kamala Nehru
(C) Sarojini Naidu
(D) Rani Lakshmibai
Answer: (C) Sarojini Naidu
Explanation: India marks Sarojini Naidu’s birth anniversary on 13 February as National Women’s Day. She became the first woman Governor of an Indian State after independence, serving in the United Provinces.
Q1. Who heads the State Executive in the constitutional sense?
[BPSC 45th Combined Prelims 2002]
(A) Chief Minister
(B) Governor
(C) Assembly Speaker
(D) High Court Chief Justice
Answer: (B) Governor
Explanation: The Governor is constitutionally designated as the State’s executive head under Article 154. In the parliamentary system, effective governance is normally exercised through the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers.
