Ishfaq Gulzar CNI

Jammu, Aug 6: Contrary to the speculations regarding term of present Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, the Constitution of India categorically states that the tenure of Lieutenant Governor of any Union Territory including Jammu and

Kashmir isn’t fixed and can be more than 5 years also.Amarnath Yatra packagesLegal experts opined that the Constitution clearly defines that the tenure of Governor of any State is fixed for five years but the document is silent about the tenure of Lieutenant Governor of any Union Territory.Article 156 of the Constitution clearly outlines the term of office for a Governor. While it states that a Governor holds office “during the pleasure of the President,” it also specifies a five-year term from the date of assuming office. The Governor continues in office until a successor takes over, even if the five-year term has

ended.Experts said, “Article 239, which deals with administration of Union Territories clearly states that every Union Territory shall be administered by the President acting, to such extent as he/she thinks fit, through an administrator (which can be the LG) to be appointed by him/her with such designation as he/she may specify”, adding, “the administrator holds office during the pleasure of the President, which means that their tenure is not fixed”.Sources further corroborated that even the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 which was

promulgated on August 9, 2019 clearly says, “on and from the appointed day, the Governor of the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir shall be the Lieutenant Governor for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of

Ladakh for such period as may be determined by the President”. The provisions are silent as far as tenure of the Administrator (LG in case of J&K) is concerned.“Even when the appointment order of Manoj Sinha was issued by the President, it was silent on the tenure of the new incumbent”,

sources asserted. The then official communiqué issued on 6th August, 2020 said, “The President has been pleased to appoint Shri Manoj Sinha, to be the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office vice Shri Girish Chandra

Murmu….”.Under Section 53 of the 2019 Reorganisation Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Jammu and Kashmir holds significant authority. The LG can act independently in matters beyond the legislative powers of the Assembly, including the All India Services and Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Moreover, the LG’s decisions cannot be easily challenged in court, making the office a powerful administrative entity.Manoj Sinha, who is the first ‘political’ Lieutenant Governor of J&K took charge on 7th of August,2020 at Raj Bhavan,

Srinagar.Sinha is a three time Member of Parliament. He became MP for the first time in 1996 and then in 1999 and 2014. During his third term in 2014, he was appointed as the Minister of State for Railways and in 2016 served as the Union Minister of State(Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Communication.