In a state, the legislature, executive
and state judiciary is collectively known as state government.
In every state, there is a house formed
by elected representatives who are elected by the citizens on the basis of
adult franchise. This house of the legislature is known as Legislative Assembly
(Vidhan Sabha). Those states which
have the second house of the legislature also are known as Legislative Council (Vidhan
Parishad).
At present, seven states of Indian Union have bicameral
legislatures. These
include Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Bihar,
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the remaining states have
unicameral
legislature.
In these seven states which have bicameral legislatures,
following are the three
organs of the state legislature-
1. Governor
2. Legislative
Assembly (First or lower house)
3. Legislative Council (Second or upper
house)
Formation of Legislative Assembly
1. Number of
members
The maximum
number of members of the legislative assembly is 500 and their minimum number
is 60. For election process, the state is geographically divided into
constituencies in such manner that every member of the legislative assembly
represents a minimum of 75,000 number of population.
2.
Reservations
According
to 95th constitutional amendment of 2009, reservation of seats for
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes has been provided in state legislative
assemblies till January, 2020 CE.
After the
appointment of state legislative assembly, if the President feels that the
Anglo-Indian community has not been given representation, then he can nominate
one member from this community in the legislative assembly.
Termination of membership of the
members
Membership
of both the houses of the State legislature can be terminated in any of the
following conditions:
1. If
a person is elected as the member of both the houses of the state legislature,
then he/she will have to resign from the membership of any one house. In the
same way, no person is entitled to assume the office as a Member of Parliament
and the legislative assembly of a state at one time.
2. A
person can be terminated if he/she remains absent for a continuous period of 60
days from the meetings of the respective house of the legislature without prior
permission.
3. After
being elected as a member of any house, if it is felt that the person does not
have the required qualification or some fixed incapability emerges in that
person, he/ she can be terminated from membership.
4.
Tenure : The tenure of
the stale legislative assembly is 5 years. The Governor can dissolve it even
before the completion of its term. But if a declaration of emergency is in
process, then the Parliament can lawfully extend die term of state legislative
assembly which cannot he for more man one year in a single instance and in any
condition, This term cannot be for more man 6 months after the termination of
declaration of emergency.
5.
Officers: Every
state's legislative assembly has two chief officers- (i) Speaker and (ii)
Deputy Speaker. These both are elected from amongst the members of the
legislative assembly and they remain in office till the legislative assembly
remains in existence. Between its tenure, the Speaker can give his
resignation to the Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Speaker can give his
resignation to the Speaker. Both these officers can be removed from their
office by a motion passed by majority of members of legislative assembly, but
it is mandatory to provide a notice regarding such motion 14 days in advance to
the Speaker pr the Deputy Speaker (one who has to be removed).
Formation
of the Legislative Council
The
legislative assembly has the power to recommend the Parliament regarding the
creation and dissolution of the legislative council. According to section 169,
if the legislative assembly passes a motion by majority of its entire number of
members or if it passes the motion by two-third of its present and voting
members, then the Parliament forms law regarding the creation or dissolution of
the legislative council of that particular state.
1. Number
of members
Legislative
council is the first or upper house of the state legislature. It has been
provided in the constitution that the number of members of the legislative
council of each state will not be more than one-third of the number of members
of the legislative assembly, but along with this, it has also been provided
that in any condition, this number cannot be less than 40. Essentially, the
state of Jammu and Kashmir has been excluded in this context.
2. Election
and nomination of members
About 5/6th
members of the legislative council are elected and the remaining about 1/6th
members are nominated by governor. These members of the legislative council are
elected indirectly and their election is held by single transferable vote
method through proportional representation system. Following electoral colleges
conduct the election of members of the legislative council:
1. Electoral College of local
institutions: Approximately l/3rd number of members are elected
by municipalities, Zila Parishads and other such local institutions.
2. Electoral College of legislative
assembly: Members of legislative assembly elect approximately l/3rd
number of members from amongst such persons who are not the members of the
legislative assembly.
3. Electoral College of Graduates: This
is an electoral college consisting of educated people who reside in the state,
who have passed the examination of graduate level and a time period of three
years has passed since these persons became graduates. This Electoral College
elects approximately l/12lh part of the total number of members.
4. Electoral College of Teachers: In
this College, those teachers are included who have taught for the last three years
in a primary school or a higher school in the state. This Electoral College
elects approximately 1/12th part of the total number of members.
