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The primary function of Parliament is law making. Arts. 107 to 122 of the constitution deal with the legislative procedure with reference to the passing of the Bills in the Parliament. The procedure is similar and identical in both the House and the Bills have to pass through the same stages in each House.
Bills may be classified under four heads viz. Ordinary, Money, Financial and Constitutional Amendment Bills. Money and Financial Bills cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha. They can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. The other Bills can be introduced in either house of the Parliament. Bills are of two types viz., Government and Private Members’ Bills. Money, financial and an Ordinary Bill under Art. 3 can be introduced only on the recommendation of the President. It means they cannot be introduced as Private Member’s Bills. The legislative procedure adopted for passing Government and Private Members’ Bills is the same.
The different stages in the legislative procedure in the Parliament relating to Bills other than Money Bills are as follows: -
The first stage of legislation is the introduction of a Bill embodying the provisions of the proposed law, accompanied by the ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’.
If a private member wishes to introduce a Bill, he must give one months notice of his intention to introduce the Bill. The person who wishes to introduce the Bill seeks the permission of the House to do so. Usually the introduction of a Private Member’s Bill is not opposed and the request is generally granted by the House. If the House is in favour of the introduction of the Bill, then it goes to the next stage.
After the Bill has been introduced in the House it is published in the Gazette of India. The introduction of the Bill and its publication is the Gazette constitutes the first Reading of the Bill.
In the Second Readings the principles of a Bill are discussed in thoroughness, and the treasury and the opposition members make speeches in support or against the principles of the Bill.
The Second Reading, is divided into two stages. The first stage consists of a general discussion of the principles of the Bill and the second stage relates to discussion of clauses, schedules amendments.
There are four alternative courses of action open at the second stage: (a) the Bill may be taken into consideration at once: (b) the Bill may be referred to a Select committee of the House: (c) the Bill may be referred to a Joint Committee of the Houses, and (d) the Bills may be circulated for the purpose of eliciting public opinion on it.
If the Bill is referred to the Select Committee or Joint Committee it is expected to give its report within a specified date. The committee considers the Bill in detail and proposes amendments as it this fit. The Committee may give a unanimous report or a majority report.
The committee submits its report to the House. The report and the Bill as amended by the Committee are printed and made available for the use of members of the House. This is called the report stage of the bill. The Bill is then taken up for consideration, clause by clause. Each clause is placed before the House for discussion and amendments may be moved. The clause-by-clause consideration is often long. This is the stage when the Bill undergoes substantial changes should they be found necessary.
The Third Readings the final Reading. It is more or less a formal affair. The debate is confined to the acceptance or rejection of the Bill. The Bill is submitted to the vote to the House and has to be accepted or rejected in toto.
After the Bill has been accepted by the House in the Third Readings it is deemed to have been passed by the House. It is then transmitted to the other House where it has to pass through the same process. The other House has four alternatives before it. These are: (i) it may pass the Bill with no amendment. In that case, the Bill will be returned to the Originating House. If the House, which originated the Bill, accepts the Bill as amended by the other House, it will be deemed to have been passed by both the Houses. However, if the Originating House does not agree to the amendments as to the amendments between the two Houses the President may summon a joint sitting of the two Houses to resolve the deadlock (Art.108); (iii) It may reject the Bill altogether. Then the President may under Art.108 summon a joint sitting to resolve the deadlock; (iv) It may take no action on the Bill by keeping it lying on it table. In such a case if more than six months elapse from the date for reception of the Bill, then it is deemed that there is a deadlock between the Houses and the President may summon a joint sitting of the Parliament.
If after a Bill has been passed by one House and transmitted to the other House — (a) the Bill is finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the Bill, or (c) more than six months have elapsed from the date of reception of the Bill by the other House without the Bill being passed by it, the President may summon then to meet in a joint sitting for the purpose of deliberating and voting on the Bill. But no joint sitting can be summoned to resolve a deadlock in case of a Money Bill or a Constitutional Amendment Bill. A Joint sitting of the Parliament is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or in his absence the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha or in the absence of the Deputy Speaker, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or in his absence any other member of the Parliament who is agreed upon by the Houses. The deadlock over a Bill in a joint sitting is resolved by a majority of the total number of members of both Houses, present and voting. Since the Lok Sabha has a larger membership, in a joint sitting, generally the bill in a joint Sabha prevails. After the passage of a Bill in a Joint sitting it is presented to the President for his assent.
