Which of the following is correct about the heading of the Article 162 of the Constitution of India ?

Question

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Correct — D, 'Extension of Executive Power of State'. The marginal heading printed in the Constitution reads 'Extent of executive power of State', and option (d) is the paper's rendering of that same heading — it is the only option that describes how far a State's executive power reaches rather than who holds it or for how long. Article 162 says that, subject to the provisions of the Constitution, the executive power of a State extends to the matters with respect to which the Legislature of the State has power to make laws; and the proviso adds that in any matter on which both the State Legislature and Parliament can legislate — that is, the Concurrent List — the State's executive power is subject to, and limited by, the executive power expressly conferred on the Union by the Constitution or by a law of Parliament. In one line: State executive power is co-extensive with State legislative power, and yields to the Union in the shared field. The other three options are not inventions — each is the heading of a different Article in the same chapter, which is what makes the question a test of precise placement rather than of vocabulary.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) That is the heading of Article 154, not 162. Article 154 vests the executive power of the State in the Governor and provides that he exercises it directly or through officers subordinate to him. It answers the question 'in whom does the power vest?', whereas Article 162 answers 'how far does it extend?'. Dropping the word 'extent' turns the correct option into the wrong Article — the single sharpest distinction in this question.  (b) That is Article 158. It lays down that the Governor shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of a State Legislature, shall not hold any other office of profit, is entitled to the use of his official residence without rent, and that his emoluments and allowances shall not be diminished during his term. It concerns the office-holder's personal conditions, not the reach of executive power.  (c) That is Article 156 — the Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President, holds it for a term of five years from the date he enters upon it, and may resign by writing addressed to the President. Again a provision about the Governor as an individual, sitting a few Articles before 162 but on a completely different subject.

Concept: Chapter II of Part VI of the Constitution deals with the Executive of a State, and its Articles run in a logical order that is worth memorising as a block. Article 153 provides that there shall be a Governor for each State; 154 vests the State's executive power in him; 155 covers his appointment by the President; 156 his term of office; 157 the qualifications; 158 the conditions of his office; 161 the pardoning power; and 163 the Council of Ministers to aid and advise him. Article 162 stands slightly apart from this personal sequence because it is about the power itself rather than the person: it fixes the outer limit of State executive action. Its Union counterpart is Article 73, headed 'Extent of executive power of the Union', built on the same principle. The judicial gloss comes from Ram Jawaya Kapur v. State of Punjab (1955), which read this scheme to mean that the executive may act on any subject within its legislature's competence even where no statute exists — but it cannot infringe a citizen's rights without the authority of law.

State PCS 2019 Q73 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2019 Q73 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer