BharatNotes Two articles govern the state executive and they appear to contradict each other. Article 154 vests the executive power of the State in the Governor. Article 163 requires a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at its head to aid and advise him in the exercise of his functions. Both are the law, and an answer that quotes only one has answered half the question.
The single most examinable arithmetic in this chapter follows from two numbers. Rajasthan's Legislative Assembly has 200 seats, and Article 164(1A) caps the Council of Ministers at 15 per cent of the Assembly. Thirty is therefore the ceiling, and twelve the floor.
1. The Governor
| Article | What it provides |
|---|---|
| 153 | There shall be a Governor for each State. A proviso allows the same person to be Governor of two or more States |
| 154 | The executive power of the State is vested in the Governor, exercised by him directly or through officers subordinate to him |
| 155 | The Governor is appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal |
| 156 | The Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President, may resign to the President, and otherwise holds office for five years, continuing until a successor enters office |
| 157 | Eligibility: a citizen of India who has completed the age of 35 years |
| 158 | Not a member of Parliament or of a State Legislature; no other office of profit; rent-free official residence; emoluments not to be diminished during the term |
| 159 | Oath before the Chief Justice of the High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to the State, or the senior-most Judge available |
| 161 | Power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions, and to suspend, remit or commute sentences, for offences against laws on matters to which the executive power of the State extends |
| 162 | The executive power extends to matters on which the State Legislature may make laws |
GovtSource: The Constitution of India, as on 1 May 2024, Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice, Legislative Department, Part VI, Chapter II, read directly.
Three of those provisions are the ones RPSC sets.
The Governor is appointed, not elected, and holds office during pleasure. Article 156(1) and 156(3) sit together and are commonly quoted apart. The five-year term in 156(3) is expressly "subject to the foregoing provisions", which include the pleasure doctrine. A Governor has a five-year term and no security of tenure, and both halves are in the same article.
The oath is administered by the Chief Justice of the High Court, not by the President. That is Article 159, and it is the standard distractor against the President or the Chief Justice of India.
The pardon power is bounded by the State's executive power. Article 161 reaches offences against laws on matters within the State's executive competence. It is not the President's power under Article 72, and the difference is the examinable one.
2. The Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers
| Article | What it provides |
|---|---|
| 163(1) | A Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor, except where he must act in his discretion |
| 163(2) | If a question arises whether a matter is one for the Governor's discretion, his decision is final and the validity of what he does cannot be questioned on that ground |
| 163(3) | What advice Ministers tendered shall not be inquired into in any court |
| 164(1) | The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor; other Ministers by the Governor on the Chief Minister's advice; Ministers hold office during the Governor's pleasure |
| 164(1A) | Ministers including the Chief Minister shall not exceed 15 per cent of the Assembly's total membership, and shall not be fewer than twelve |
| 164(1B) | A member disqualified under paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule is also disqualified from being appointed a Minister for the stated period |
| 164(2) | The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly |
| 164(3) | The Governor administers the oaths of office and secrecy, in the forms in the Third Schedule |
| 164(4) | A Minister not a member of the Legislature for six consecutive months ceases to be a Minister |
| 167 | Duties of the Chief Minister to communicate decisions, furnish information the Governor calls for, and submit for Council consideration any matter decided by a Minister but not considered by the Council |
GovtSource: The Constitution of India, as on 1 May 2024, Part VI, Chapter II, read directly. Clause (1A) was inserted by the Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003, with effect from 1 January 2004.
Apply the cap to Rajasthan and the number is thirty. Fifteen per cent of a 200-member Assembly is 30, and that is the ceiling on the Council of Ministers including the Chief Minister. The floor of twelve is a national minimum and does not bind a House this size in practice. The 30 is arithmetic on a constitutional percentage and a published Assembly strength, not a figure printed anywhere as such.
Two clauses are quoted far less often than they are tested. Article 163(3) makes ministerial advice non-justiciable, and Article 164(4) is the six-month rule under which a non-member Minister must win a seat or go. Collective responsibility under 164(2) runs to the Legislative Assembly alone, which matters in bicameral states and is worth stating precisely even here.