After a Bill has passed through both the House or through a joint sitting of the Parliament or it is ratified by not less than half of the State legislatures the case may be, it is presented to the President for his assent. If it is a Money Bill or a Constitutional Amendment Bill, he has to give his assent to the Bill. But in case of a Bill other than both the House passes a Money or Constitutional Amendment Bill again, with or without amendment as recommended by the President, it is sent to the President for the second time. At this stage the President cannot withhold his assent. And the Bill after receiving the assent of the President becomes an Act.
Under Art. 110 of the Constitution, a bill is deemed to be a Money Bill if, it exclusively deals with any or all often following matters: (a) the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax; (b)the regulation of borrowing of money by the Government; (c) the custody of the consolidated Funds or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of money into or the withdrawal of money from any such fund; (d) the appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India; (e) the declaring of any expenditure to the expenditure charged on the consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure; (f) The receipt or withdrawal or custody of public account of India or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a State or (g) any matter incidental to any of the matters specified above.
If any question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is final. His decision in this respect cannot be questioned in a court of law, or by either House of the Parliament or by the President. A Money Bill cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha (Art. 109). This means it can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. It cannot be introduced without the recommendation of the President. After the Lok Sabha passes it, it is transmitted to the Rajya Sabha with the endorsement of the Speaker that it is a Money Bill, for its recommendations. The Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend a Money Bill by virtue of its own powers. It has only a recommendatory role to play in the passing of Money Bill. After receiving a Money Bill from the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha within a period of fourteen days must return the Bill to the Lok Sabha with or without any recommendations. The Lok Sabha may or may not accept any or all the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha.
If the Lok Sabha accepts any of the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha, the Money Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by both Houses with the amendments recommended by the Lok Sabha does not accept any of the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha, the Money Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by both Houses in the form in which it is passed by the Lok Sabha without any of the amendments recommended by the Rajya Sabha. If a Money Bill passed by the Lok Sabha and transmitted to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations in not returned to the Lok Sabha within the said period of fourteen days, it shall be deemed to have been passed by both the House at the expiration of fourteen days, in the form in which it was passed by the Lok Sabha (Art. 109)
After a Money Bill is passed by the Parliament, with the endorsement of the Speaker that it is a Money Bill, it is presented to the President for his assent. The President cannot send back a Money Bill to the reconsideration of the Parliament; he shall give his assent to the Money Bill.
A Money Bill solely contains any or all the matters set out in Art. 110 of the Constitution. Whereas a Financial Bill, apart from containing any or all the matters enumerated under Art. 110, included other matter or matters as well. A financial Bill, like a Money Bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, that too on the recommendation of the President. Since it includes other matters too, the Rajya Sabha has equal powers and can reject or amend it by virtue of its own powers. The President may also send a Financial Bill for the reconsideration of the Parliament once.
Article 85 imposes a Constitutional duty on the President to summon each House of the Parliament at such intervals the six months do not interview between its last sittings in one session. Therefore, the Parliament must meet at least twice a year. The President has the power to summon or prorogue either or both House of Parliament. The Power of adjournment belongs to the respective presiding officers. Adjournment or a House does not terminate the session of the House. It merely postpones the proceeding of the House to a future date. But prorogation brings an end to a session of the House.
There are generally 3 sessions a) Budget Session (Feb to May), b) Monsoon Session (Jul to Sep), and c) Winter Session (Nov to Dec) of Parliament organized every year. But time frame between two sessions can’t be more than 6 months i.e. Parliament shall meet at least two times in a year.
Summoning – The President summon each house of Parliament before meeting. The time period b/w two sessions is called Recess.
