Supreme Court of India· 28 February 2023

Why does Article 167 require the Chief Minister to furnish information to the Governor?

STATE OF PUNJAB v. PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNOR OF PUNJAB & ANR.

2023 INSC 181 · Writ Petition (Civil) No 302 of 2023
Coram: Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud; Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha

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Answer

Because the information enables the Governor to effectively discharge the duties of a constitutional head — for instance the power to direct reconsideration of bills passed in the assembly, and the power under Article 167(c) to require a matter decided by a Minister alone to be placed before the Council of Ministers.

Headnote

Constitution of India — Art.174 — Art.167 — Art.32 — Governor — Summoning of the Legislative Assembly — Aid and advice of the Council of Ministers — Duty of the Chief Minister to furnish information — Constitutional functionaries — Constitution of India — Art.174 — Summoning the House — no discretion in the Governor — Held: The authority entrusted to the Governor to summon the House of the Legislature of the State is to be exercised on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, and is not a constitutional arena in which the Governor is entitled to exercise his own discretion. (¶22) Constitution of India — Art.174(1) — legal advice no answer to the Cabinet's advice — Held further: There is no occasion to seek legal advice on whether or not the Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly should be convened; once the Council of Ministers has tendered its advice, the Governor is plainly bound by it. (¶23) Constitution of India — Art.167(b) — Chief Minister's duty to furnish information — Held further: Once the Governor calls for information relating to the administration of the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation, the Chief Minister is duty bound to furnish it, and withholding it is plainly in dereliction of that constitutional duty. (¶24) Constitution of India — Art.167 — Art.174 — obligations of constitutional functionaries are not reciprocal conditions — Held further: The failure of a constitutional authority to fulfil its obligation under a distinct provision furnishes no justification to another to decline to fulfil its own, and constitutional discourse must be conducted with a sense of decorum and mature statesmanship. Petition disposed of. (¶25, 27)

In the Court's own words

Paragraph 19The power of the Governor to seek information under Article 167 must be read holistically with reference to their duties as constitutional head under the Constitution. The information that the Governor seeks under Article 167 would enable them to effectively discharge their duties. To illustrate, the Governor has the power to direct reconsideration of bills that are passed in the assembly. For the Governor to make this decision, it is necessary that all the relevant information that would aid them in making the said decision must be made available. Similarly, the governor requires all relevant information to identify if a decision has been taken by a Minister individually without the consideration of the council. The Governor might be unable to discharge their duty under Article 167(c) if the Chief Minister does not discharge their duty under Article 167(a) and Article 167 (b) by providing the Governor with relevant information as requested. Thus, the Chief Minister is required to discharge their duties under Article 167 to enable the Governor to effectively discharge their duties stipulated in the Constitution. The framers of the Constitution were prescient in incorporating the above provisions. They ensure that while on the one hand the administration of the State is entrusted to a democratically elected Chief Minister who heads the Council of Ministers, which in turn, owes collective responsibility to the state legislature, the Governor as a constitutional authority appointed by the President is entrusted with the duty to ensure a just, fair, and honest administration. In this context, it is important to refer to the speech of Dr. BR Ambedkar on Article 167 (draft Article 147) in the Constitution Assembly:[^1]

Acts & Sections

Art.174 Constitution of IndiaArt.167 Constitution of IndiaArt.32 Constitution of India

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Also decided in this judgment

Under Article 174 of the Constitution, must the Governor summon the State Legislative Assembly on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers?Can a Governor defer summoning the Budget Session in order to take legal advice on the Chief Minister's communications?Under Article 167 of the Constitution, is the Chief Minister bound to furnish information called for by the Governor?Does one constitutional authority's failure to perform its duty justify another in declining to perform its own?

Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Supreme Court of India. Corrections