Duties of Chief Minister as respects the furnishing of information to Governor, etc.

Article 147, Draft Constitution 1948

It shall be the duty of the Chief Minister of each State-

(a) To communicate to the Governor of the State all decisions of the Council of ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation;

(b) To furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation as the Governor may call for; and

(c) If the Governor so requires, to submit for the consideration of the Council of ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been considered by the Council.

Article 167, Constitution of India 1950

It shall be the duty of the Chief Minister of each State—

(a) to communicate to the Governor of the State all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation;

(b) to furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation as the Governor may call for; and

(c) if the Governor so requires, to submit for the consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a Minister but which has not been considered by the Council.

Draft Article 147 (Article 167) was debated on 2 June 1949. It defined the duties of the Chief Minister towards the Governor.

No amendments were proposed to this Draft Article, although some members of the Assembly expressed doubts about the language contained therein. One member wanted to delete or rephrase the Draft Article, arguing that clause (c) allowed the Governor to interfere in the day-to-day business of the Council of Ministers, which was not compatible with the principle of a nominated Governor or constitutional democracy. In response, another member pointed out that the present Draft Article naturally flowed from Draft Article 146 (Article 166) which stated that all executive action would be taken in the name of the Governor. If the Draft Article did not exist, the Governor would not be empowered to find out about the orders passed in his name.

The same member believed that clause (b) was improper Chief Minister should have the discretion to decide what information should be presented to the Governor, or to submit a matter for his consideration. Another member supported him, stating that it was not necessary to give the Governor a constitutional right to request information or impart advice, and instead he could do so as a matter of custom, in the same vein that the Queen of England advised her Prime Minister.

A member of the Drafting Committee responded to these arguments, stating that the present Draft Article reiterated the principles contained in Draft Article 65 (Article 78), which had already been accepted by the Assembly. He contended that the Governor’s ability to request information was necessary to ensure safeguards against the misuse or overreach of executive power by the Council of Ministers. The Chairman of the Drafting Committee also reminded the Assembly that the Draft Article did not confer excessive powers on the Governor, as the latter did not have the ability to overrule the Council of Ministers.

The Draft Article was adopted without any amendments on 2 June 1949.