Adjournment – Each day of meeting of Parliament after summoning of a session is divided into two sittings, Morning (11am to 1pm) and Evening (2pm – 6pm). The adjournment is basically a device to terminate sitting of Parliament for specified time such as hours, days or weeks.
Adjournment Sine Die – It is used to terminate meeting of Parliament for unspecified time or indefinite period and generally used due to disturbing elements. The power of adjourned is lie with Presiding officer of the house and he can recall meeting anytime even before specified time of meeting.
Prorogation – The Presiding Officer (Speaker) declares the house adjourned sine die when business of session is completed. After that in few days, the President issues a notification of Prorogation of the session. The only difference is that after it all pending notices (exclude bills and related) lapsed on prorogation of the session. In Britain, end of session means end of all pending bills and business.
Quorum – It means minimum number of members required to be present for the sitting of either of house of Parliament. This number is 1/10th of total membership of the house i.e. 55 for LS and 25 for RS.
Languages – Initially, the constitution has declared English and Hindi to be languages for transacting business in Parliament but English shall ceases to be used after 15 yrs. The Official Languages Act (1963) allows English to be continued along with Hindi. The Presiding officer can allow a member to speak in his mother tongue but in both houses there shall be arrangement for simultaneous translation.
Lame Duck Session – the members of LS who could not get re-elected to LS are called lame ducks. The last session of existing LS of that members is called Lame duck Session.
Dissolution of LS – It happens after completion of general term (5yrs but can be extended in case of emergency) or when majority party lose confidence in LS or majority party resigns. In any of case, President can dissolve LS and call for new election. The status of pending bills after dissolution are as follows:-
The Financial system consists of two branches, viz., revenue and expenditure. Art. 265 states that no tax can be levied or collected except by authority of law. The Executive, therefore, cannot impose any tax without the sanction of the Parliament. All the revenue and loans raised by the authority of law are paid into the Consolidated Fund of India. Under Art. 266 no money can be withdrawn spent or appropriated from the Consolidated Fund or India without the sanction of the Parliament. The Parliament, thus, controls the revenue expenditure and appropriation of Government funds. The Executive cannot spend or appropriate public revenue or raise revenue without the sanctions of the Parliament.
After introduction of the Budget the Lok Sabha discusses the demands for grants (i.e., proposed expenditure) of various Ministries and Departments and are approved by it, one by one. All the expenditure approved through various demands for grants and expenses charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, are then presented in the form of a single Bill called the “ Appropriation Bill”. The proposals for taxation to raise revenue are presented in the form of “Finance Bill”. Both the aforesaid two Bills are Money Bills and are passed accordingly.
It is Fund to which all the revenue, loans raised and income of the Government of India are deposited. No money can be deposited into the Consolidated Fund of India without the sanction of the Parliament. Similarly no money can be spent out of this Fund, except through the grants made by the Parliament and expenditures charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
Charged expenditures are expenditures that do not require the approval of the Parliament to the spent out of the Consolidated Fund of India. These expenditures are sanctioned either by the Constitution itself or by Acts or Parliament. According to Article 112(3) the following are some of the charged expenditures on the Consolidated Fund of India.
(a) The emoluments and allowances of the President and other expenditures relating to his office.
(b) The salaries and allowances of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the Speaker and the Deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha;
(c) Debt charges for which the Government of India is liable.
(d) Salaries, allowances and pensions payable to the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts and the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
(e) Any other expenditure declared by the Constitution or by Parliament by law to be so charged.
This fund was created in 1950 by an Act of Parliament on the basis of powers provided under Art. 267. It has a limit of 50 crore. It is placed at the disposal of the President to meet unforeseen expenditures where the Parliament’s approval cannot be obtained owing to time factor. However, the sanction of the Parliament is necessary to replenish the Fund from the Consolidated Fund of India. For example, when the sixth Lok Sabha was dissolved in 1979, the President sanctioned funds from the Contingency Funds of India to meet the expenditure of the seventh Lok Sabha elections. Later with the approval of the Lok Sabha the amount spent on holding elections to the seventh Lok Sabha was transferred from the Consolidated Fund of India to the Contingency Fund of India. The States have their own consolidated and Contingency Funds.
