The governor is a constitutional head of the state. Though in most matters he has to act on the advice of the council of ministers, he can exercise discretion in some cases. The Constitution does not specify these matters but the matters in which he can act without the advice of the council of ministers are: selection of Chief Minister if no political party has a clear-cut majority or does not have an acknowledged leader; dismissal of a ministry if he is convinced that it has lost majority support; dissolving the legislative assembly; reservation of certain bills for the consideration of the president; submission of report to the president regarding failure of Constitutional machinery of the state.

It is for the governor to decide whether a particular matter falls within his discretion or not, and the Constitution stipulates that the courts cannot call in the question the matters in which the governor chooses to use his discretion.

Thus, it is quite clear that the governor ordinarily has to act as a constitutional ahead but then, extraordinary situation may give him opportunities to exercise his powers according to Article 163.

There is also a lot of controversy regarding the discretionary powers of the governors. There are some commentators who observe that the governor has not discretionary powers excepting that of the governor of Nagaland, who has to act at his discretion without consulting his council of ministers.

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But there are others who feel that the governor does possess some discretionary powers. It is the governor himself who decides, at his discretion, as to in which sphere he shall act at his discretion and in which field he shall act on the advice of the council of ministers. Thus, the governor has a wide scope to determine his discretionary powers.