Executive Power of the State
Official heading: “Executive power of State .”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part VI, Article 154, printed page 70
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
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1. In One Sentence
Article 154 vests the executive power of the State in the Governor, to be exercised directly or through subordinate officers in accordance with the Constitution.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 154 vests the entire executive power of the State government formally in the Governor. This mirrors Article 53 for the President at the Union level.
Under the parliamentary form of governance affirmed in landmark judgments such as Shamsher Singh v. State of Punjab (1974), the Governor is a titular constitutional head who exercises this executive power not personal-discretionarily, but upon the binding aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister under Article 163.
Clause (2) clarifies that vesting executive power in the Governor does not transfer functions conferred by existing statutes on other authorities, nor does it bar Parliament or the State Legislature from conferring statutory functions directly upon subordinate authorities.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A State government department issues an official executive order sanctioning a major infrastructure project.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 154 defines the constitutional repository of State executive power.
- Vests State executive power formally in the Governor.
- Exercise through subordinate officers: Enables ministerial and civil service administration.
- Parliamentary principle: Exercised on the binding advice of the Council of Ministers pursuant to Article 163.
- Preserves statutory devolution: Does not prevent legislative conferment of powers on specialized statutory bodies.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part VI, Article 154, printed page 70 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.