It is the power of the Lok Sabha (not Rajya Sabha) to authorize various Ministers to incur expenditure for a part of any financial year pending the passage of Appropriation Act by the Parliament.
The President shall in respect of every year cause to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament a statement of annual expenditure and receipts of Government, which is referred as the 'annual financial statement'.
The annual financial statement is a Money Bill and hence it is first introduced in the House of the people.
The estimates of expenditure contained in the annual financial statement is of two types and both of them are shown separately.
These are:
Any other expenditure declared by Parliament to be expenditure so charged upon.
Estimates mean proposed expenditure of the government for the coming year:
The estimates related with the expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India shall not be submitted to the vote of Parliament but a discussion can take place with respect to such expenditure.
Other expenditure in the Estimates are submitted in the form of demands for grants to the vote of the House of the people. The house of the people can refuse or reduce a grant but it can not increase the amount of a grant.
The demands for grant shall be made only on the recommendation of the President.
An appropriation Bill refers to the formal sanction of the parliament to Government to make expenditure out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
After the demands for grants have been passed by the House of the people, the appropriation Bill is introduced in the House, which includes:
The grants passed by the House of the people; and
Theexpenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India.
No amendment will be proposed to the Bill at this stage because the grants included in the bill are already passed by the House of the people.
No money shall be withdrawn (except special grants under Arts. 115 and 116) from the Consolidated Fund of India except under appropriation made in accordance with the provisions of this article.
After the appropriation Bill is passed by parliament, it becomes Appropriation Act, which authorizes the government to withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund of India for expenditure.
If the amount authorised under the Appropriation Act (Art. 114) for a particular service appears to be insufficient, the president may present three kinds of grants to be sanctioned by the House of the people. These grants are:
Supplementary grants – If the money becomes insufficient for a service ;
Additional grants – If a new need or service has arisen not contemplated during the passing of Budget; and
Excess grants – If the money has been spent in excess to the amount sanctioned in a grant.
The provisions of Articles, 112, 113 and 114 shall apply in the introduction and passing of such grants by the House of the people, i.e., they are presented and passed in the like manner a budged is passed. The passing of these grants in the House of the peopleauthorizes to withdraw the moneys from the Consolidated Fund of India.
The parliament shall have power –
The passing of these grants also authorizes the government to withdraw money out of Consolidated Fund of India. The provisions of Articles 113 & 114 shall apply in making of these grants.
While the grants discussed under Article 115 empower the government to solve the problem of inadequacy of sanctioned grants, the grants mentioned under Article 116 empower the Parliament to make grants in special circumstances where the normal procedure of either passing a Budget is not complete or it can not be followed due to special nature of service and its expenditure.
Subject to the provisions of this constitution, each House of Parliament may make rule for regulating its procedure and conduct of business.
After consultation with the Chairman of the Council of States and the Speaker of the House of the people, the President may make rules with respect to the procedure for the joint sittings of both Houses.
No discussion shall take place in Parliament with respect to the conduct of any judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court except during proceeding on a motion for the removal of a judge.
Similarly, the validity of any proceeding in parliament shall not be called in question in courts.
A starred question is one to which a member desires an oral answer in the House. Answer to such a question may be followed by supplementary question by members. An Unstarred question is one to which written answer is desire by the member. No supplementary question can be asked thereon.
Normally the first hour of the business of a House every day is devoted to questions and it called question hour.
/.An adjournment motion is an extra-ordinary procedure, which, it admitted, leads to setting aside the normal business of the House for discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance.
It is a notice by which a member with the prior permission of the Speaker, call the attention of a Minister may make a brief statement or ask for time to make a statement at a later hour or date. There is no calling Attention Notice in the Rajya Sabha. Instead there exists a motion called ‘ Motion for Papers’.
They are moved in the Lok Sabha only. They are part of budgetary process, which seek to reduce the amounts for grants. Cut Motion can be classified into three categories: -
(i) Disapproval of Policy cut.
(ii) Economy cut, and
(iii) Token cut.
