The President and the Governor are usually revised as two separate lists of articles and powers, and the two lists then blur into each other in the exam hall. There is a much better way. Learn them as a pair, because almost every difference between them comes from one fact: the President is elected and the Governor is appointed. This capsule goes a level deeper than our Constitution capsule, for SSC CGL and CHSL, RRB NTPC, State PSC, banking general awareness and UPSC Prelims.
The First Hinge: Elected Versus Appointed
Put the two side by side and the whole chapter organises itself.
| President | Governor | |
|---|---|---|
| How they get the job | Elected by an electoral college | Appointed by the President (Article 155) |
| How long they stay | Five years, re-eligible | Five years — but at the pleasure of the President (Article 156) |
| How they can be removed | Only by impeachment under Article 61, for violation of the Constitution | No procedure at all. The President may simply withdraw pleasure |
| Minimum age | 35 | 35 |
| Who they answer to | Nobody, in practice, once elected | The Union government that appointed them |
Read the removal row twice. A President can be removed only through a formal process with a fixed majority. A Governor can be removed by a letter. That single asymmetry is why Governors are politically controversial and Presidents rarely are, and it is worth one sentence in any descriptive answer on the subject.
The Second Hinge: Heads of an Executive They Do Not Run
Both are the constitutional head of an executive whose decisions they do not make. Article 74 says the President shall act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers; Article 163 says the same of the Governor — except where the Constitution requires the Governor to act in his own discretion.
So there is one question to ask of any power either of them has: is this exercised on advice, or in their own judgement?
- The President’s discretion is narrow. The 42nd Amendment made ministerial advice binding; the 44th added the power to send the advice back once for reconsideration, after which the President must accept it. Genuine discretion survives mainly where no government has a clear majority.
- The Governor’s discretion is written into the text. Article 163 expressly preserves it, and it is exercised in real and contested situations: appointing a Chief Minister when no party has a majority, reserving a Bill for the President under Article 200, and reporting to the President on the failure of constitutional machinery — the report that can lead to President’s Rule, covered in our capsule on the emergency provisions.
The Governor therefore wears two hats at once: constitutional head of the State, and the Union government’s appointee inside it. Almost every controversy about the office comes from those two hats pulling in different directions.
How the President Is Elected
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who votes | The elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies, including Delhi and Puducherry |
| Who does not vote | Nominated members of Parliament or of an Assembly, and members of State Legislative Councils |
| Method | Proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, with voting by secret ballot |
| Why votes are weighted | So that the States as a whole carry the same weight as Parliament, and so that a large State counts for more than a small one |
| Term | Five years, with no bar on re-election |
| Qualifications | Citizen of India, at least 35, qualified for election to the Lok Sabha, and holding no office of profit |
The nominated-member rule is the classic trap, because it flips. Nominated members cannot vote in the President’s election, but they can take part in the President’s impeachment. The reason is simple once you see it: the election is a federal exercise in which the electoral college is defined by the Constitution, while impeachment is ordinary parliamentary business in which every member of the House participates.
How a President Is Removed: Article 61
- The only ground is violation of the Constitution.
- The charge may be brought in either House.
- The resolution needs at least 14 days’ notice, signed by not less than one-fourth of the total members of that House.
- It must then be passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of that House.
- The other House investigates the charge. The President has the right to appear and to be represented.
- If that House also passes a resolution by a two-thirds majority of its total membership, the President is removed from the date of the resolution.
Two details examiners like: State legislatures take no part in impeachment at all, even though they help elect the President; and no President of India has ever been impeached.
The Governor: Appointed, and at Pleasure
- Articles 153 to 162, in Part VI. Article 153 says there shall be a Governor for each State — and its proviso, inserted by the 7th Amendment in 1956, allows the same person to be Governor of two or more States.
- Article 155: appointed by the President by warrant under hand and seal. There is no election and no fixed selection process.
- Article 156: holds office during the pleasure of the President, with a term of five years, and continues until a successor takes over.
- Article 157: must be a citizen of India and at least 35 years old. Note what is not required — no residence in the State, and no electoral qualification.
- Article 163: a Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister aids and advises the Governor, except where the Governor acts in his discretion.
The office is deliberately unelected, because its designers wanted a link between the Union and the States that did not depend on State politics. Whether that link has worked as intended is one of the oldest arguments in Indian federalism, and a balanced answer notes both the intent and the criticism.
Bills: The Two Sets of Veto Powers
This is where the two offices differ most usefully, and it connects directly to our capsule on how a Bill becomes law.
| President — Article 111 | Governor — Article 200 | |
|---|---|---|
| On a Bill passed by the legislature | Assent, withhold assent, or return it (not a Money Bill) for reconsideration | Assent, withhold assent and return it for reconsideration, or reserve it for the President |
| If it is passed again | The President must assent | The Governor shall not withhold assent |
| The extra power | None beyond the above | Reserving a Bill for the President — a power the President obviously does not have |
The three classical vetoes, for the President: an absolute veto (withholding assent outright), a suspensive veto (returning a Bill, which Parliament can override by passing it again), and a pocket veto — simply not acting, because the Constitution sets no time limit. President Zail Singh used the pocket veto on the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill in 1986. There is no qualified veto in India, of the kind the American President faces; that is a standard distractor.
What Changed in 2025, and Why Old Notes Are Now Wrong
This is the part most study material has not caught up with, so it is worth getting right.
