G. C. Murmu, who was appointed as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in August 2020, was the Lieutenant Governor/Administrator of which one of the following Union Territories prior to this appointment?
- (a)Ladakh
- (b)Jammu and Kashmir
- (c)Chandigarh
- (d)Puducherry
Correct — B, Jammu and Kashmir. Girish Chandra Murmu took charge on 31 October 2019 as the first Lieutenant Governor of the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, succeeding the last Governor of the former State, Satya Pal Malik, after the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 came into force. He resigned from that post on 5 August 2020 and was appointed Comptroller and Auditor General of India on 8 August 2020, taking office as the fourteenth holder of that post. A 1985-batch officer of the Gujarat cadre, he had earlier been principal secretary to the Chief Minister of Gujarat and an expenditure secretary at the Centre. He served as Comptroller and Auditor General until November 2024, and during that tenure was also external auditor of the World Health Organization and chairman of the United Nations Panel of External Auditors.
- (a)Ladakh — The near-miss, because the same Act of 2019 created Ladakh as a separate Union Territory on the same day. Its first Lieutenant Governor was a different appointee; Murmu took charge of Jammu and Kashmir.
- (c)Chandigarh — Chandigarh has no Lieutenant Governor of its own — it is administered by the Governor of Punjab acting as its Administrator.
- (d)Puducherry — Puducherry does have a Lieutenant Governor, but Murmu was never appointed to it.
The Comptroller and Auditor General is a constitutional authority under Article 148, appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal, and removable only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court. The salary and conditions of service cannot be varied to the holder's disadvantage after appointment, and the holder is barred from any further office under the Government of India or of a State afterwards. The audit reports go to the President or the Governor, who lays them before the legislature, where the Public Accounts Committee examines them.
The item is a straight current-affairs recall of an August 2020 appointment, but the useful revision around it is the constitutional office rather than the person. Note also the sequence that produced the question: the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019 replaced one State with two Union Territories, so a Governor was replaced by two Lieutenant Governors, and Murmu was the first of the pair for Jammu and Kashmir. Present-day position: Murmu's term as Comptroller and Auditor General ended in November 2024, so the office has since changed hands, and the correct way to use this fact now is as a dated appointment rather than as a current one.
- G. C. Murmu took charge as the first Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on 31 October 2019 and resigned on 5 August 2020.
- He was appointed Comptroller and Auditor General of India on 8 August 2020, the fourteenth to hold the office, and served until November 2024.
- He is a 1985-batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service, Gujarat cadre.
- As Comptroller and Auditor General he was external auditor of the World Health Organization and chairman of the United Nations Panel of External Auditors.
- The office of Comptroller and Auditor General is created by Article 148; the holder can be removed only in the manner provided for a judge of the Supreme Court.
- 5 August 2019 — the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act provides for two Union Territories in place of the State
- 31 October 2019 — G. C. Murmu takes charge as the first Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, succeeding Governor Satya Pal Malik
- 5 August 2020 — he resigns as Lieutenant Governor
- 8 August 2020 — he is appointed Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the fourteenth holder of the office
- November 2024 — his term as Comptroller and Auditor General ends
The question dates from the middle of this sequence, which is why it asks what he was doing immediately before August 2020.
- Choosing Ladakh because it was created by the same Act on the same day.
- Assuming Chandigarh has a Lieutenant Governor. It is administered by the Governor of Punjab as Administrator.
- Quoting a 2020 appointment as current. The office changed hands in November 2024.
As a who-held-which-office item on a recent appointment, or as a constitutional question on the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India can be removed from office in which manner?
- (a)By the President at his pleasure
- (b)In the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court
- (c)By a simple majority of the Lok Sabha
- (d)By the Union Cabinet on the Prime Minister's recommendation
Answer(b) In the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court — Article 148 makes the security of tenure the guarantee of the office's independence.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the former State was reorganised into which of the following?
- (a)One Union Territory with a legislature
- (b)Two Union Territories, one of them with a legislature
- (c)Two States
- (d)One State and one Union Territory
Answer(b) Two Union Territories, one of them with a legislature — Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature, and Ladakh without one.