Policy cut. A cut motion which says “ that the amount of the demand be reduced to Re 1/-’ implies that the mover disapproves of the policy underlying the demand.
Economy cut. The object of the motion is to effect economy in the expenditure the form of the motion is “that the amount of the demand be reduce by Rs...... (A specified -amount).
Token cut. Where the object of the motion is to ventilate a specific grievance within the sphere of responsibility of the Government of India and its form is “that the amount of the demand be reduced by Rs. 100.”
When any individual of authority disregards or attacks any on the privileges and immunities whether of the Members or of the House, the offense is called a breach of privileges.
Any act or omission which obstructs or impedes either the House or the performance of the official functions of the House or any Member of the House, is called contempt of Parliament, e.g. (1) Speeches or writings reflecting on the House, its committees or members (2) Reflections on the character and impartiality of the Speaker or Chairman in the discharge of his duties (3) Publication of false or distorted report of the proceedings of the House etc.
Normally the senior most members are appointed by the President as speaker Protem. He/she presides over the house for the purpose of enabling the new members to take the oath and elect their speaker.
It is an extraordinary process which when raised has the effect of suspending the proceedings before the House and the member who is on his legs gives way. This is meant to assist the Presiding Officer in enforcing the Rules, directions and provisions of the Constitution for regulating the business of the House.
Zero hour is not recognized under the times and procedures of the Houses of Parliament. It is the period, which follows the question hour where members raise any issue of public importance on very short notice or without notice.
The Lok Sabha can have a Leader of the Opposition. In order to be elected as the Leader of the opposition, he must be the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha having at least one-tenth of the strength of the House. He enjoys the rank of a Cabinet Minister. His Office is very important. He enjoys duel responsibilities. He may find fault with the Government and suggest alternative proposals and policies. However, in moments of crisis he is expected to co-cooperate with the Government.
Name
Tenure
From
To
Jawahar Lal Nehru
15.08.1947
27.05.1964
Gulzari Lal Nanda[10]
09.06.1964
Lal Bahadur Shastri
11.01.1966
Gulzari Lal Nanda
24.01.1966
Indira Gandhi
24.03.1977
Morarji Desai
28.07.1979
Charan Singh
14.01.1980
31.10.1984
Rajiv Gandhi
01.12.1989
V.P. Singh
10.11.1990
Chandra Shekhar
21.06.1991
P.V. Narsimha Rao
16.05.1996
Atal Bihari Vajpayee[11]
01.06.1996
H.D. Deve Gowda[12]
21.04.1997
I.K. Gujral[13]
19.03.1998
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
13.10.1999
22.05.2004
Dr. Manmohan Singh
26.05.2014
Narender Modi
Till Date
G.V. Mavalankar
15.05.1952
07.02.1956
M.A. Ayyanger
08.03.1956
10.05.1957
11.05.1957
06.04.1962
Hukam Singh
17.04.1962
16.03.1967
N. Sanjiva Reddy
17.03.1967
19.07.1969
Dr. G.S. Dhillon
08.08.1969
19.03.1971
22.03.1971
01.12.1975
Baliram Bhagat
05.01.1976
25.13.1977
26.03.1977
13.07.1977
K.D. Hedge
21.07.1977
21.01.1980
Dr. Balram Jakhar
22.01.1980
15.01.1985
16.01.1985
18.12.1989
Rabi Roy
19.12.1989
09.07.1991
Shiv Raj Patil
10.07.1991
22.05.1996
P.A. Sangma
23.05.1996
23.03.1998
G.M.C. Balyogi
24.03.1998
21.10.1999
27.10.1999
03.03.2002
Manohar Joshi
10.05.2002
20.02.2004
Somnath Chatterjee
05.06.2004
2009
Meira Kumar[14]( first woman)
April, 2009
18.05.2014
Sumitra Mahajan
06.06.2014
16.06.2019
As the domain of mankind increases both in volume and variety, so has that of a State. The Legislatures of the modern times have come to perform complex and enormous quantity of work. Because of the paucity of time, a considerable amount of function of a Legislature especially the initial stage of its functions are nowadays handled by the Committees appointed or elected for such purposes. Most of these Committees function under the direction of the Speaker and submit their reports to the Lok Sabha or to the Speaker. They are essentially committees of the Lok Sabha. The Parliament Committees are generally classified under two heads viz., Standing Committees and Adhoc Committees. Adhoc Committees are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to exist after they complete the task assigned to them and submit a report to the Lok Sabha or to the Speaker. The Standing Committees are permanent Committees but whose members are either elected or appointed or nominated by the Houses of the Parliament or by the Speaker. The most important Committees with their strength in brackets are as follows: - Business Advisory Committee (15), committee on Estimates (30), Committee on Government Assurances (15) General Purpose Committee (29), House Committee (12), Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament (15), Library Committee (9), Committee on Privileges (15), Committee on Public Accounts (22), Rules Committee (15), Committee on Subordinate Legislation (15), Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribes ( 30) and 17 Departmentally related Standing Committees, etc.