- 8 April 2025 — State of Tamil Nadu v. Governor of Tamil Nadu. The Supreme Court held that a Governor has no pocket veto or absolute veto under Article 200, prescribed timelines for acting on Bills, and used Article 142 to treat ten re-passed Bills as having received assent.
- 20 November 2025 — the Presidential Reference under Article 143. A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice B. R. Gavai, answering questions referred by the President, held that courts cannot prescribe timelines for the Governor or the President under Articles 200 and 201, and that “deemed assent” is contrary to the Constitution.
- What survives. The Court also held that a Governor cannot sit on a Bill indefinitely: prolonged inaction can attract a limited judicial direction to take a decision within a reasonable time.
So the position today, stated carefully: no fixed deadline, no deemed assent — but no indefinite delay either. If your notes still give you the one-month and three-month timelines as good law, they are out of date. Writing that accurately is worth more than reproducing a confident figure that has since been set aside.
The Pardoning Power: Article 72 Against Article 161
| President — Article 72 | Governor — Article 161 | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers offences against | Union law, and all the cases below | State law |
| Court-martial sentences | Yes | No |
| Death sentence | Can pardon | Cannot pardon — but can suspend, remit or commute one |
The death-sentence line is the one to get exactly right, because half-remembered versions of it are everywhere. The Governor is not powerless over a death sentence — a Governor may suspend it, remit it or commute it. What the Governor cannot do is pardon it. Even where a State law prescribes the death penalty, the power to pardon rests with the President.
Both exercise the power on the advice of the respective government, not as a personal favour. A memory hook for the five kinds of relief: a pardon wipes the conviction; a commutation swaps the punishment for a lighter one; a remission shortens it; a respite reduces it because of a special circumstance; a reprieve merely delays it.
Practice Questions
Q1. Who among the following does NOT take part in the election of the President of India?
(a) Elected members of the Lok Sabha (b) Elected members of State Legislative Assemblies (c) Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha (d) Elected members of the Rajya Sabha
Answer: (c) Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha Nominated members do not vote in the presidential election, and neither do members of State Legislative Councils. But nominated members can take part in the President’s impeachment — the rule flips between the two proceedings, which is exactly why it is asked.
Q2. A Governor of a State holds office:
(a) For a fixed term of five years that cannot be cut short (b) During the pleasure of the President (c) Until removed by a two-thirds majority of the State Assembly (d) Until impeached by Parliament
Answer: (b) During the pleasure of the President Article 156 — during the pleasure of the President. The nominal term is five years, but there is no removal procedure and no fixed protection, which is the sharpest difference between the Governor and the President.
Q3. Which of the following can the Governor do but the President cannot?
(a) Withhold assent to a Bill (b) Return a Bill for reconsideration (c) Reserve a Bill for the consideration of the President (d) Promulgate an ordinance
Answer: (c) Reserve a Bill for the consideration of the President Reserving a Bill for the President is a power under Article 200 that belongs to the Governor alone — the President has nobody to reserve a Bill for. Both can withhold assent, return a Bill and promulgate ordinances.
Q4. Regarding a death sentence, the Governor under Article 161:
(a) Can pardon it (b) Can neither pardon nor commute it (c) Cannot pardon it, but can suspend, remit or commute it (d) Has no power over it of any kind
Answer: (c) Cannot pardon it, but can suspend, remit or commute it The power to pardon a death sentence rests with the President alone, even where the sentence was passed under a State law. The Governor may still suspend, remit or commute it. The Governor also cannot deal with court-martial sentences at all.
Q5. A resolution to impeach the President must be passed by:
(a) A simple majority of members present and voting (b) A two-thirds majority of the total membership of the House (c) A majority of the total membership of both Houses sitting jointly (d) A two-thirds majority of the State Legislative Assemblies
Answer: (b) A two-thirds majority of the total membership of the House A two-thirds majority of the total membership of the House, after 14 days’ notice signed by at least one-fourth of its members. The other House then investigates and must pass a similar resolution. State legislatures take no part in impeachment, and no President of India has ever been impeached.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Saying nominated members can vote for the President. They cannot — but they can take part in impeachment.
- Letting State legislatures into impeachment. They help elect the President; they play no part in removing one.
- Giving the Governor a protected five-year term. The term is five years at pleasure, with no removal procedure.
- Saying the Governor cannot touch a death sentence. The Governor cannot pardon one, but can suspend, remit or commute it.
- Giving the Governor power over court-martial sentences. That belongs to the President alone.
- Quoting the 2025 timelines for gubernatorial assent as settled law. They were set aside by the Constitution Bench opinion of 20 November 2025.
- Adding a qualified veto to the President’s powers. India’s President has an absolute, a suspensive and a pocket veto — there is no qualified veto.
- Requiring a Governor to be a resident of the State. Article 157 requires only citizenship and the age of 35.
Test Yourself
Reading a capsule is not the same as recalling it under time pressure. Our Test Your Knowledge page carries free Static GK and current affairs quizzes, each with an explanation for every answer and a downloadable PDF for offline revision.
Sources: Articles 52 to 62 and 111 of the Constitution for the President, Articles 153 to 163 and 200 for the Governor, Article 61 for impeachment, and Articles 72 and 161 for the pardoning power; the proviso to Article 153 as inserted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956; and published accounts of State of Tamil Nadu v. Governor of Tamil Nadu (8 April 2025) and of the Supreme Court’s advisory opinion on the Presidential Reference delivered on 20 November 2025. Where the law has recently changed, the text says what was set aside and what survives rather than repeating superseded figures.
