Previous Year Question
Which one of the following suggested that the Governor should be an eminent person from outside the State and should be a detached figure without intense political links or should not have taken part in politics in the recent past?
First Administrative Reforms Commission (1966)
Rajamannar Committee (1969)
Sarkaria Commission (1983)
National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000)
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
The suggestion was made by the Sarkaria Commission.
The Union Government constituted the Sarkaria Commission in June 1983 under the chairmanship of Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria to review Centre-State relations.
Its other two members were B. Sivaraman and Dr. S. R. Sen.
The Commission submitted its report in 1988.
Regarding the person to be appointed as Governor, the Commission principally recommended that the person should:
Be eminent in some walk of life.
Be a person from outside the State concerned.
Be a detached figure and not be too intimately connected with the local politics of the State.
Not have taken too great a part in politics generally, particularly in the recent past.
Where different political parties are in power at the Union and in the State, not be a person actively associated with the ruling party at the Union.
The constitutional position regarding the appointment of a Governor is:
Article 155: The Governor is appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
Article 156: The Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President; the normal term is five years.
Article 157: A person must be a citizen of India and must have completed 35 years of age.
Article 158: The Governor cannot be a member of Parliament or a State Legislature and cannot hold any other office of profit.
The criteria suggested by the Sarkaria Commission are not formal constitutional qualifications. They are recommended standards and healthy constitutional conventions intended to preserve the impartiality and federal credibility of the office of Governor.
Why the other options are incorrect:
The First Administrative Reforms Commission considered administrative reforms and certain aspects of Centre-State relations, but the specific recommendation quoted in the question is not attributed to it.
The Rajamannar Committee was constituted by the Tamil Nadu Government in 1969 to examine Centre-State relations.
The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, constituted in 2000 under Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah, also made recommendations concerning Governors; however, the criteria quoted in the question are specifically associated with the Sarkaria Commission.