The Standing committees may be conveniently classified as follows:
Member of the Rajya Sabha are associated with all the Committees except the Estimates Committee. They constitute about one third of the Strength of each Committee. They are either elected by the Rajya Sabha or nominated by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The members of the Lok Sabha are associated with all the Committees of the Parliament and whenever the members of Rajya Sabha are also associated the members of the Lok Sabha constitute about two-thirds of the strength of such Committee. They are either elected by the Rajya Sabha or nominated by the Chairmen of the Rajya Sabha. The members of the Lok Sabha are associated with all the Committees of the Parliament and whenever the members of Rajya Sabha are also associated the members of the Lok Sabha constitute about two-thirds of the strength of such committee. They are either elected by the Lok Sabha or nominated by the Speaker. The members of the Committees of the Parliament are generally elected or nominated for a term of not mote than one year. As far as possible all the parties in the Parliament are represented in the committees proportioned to their strength in the Parliament. The Committees are, therefore, microcosm of a whole house of the Parliament. The Chairman of all the committees of the Parliament except the Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament are appointed by the Speaker from amongst the members of the respective committees. In case, the Speaker is a member or a Committee, he is ex-officio Chairman of the Committee. Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament elects its own Chairman. The Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts is appointed by the Speaker amongst opposition members elected form the Lok Sabha. The mode of election of members, functions etc., of some of the important committees of the Parliament are as follows: -
The Estimates Committee consists of 30 members. all from Lok Sabha..who are elected by the Lok Sabha every year from amongst its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. This system of election ensures that each party is represented on the Committee in proportion to its strength in the Lok Sabha. The Chairman of the Committee is appointed by the Speaker from amongst the members. A Minister is not eligible to be elected as a member of the Committee, and if a member after his election to the Committee is appointed as a Minister, be ceases to be a member of the Committee from the date of such appointment. The term of office of the members of the Committee is not more than one year. The functions of the committee are: (a) to report what improvements in organization and efficiency consistent with the policy underlying the estimates, may be effected; (b) to examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates; and (c) to suggest the form in which estimates shall be presented to Parliament. The Committee may examine such of the estimates may deem fit to the Committee or are specifically referred to it by the House or the Speaker. Public Undertakings allotted to the Committee on Public Undertakings are outside the Purview of the Estimate Committee. The Committee does not go against the policy approved by the Parliament but brings to the notice of the House if a change in policy is called for.
Committee To Enquire
Committees To Scrutinize
Financial Committees
Committees Of An Administrative Character
Committees Dealing With Provision Of Facilities To Members
Committee on Petitions
Committee on Government Assurances.
Estimates Committee
Business Advisory Committee.
General Purpose Committee
Committee of Privileges
Committee on subordinate Legislation.
Public Accounts Committee
Committee on Private Members’ Bill
House Committee.
Committee on Welfare of Women and Minorities.
Committee on Papers laid on the Table of the House
Committee on Public Undertakings.
Committee on Absence of Members
Library Committee
Departmentally related Committees.
Committee of Offices of Profit.
Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances.
Rules Committee.
