Federalism and the Powers of the Governor in India: A Critical Examination of Recent Supreme Court Interpretations

Soumya Dubey; Dr Axita Shrivastava

Federalism and the Powers of the Governor in India: A Critical Examination of Recent Supreme Court Interpretations

Author(s)	Soumya Dubey, Dr Axita Shrivastava
Country	India
Abstract	The federal architecture of the Republic of India is currently experiencing unprecedented institutional friction, primarily catalysed by the contentious exercise of discretionary powers by State Governors. As constitutional heads appointed by the Union Government, Governors operate at the delicate intersection of state legislative autonomy and national policy uniformity. This research report presents an exhaustive, doctrinal examination of the Governor's powers, specifically focusing on the withholding of assent to state criminal legislation under Article 200 and the exercise of pardoning powers under Article 161 of the Constitution of India. Over the past few years, a systemic practice of Governors indefinitely delaying assent to daly enacted state laws has paralyzed legislative agendas across multiple states. This crisis culminated in a jurisprudential whiplash at the Supreme Court of India in the year 2025. In May 2025, a landmark judgment strictly prohibited the absolute or pocket veto, mandated rigid timelines for gubernatorial action, and subjected the Governor's macion to judicial review, effectively interpreting the phrase "as soon as possible" as a strict mandate. However, this representation-reinforcing precedent was subsequently destabilized by the November 2025 Advisory Opinion in In Re: Special Reference No. 1 of 20252 which reasserted the absolute, non-justiciable discretion of the Governor, effectively sanctioning a de facto Union veto over state legislation. Concurrently, the enactment of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, has introduced severe statutory complexities, particularly through Section 472(7), which seeks to controversially oust the judicial review of the executive's pardoning power, and Section 477, which replaces central "consultation" with "concurrence" in matters of remission. Through a rigorous analysis of case law, statutory transitions from the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to the BNSS, and the structural doctrine of repugnancy under Article 254(2), this report argues that the contemporary expansion of gubernatorial discretion threatens to unravel the cooperative federalism embedded in the Indian Constitution. The report concludes by proposing concrete constitutional amendments and the enforcement of the Punchhi Commission's recommendations to restore equilibrium.
Keywords	Federalism, Governors Powers, Article 200, Judicial Review, BNSS 2023, Centre - State Relations, Constitutional Law
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-03-23

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Federalism and the Powers of the Governor in India: A Critical Examination of Recent Supreme Court Interpretations

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