3. The Legislature
Rajasthan's Legislature is the Governor and one House. Article 168(1)(a) lists the States that have a Legislative Council, and Rajasthan is not among them. The list as it now stands is Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, with the entries for Tamil Nadu, Punjab and West Bengal omitted by their respective abolition Acts. For every other State, including Rajasthan, the Legislature consists of the Governor and the Legislative Assembly.
| The House, as it stands | |
|---|---|
| Total seats | 200 |
| Bharatiya Janata Party | 118 |
| Indian National Congress | 67 |
| Independent | 8 |
| Bharat Adivasi Party | 4 |
| Bahujan Samaj Party | 2 |
| Rashtriya Lok Dal | 1 |
| Speaker | Vasudev Devnani |
GovtSource: Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, its own party-wise representation panel, read on 31 August 2026. The six party figures sum exactly to 200. Party strength changes with defections, deaths and by-elections, so this is a dated snapshot rather than a fixed fact, and it should be quoted with its date.
| Article | What it provides |
|---|---|
| 168 | For every State a Legislature consisting of the Governor and, in the listed States two Houses, in the rest one House, the Legislative Assembly |
| 170 | The Assembly shall consist of not more than 500 and not less than 60 members, chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies |
| 172 | Every Assembly continues for five years from its first meeting unless sooner dissolved; extendable during a Proclamation of Emergency by one year at a time, and not beyond six months after the Proclamation ceases |
| 178 | The Assembly chooses two of its members to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker |
| 199 | Defines a Money Bill |
| 200 | On presentation the Governor assents, withholds assent, or reserves the Bill for the President; he may return a Bill that is not a Money Bill for reconsideration, and if it is passed again he shall not withhold assent |
GovtSource: The Constitution of India, as on 1 May 2024, Part VI, Chapter III, read directly.
The second proviso to Article 200 is the one almost nobody carries. A Governor shall not assent to, but shall reserve for the President, any Bill that would so derogate from the powers of the High Court as to endanger the position that Court is designed to fill. That is not a discretion; it is a duty, and it is the only Bill the article compels him to reserve.
In the Council of States, Rajasthan has ten seats. That is entry 17 of the Fourth Schedule, which allocates Council of States seats to each State and Union territory under Articles 4(1) and 80(2).
One structural fact about the 200 constituencies is worth carrying. The Assembly's own digital museum describes the state's districts as "divided into 200 constituencies" and gives that count of districts as 33. The constituencies still rest on the pre-2023 district map, because assembly boundaries are redrawn by delimitation and not by the creation of districts. A district reorganisation does not redraw a constituency.
4. The High Court
The constitutional frame first.
| Article | What it provides |
|---|---|
| 214 | There shall be a High Court for each State |
| 215 | Every High Court is a court of record with power to punish for contempt of itself |
| 216 | Every High Court consists of a Chief Justice and such other Judges as the President may from time to time deem it necessary to appoint |
| 217 | Judges are appointed by the President by warrant, and hold office until the age of 62 |
| 233 | District judges are appointed, posted and promoted by the Governor in consultation with the High Court; a person not already in Union or State service needs seven years as an advocate or pleader and the High Court's recommendation |
GovtSource: The Constitution of India, as on 1 May 2024, Part VI, Chapters V and VI, read directly. Article 217's printed text refers to the National Judicial Appointments Commission, and the same page's footnote records that the Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 was struck down by the Supreme Court on 16 October 2015. The printed words are there; the amendment that put them there is void.
The Rajasthan High Court, by the instruments that made it
| Step | Instrument or date |
|---|---|
| Five High Courts existed in the new State, at Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur (with a bench at Kota) and Alwar, with a total strength of 20 judges | before 1949 |
| A committee of B. R. Patel, Lt. Col. T. C. Puri and S. P. Sinha recommended Jaipur as capital and the High Court at Jodhpur | reported 27 March 1949 |
| The Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949 abolished the separate jurisdictions and provided a single High Court; section 10(1) directed that it "shall sit at Jodhpur" | 1949 |
| The Rajpramukh's notification fixing the inauguration date | issued 25 August 1949 |
| Inaugurated at Jodhpur, Rajpramukh Sawai Man Singh presiding, oath administered to Chief Justice Kamal Kant Verma and 11 other judges | 29 August 1949 |
| Benches at Bikaner and Kota added, for pending cases only | 3 September 1949 |
| Benches at Bikaner, Kota and Udaipur ceased; the Jaipur bench continued | from 22 May 1950 |
| Under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, section 50 abolished the Part B State High Courts and section 49 established the High Court of Rajasthan; the President declared Jodhpur the principal seat from 1 November 1956 | 1956 |
| A committee of P. Satyanarain Rao, V. Vishwanathan and B. K. Gupta, constituted 10 and 11 July 1957, recommended keeping the capital at Jaipur and the seat at Jodhpur, and abolishing the Jaipur bench | reported 26 February 1958 |
| The Jaipur bench was abolished | 1958 |
| The High Court of Rajasthan (Establishment of a Permanent Bench at Jaipur) Order, 1976, made by the President under section 51(2) of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, after consulting the Governor and the Chief Justice | 8 December 1976 |
GovtSource: Rajasthan High Court, "History of the Rajasthan High Court", read directly. This is the Court's own account of the decisions that fixed its seat.
The principal seat is Jodhpur and the permanent bench is at Jaipur, and the sequence above is why: Jodhpur was chosen in 1949, confirmed in 1956 and confirmed again in 1958, while Jaipur's bench was created in 1949, abolished in 1958 and re-created by presidential order in 1976.