5. Members nominated by the Governor: Approximately
5/6th part of the total number of members is elected through the above mentioned
process and approximately 1/6th part of the total number of remaining members
is nominated by the Governor. Such members are experts from the field of
literature, science, art, community and social service.
6. Tenure:
The legislative council is a permanent body with the point of view of
dissolution and it also cannot be dissolved by the Governor. The tenure of
members of the legislative council is 6 years. After every two years, one-third
members retire from their post and new elections are made for the vacant seats.
State Executive
Governor,
Chief Minister and Council of Ministers- Functions and Powers
Governor
and the council of ministers are included in the state executive. The Governor
is regarded as the supreme head of state executive. Contrary to this, in
practice, the Chief Minister and his council of ministers make the actual head
of the state executive.
Governor- The Constitutional Head of the State
Appointment
of the Governor- The Governor assumes his/her office
after being appointed by the President. Term- 5 years. The President has the
power to remove the Governor even before the completion of his/her tenure of
five years or he/she can be transferred from one state to another.
Process
followed in appointment of the Governor:
i. The Governor should not be a
resident of that state for which he/she is being appointed as the Governor.
ii. Before the appointment of the Governor, the
central government has to take advice and acceptance from the Chief Minister of
that respective state.
Qualifications required for the post of
Governor and his salary:
Two qualifications are mandatory for the post of Governor.
First, he/she should be a citizen of India. Second, he/she should be more than
35 years of age. A Governor cannot be a Member of Parliament or a member of
state legislature. If he/she is a member of any house then he/she will have to
resign from his/her post from the date he/she is appointed as the Governor.
He/She is also not allowed to hold any office of profit.
Salary and allowances:
At present, the Governor receives a monthly salary of one
lakh and ten thousand INR.
Powers and Functions of the Governor
The powers of the Governor are similar to those of the
President, except diplomatic, military and emergency powers".
1. Executive
Powers: He/She appoints the Chief Minister and on his advice, the council
of ministers. He/She appoints the advocate general and the Chairman and members
of State Public Service Commission. In context to the appointment of judges of
the High Court, the President takes advice from the Governor of the respective
state
2. Legislative
Powers: The Governor is an integral part of the state executive and he/ she
has significant legislative powers. He/She calls the meetings of the
legislature, postpones them and dissolves the legislative assembly which is the
lower house of the legislature. He/She presides upon the first meeting of the
legislature after the elections and also sends notifications to the
legislature.
Governor's
consent is mandatory on the proposal passed by the state legislative assembly.
He/She can reject any proposal and can send it back to the legislative Assembly
for reconsideration. If the legislative Assembly passes the proposal for the
second time, then the Governor is bound to accept it. In case of some
proposals, he/ she can retain them for consideration by the President.
If the session of state legislature is not being conducted,
then he/she can issue an ordinance. This ordinance is equivalent to the laws
formed by the legislative Assembly in status.
Actual
Executive- The Council of Ministers
The
constitution has provided for parliamentary form of government for states also,
and in a parliamentary form of government, the actual legislative power vests
in the council of ministers, which is responsible to the state legislative
assembly.
Formation
of the State Council of Ministers
1. Appointment of the Chief Minister: Appointment
of the Chief Minister is the first step in the formation of state council of
ministers. According to section 164, the Governor appoints the Chief Minister
and will then appoint the council of ministers with the advice of the Chief
Minister. The traditional principle followed in this regard is that the leader
of the party in majority in state's legislative assembly is appointed the Chief
Minister by the Governor.
2. Selection of Ministers: Other
ministers are selected by the Chief Minister and he provides the list of
respective ministers and their portfolios to the Governor. The Chief Minister
is exclusively responsible for the formation of council of ministers.
Chief Minister
The head of
the state council of ministers is the Chief Minister. He/She is the actual head
of the state legislature. In the administration structure of the state, his/her
position is the same as that of the Prime Minister in the centre.
Appointment
of the Chief Minister: According to section 164, just this has been
mentioned that the Governor will appoint the Chief Minister. But in practice,
Governor is bound to appoint the leader of majority party of the legislative
assembly as the Chief Minister.
Powers and Functions of the Chief Minister
Cabinet is
the most important unit of the state government and the Chief Minister is the
head of the cabinet.
1. Formation of the cabinet: The
foremost function of the Chief Minister is formation of the cabinet. The Chief
Minister selects the council of ministers and sends the list to the Governor
who accepts the list. To a large extent, the Chief Minister uses his/ her
discretion in the selection of ministers.
