The Discretionary Functions of the Governor of State

Under special circumstance the Governor may act without the advice of the Council of Ministers. In other words, such powers of the Governor are exercised in his/her own discretion. They are:

A situation may arise when in the opinion of the Governor there is the breakdown of
the constitutional machinery in the State. In such a case, the Governor may report the
situation to the President for imposition of the President’s Rule in that State. As the
Governor exercises this power on his/her own, it is called the discretionary power of
the Governor. In case the Governor’s report is accepted by the President, and he/she
proclaims emergency under Article 356, the State Council of Ministers is removed,
and the State Legislative Assembly is either dissolved or put under suspension. During such emergency, the Governor rules on behalf of the President.

A situation may also arise when the Governor may reserve a bill for the consideration
of the President. As the Governor does or can do this job on his own, it again is one of
his discretionary powers.

The discretionary powers of the Governor were meant for extraordinary and
emergency situations. However, in practice these have not only been used in such
situations, but have been made use of relating to normal powers in controversial
manner. This has led to creating tension between Union and State relations.