The 1976 Order gave the Jaipur bench a defined territorial jurisdiction, over cases arising in Ajmer, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dhaulpur, Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar, Baran, Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Sikar, Tonk and Dausa. The Chief Justice retains a discretion to direct that any case or class of cases from those districts be heard at Jodhpur instead.
On the sanctioned strength. The Court's history page states a sanctioned strength of 50 judges. The page carries no date and is signed by a former Chief Justice, so the figure should be quoted as the Court's own statement rather than as a current establishment number.
5. Subordinate courts and the Advocate General
District judges are the hinge between the two systems. Article 233 puts their appointment, posting and promotion with the Governor, in consultation with the High Court, and requires an outside entrant to have seven years at the Bar and the High Court's recommendation. Neither limb belongs to the Governor alone, and the consultation requirement is what keeps the subordinate judiciary within the High Court's control.
| Article 165 | The Advocate General for the State |
|---|---|
| 165(1) | The Governor appoints a person qualified to be appointed a Judge of a High Court |
| 165(2) | Duty to advise the State Government on legal matters and perform such other legal duties as the Governor refers or assigns |
| 165(3) | Holds office during the pleasure of the Governor and receives such remuneration as the Governor may determine |
GovtSource: The Constitution of India, as on 1 May 2024, Article 165, read directly.
Two features of the office are asked against the Attorney-General's. The Advocate General's qualification is that for a High Court judge, not a Supreme Court judge, and his remuneration is fixed by the Governor rather than by statute. Article 177 gives him the right to speak in, and take part in the proceedings of, the Houses of the State Legislature, though not to vote.
6. Nowadays — what changed in 2026
Covering 1 January to 31 August 2026. Updated every month until Prelims and Mains.
The party position is a snapshot and is dated on the page
The Assembly's party-wise panel was read on 31 August 2026 and is reproduced with that date. Party strength moves with by-elections, defections and deaths, and a figure quoted without its date cannot be checked.
What has not changed
The constitutional provisions in sections 1, 2, 4 and 5 are those of the Constitution as on 1 May 2024, which is the Ministry of Law and Justice's current published text. No amendment affecting Part VI has been carried into a later edition reached for this chapter.
The Jaipur bench's jurisdiction is still the 1976 Order's list of districts, which names fifteen districts on the pre-2023 map. No revised jurisdiction order on the 41-district framework was located, and the districts created in 2023 are not separately named in it.
The principal seat is still Jodhpur.
Important for RAS
Prelims Focus
- Article 154 vests the executive power of the State in the Governor; Article 163 requires the Council of Ministers to aid and advise him
- Governor: appointed by the President (155), holds office during the President's pleasure (156), five-year term, minimum age 35 and Indian citizen (157)
- Oath before the Chief Justice of the High Court (159), not the President
- Article 161 pardon power, limited to matters within the State's executive power
- Article 164(1A): Ministers including the Chief Minister not to exceed 15 per cent of the Assembly, minimum twelve. For Rajasthan's 200-member House the ceiling is 30
- Article 164(2): collective responsibility to the Legislative Assembly; 164(4): the six-month rule; 164(3): oaths administered by the Governor in the Third Schedule forms
- Article 163(3): ministerial advice is not justiciable
- Rajasthan is unicameral — it is not in the Article 168 list of States with Legislative Councils
- Assembly: 200 seats; Article 170 sets the range at 60 to 500; Article 172 the term at five years
- Rajasthan has 10 seats in the Council of States, entry 17 of the Fourth Schedule
- Article 200's second proviso: the Governor must reserve for the President any Bill derogating from the High Court's powers
- High Court judges retire at 62 (217); the NJAC amendment was struck down on 16 October 2015
- Rajasthan High Court inaugurated at Jodhpur on 29 August 1949; first Chief Justice Kamal Kant Verma, with 11 other judges; five predecessor High Courts with 20 judges
- Jaipur bench abolished 1958, re-established by the Order of 8 December 1976 under section 51(2), States Reorganisation Act, 1956
- Article 233: district judges appointed by the Governor in consultation with the High Court; outside entrants need seven years at the Bar
- Advocate General: appointed by the Governor, qualified to be a High Court judge, holds office during pleasure (165); Article 177 gives him the right to speak in the House
Interview and Mains Angles
- Article 154 vests executive power in the Governor and Article 163 requires him to act on advice. Where in that gap does a Governor's discretion actually live, and what has narrowed it?
- The Constitution caps a state's Council of Ministers at 15 per cent of the Assembly. What problem was the Ninety-first Amendment solving, and did the cap solve it?
- The Jaipur bench was created, abolished and re-created across twenty-seven years. What does that sequence show about how judicial access and regional politics interact in a large state?