2. Distribution and redistribution of
Portfolios: The Chief Minister distributes
portfolios amongst his/her council of ministers. Even after formation of
council of ministers and division of portfolios amongst them for one time,
he/she has the power to make changes and redistribute the portfolios amongst his/her
council of ministers whenever he/she wishes to do so.
3. Functioning of the council of
ministers: The Chief Minister calls and presides
upon the meetings of the council of ministers. He/She prepares the agenda for
the meeting. If the Chief Minister is significantly powerful, then the entire
proceeding of the council of ministers takes place as per his wish.
4. Leader of the legislative assembly: The Chief Minister is adorned with dual personality. On one
hand, he/she is the head of the government, and on the other hand, he is also
the leader of legislative assembly. In the form of leader of the legislative
assembly, he has important position in respect of formation of laws and to a
very large extent, the work of forming laws takes place as per his/her wish. In
the form of leader of the legislative assembly, he/she can also advice the
Governor to dissolve the legislative assembly.
High Court
On state
level, the High Court is the highest judicial organization. According to
section 214, every state has its High Court. There can be a single High Court
for two or more than two states.
In the
beginning, High Courts were established in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in the
year 1862 in India. Allahabad High Court was established in 1866. Al present, there
are 24 High Courts in India.
Formation
of the High Court: According to constitution every High Court will
constitute a Chief Justice and other such judges whom the President considers
suitable to be appointed. In the same way, the number of High Court judges will
also be determined by the President.
Appointment
of the Judges: The President appoints the Chief
Justice and other judges of the High Court. The President appoints the Chief
Justice after taking advice from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the
Governor, while the other judges are appointed by the President after taking
advice from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the High Court and the
Governor.
Qualifications
of the judges:
1. He should be the citizen of India.
2. He
should have been on a judicial post in India for a minimum period of ten years.
3. He
should have been an advocate for a minimum of ten years in a High Court or any
two or more such courts.
Tenure:
1. He will assume office till the age of 62
years.
2. He
can give his resignation by addressing it to the President.
3. After
getting a resolution passed by special majority of the Parliament, A High Court
judge can be removed on order by the President.
Oath by the
Judges: A High Court judge takes oath in front
of the Governor or a person authorized by him for the purpose.
Transfer of
Judges: Transfer of High Court judges is made
by the President after taking advice by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Salary of
the judges: The Parliament fixes the salary of
every judge of the High Court by law. At present, the Chief Justice of the High
Court draws a monthly salary of 90,000 INR and other judges get a monthly
salary of 80,000 INR.
Jurisdiction
and Powers of the High Court- Following is the description of jurisdiction
and powers of the High Court:
1. Original/Statuary Jurisdiction
2. Right
to issue writs
3. Appellate
Jurisdiction
4. A
court of record
5. Administrative
powers
6. Judicial
review
1.
Original jurisdiction: This
refers firstly to the hearing of cases by the High Court. These include:
i. Disputes associated with appointment of
the members of Parliament and members of state legislature.
ii. Disputes
associated with revenue collection.
2.
Right to issue writs: The
High Court has the right to issue writs such as Habeas Corpus, Mandamus,
Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo Warranto. As per section 32, the Supreme Court
can issue only those writs which are associated with fundamental rights, the
High Court has the power to issue writs regarding fundamental rights as well as
other rights.
3.
Appellate jurisdiction: Appellate
jurisdiction of the High Court can be divided into the following parts:
i.
Civil appellate jurisdiction: Appeal can be made in the High Court against the decisions
made by the district court in cases associated with income tax, patent, design,
succession, etc.
ii.
Criminal appellate jurisdiction: If a criminal is sentenced for four years of imprisonment or
death punishment by a session court, then an appeal can be made against such
decision in the High Court.
iii.
Constitutional appellate
jurisdiction: Any such case in which there is a
question of interpretation of the constitution, can be presented in the High
Court.
4. Court
of record:
Decisions
of the High Court are saved in the form of records and they will function as
laws for the subordinate courts.
5. Administrative
powers: Administrative powers of the High Court include the following:
i. A High
Court may call for decisions made by a subordinate court and can evaluate and
examine them.
ii. It is the duty of the High Court that it
ensures that some subordinate court does not violate its limit and is working
as per the provisions laid down by law.
iii. It can remove a case from one court and
transfer it to another court for consideration and verdict.
6. Judicial
review: The High Court has the power to declare
the working of the central and state government and executive as valid or
invalid.
