I had, as a governor of Jharkhand myself, occasions to consider whether it is open for the governor, after appointing a person as CM, to impose a condition that he should take a vote of confidence in the assembly, when the incumbent CM had resigned after a few MLAs had withdrawn their support to him. Thereafter, before appointing another person the CM who satisfied me of having a majority, I examined various constitutional provisions and consulted constitutional experts. I then found that imposition of such a condition is not authorised by the Constitution, although such impermissible measures have been imposed by some governors. Therefore, when I appointed a new person the CM, I refused to impose any condition to the effect that he should take a vote of confidence within a time frame, stating that after he is appointed, a CM can be removed only by a vote of no-confidence in the assembly.

The occasion for a governor to call upon a CM to take a vote of confidence arises only when some of the legislators who had extended support to an incumbent CM withdraw their support and it appears to the governor that the said CM does not enjoy majority support. It was the imposition of such an uncalled-for condition which created further political instability in Karnataka and gave a handle to the president of JD(S) to make a somersault and get a whip issued against his MLAs voting for B.S. Yeddyurappa, for reasons known only to himself.

... contd.