- Article 200's second proviso compels a Governor to reserve a Bill that would weaken the High Court. Why is that the one reservation the Constitution makes mandatory?
- The 200 assembly constituencies still rest on a 33-district map while the state administers 41 districts. What follows for representation, and what would change it?
Aggregator Watch
Claims below circulate in coaching notes, question banks and aggregator sites for this topic. They are listed only where they are either absent from this chapter or in conflict with it. None has been confirmed against a primary source by us. Carry them as "what the aggregators say" so an option in a paper does not surprise you — do not treat them as established, and do not build a Mains answer on them.
| Aggregator claim | Status here |
|---|---|
| 34 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and 25 for Scheduled Tribes in the Rajasthan Assembly | Not verified here. The Assembly's own reserved-representation page loads its table dynamically and served no figures in the page source read, so neither number could be confirmed from the Assembly itself. The total of 200 is confirmed and is on this page; the reservation split is not |
| The Rajasthan High Court's sanctioned strength quoted as a current figure | The Court states 50, and the page is undated. It is reproduced here as the Court's own statement rather than as a current establishment number. A sanctioned strength changes by notification, and no dated notification was reached |
| NJAC provisions described as governing High Court appointments | The amendment was struck down. The Constitution's current print still carries the NJAC wording in Article 217, and the footnote on the same page records that the Ninety-ninth Amendment was struck down by the Supreme Court on 16 October 2015. The collegium position is the operative one |
| The Governor's five-year term stated without qualification | Incomplete rather than wrong. Article 156(3) makes the five years expressly subject to the foregoing provisions, which include 156(1), holding office during the President's pleasure. Both clauses belong in the answer |
| Assembly party numbers quoted without a date | They move. The figures on this page were read on 31 August 2026 and sum exactly to 200. By-elections, defections and deaths change them, and an undated party figure cannot be checked |
| The Jaipur bench's jurisdiction given on the 41-district map | The 1976 Order names fifteen districts on the older map. No revised jurisdiction order covering the districts created in 2023 was located, and none is invented here |
| Article 165 described as requiring Supreme Court judge qualification for the Advocate General | It requires the qualification for a High Court judge. The Supreme Court qualification belongs to the Attorney-General under Article 76, and the two offices are routinely conflated |
Practice
- Every RAS Prelims Geography question, 2013–2024 — the geography unit's official questions, kept here until this unit has a question bank of its own.
More in This Series
- Political and Administrative System of Rajasthan — the unit index
- Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and the State Finance Commission — the three tiers and the money that reaches them
- Integration of Rajasthan — where the capital and the High Court's seat were settled, and the Rajpramukh's office ended
- Caution for Readers — the claims across this site that are genuinely unsettled
Sources & Verification
Written on 31 August 2026. Every constitutional provision on this page is read from the Ministry of Law and Justice's own text of the Constitution, and every Rajasthan-specific fact from the institution concerned.
1. The constitutional text is a dated edition and the date is part of the citation. The Constitution of India as on 1 May 2024, published by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Legislative Department, 402 pages, was downloaded and read directly. Articles are quoted from it rather than paraphrased, and clause numbers are given so that any quotation can be checked against the article.
2. One printed provision is void and the page says so where it appears. Article 217's text refers to the National Judicial Appointments Commission. The footnote on the same page of the official text records that the Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014, which inserted that reference, was struck down by the Supreme Court on 16 October 2015. Quoting the words without the footnote would present a dead letter as live law.
3. Two figures on this page are arithmetic and are marked as arithmetic. That 15 per cent of a 200-member Assembly is 30 is a calculation on a constitutional percentage and a published Assembly strength, not a figure printed anywhere. So is the observation that the six party figures sum exactly to 200, which is offered as a check on the snapshot rather than as a finding.
4. One source host fails the usual link test and the failure is recorded. assembly.rajasthan.gov.in returns HTTP 200 for pages that do not exist, so a 200 from that host proves nothing. The Assembly page cited here was confirmed by reading its content, not by its status code. The Constitution PDF and the High Court history page were each checked against a deliberate 404 control on their own hosts and both passed.
5. A figure the state publishes was deliberately not asserted. The split of reserved seats between Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is widely quoted as 34 and 25. The Assembly's reserved-representation page builds its table dynamically and served no figures in the source read, so neither number is carried. The total of 200 is confirmed and printed; the split is in the Aggregator Watch.
Links were checked and resolving on 31 August 2026, each against its final URL rather than its first.
Not asserted here: the reserved-seat split; a current sanctioned strength for the High Court, as distinct from the figure the Court's own undated page states; any Jaipur bench jurisdiction on the 41-district map; the names of current office-holders other than the Speaker shown in the dated snapshot; and the administrative machinery below the political executive, which is the next chapter.
