ABSTRACT
India’s federal form, both in structure and performance, is highly complex, commanding the attention of many a scholar, and leading to several reform reports, the most often quoted of which is the Sarkaria Commission. The Supreme Court itself has come to play an important part in defining the relative powers and relationships between the Centre (as the federal government is commonly known for long, but being contested by some States such as Tamil Nadu whose current Chief Minister prefers to use the expression “Union” government) and the federating units – States and Union Territories (UTs). To get a proper handle on the many issues involved, one needs to explore several constitutional provisions. This chapter is divided into four major headings: (I) Brief introduction; (II) Article 3; (III) The Governors/Lt Governors. The last being the more contested, is treated under several sub-headings: (a) The Constitutional position; (b) Commissions and Courts; (c) Current behaviour of some incumbent Governors as heads of States and Lt. Governors in UTs vis-à-vis the elected Chief Ministers as heads of government. The final section concludes with some remarks.