The Committee on Public Accounts consists of 15 members elected by the Lok Sabha every year from amongst its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. It is basically a Committee of the Lok Sabha only. But seven members of the Rajya Sabha elected by that House in like manner were later associated with the Committee. The Chairman of the Committee is appointed by the Speaker from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha elected to the Committee. By convention, the Speaker appoints a Member of the opposition as the Chairman of the Committee. A Minister is not eligible to be elected as a Member of the Committee. The term of office of the Members of the Committee is not more than one year. The Public Accounts Committee examine the accounts showing the appropriation of the sums granted by Parliament to meet the expenditure of the Government of India, the annual finance Accounts of the Government of India and such other accounts laid before the House as the committee may think fit. The committee examines also the Report of the Comptroller and auditor-General on Revenue Receipts - on relating to Direct taxes and the other relating to Indirect Taxes. The Committee, however, doesn’t examine the accounts relating to such Public Undertakings that are allotted to the Committee on Public Undertakings.
The Committee on public Undertakings consists of 15 members elected by the Lok Sabha every year from amongst its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Seven members of the Rajya Sabha elected by that House in like manner are associated with the Committee. The Chairman of the Committee is appointed by the Speaker from amongst members of the Lok Sabha elected to the Committee. A Minister is not eligible to be elected as a member of the Committee. The functions of the Committee are to examine the Reports and Accounts of the Public Undertakings specified in the Fourth Schedule of the rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Lok Sabha and the Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General thereon, if any, and to examine, in the context to the autonomy and efficiency of the public Undertakings, whether the affairs of the public undertakings, are being run efficiently and managed in accordance with the sound business principles and prudent commercial practices. The Committee may also examine such subjects or matters, which may be specifically referred to it by the House or by the Speaker.
The Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes consists of 20 members elected by the Lok Sabha every year form amongst its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Ten members of the Rajya Sabha elected by that House in like manner are associated with the Committee. The Chairman of the Committee is appointed by the Speaker from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha elected to the Committee. A Minister is not eligible to be elected as a member of the Committee. The important functions of the Committee are to consider the reports submitted by the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, to examine the representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in services of Central Government Departments, Central Public undertaking, Nationalized Banks etc., and to review the working of welfare programs for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Union Territories. The Committee also examines such other matters as may deem fit to the Committee or are specifically referred to it by the House or the Speaker. The Committee can also examine the implementation of various programs for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by State Government provided funds are made available partly or wholly by the Central Government.
From the Budget Session of 1993 onwards, the Departmentally related Standing Committee system has been introduced to secure more accountability of the Executive to the Legislature. All these years, the Demands for Grants on only a handful of Ministries and Departments of the Government of India alone had been taken up for detailed discussion during the Budgetary process and the Demands of more than 80 percent of the Ministries remained practically undiscussed. Due to paucity of time, discussions on most of the activities of Government were thus guillitoned and to that extent the government accountability to the legislature could not be secured. In order to obviate this difficulty, the Budget Committee System has been introduced.
1. The functions of each of the Standing Committees shall be: -
(a) To consider the Demands for Grants of the concerned Ministries/Departments and make a report on the same to the House. The report shall not suggest anything of the nature of cut motions;
(b) To examine such Bills pertaining to the concerned Ministries/Departments as are referred to the Committee by the chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, as the case may be, and make report there on;
(c) To consider annual reports of Ministries/Departments and make reports there on;
(d) To consider national basic long-term policy documents presented to the Houses, if referred to the Committee by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, as the case may be, and make reports there on;
2. The Standing Committee shall not consider the matters of day-to-day administration of the concerned Ministries/ departments. The following procedure shall be followed by each of the Standing Committees in their consideration of the Demands for Grants and making a report there on to the Houses: -
(a) After the general discussion on the Budget in the Houses is over, the Houses shall be adjourned for a fixed period;
(b) The Committees shall consider the Demands for Grants of the Concerned Ministries during the aforesaid period; -
(c) The Committees shall make their report within the period and shall not ask for more time;
(d) The Demands for Grants shall be considered by the House in the light of the reports of the Committees; and
(e) There shall be a separate report on the Demands for Grants of each Ministry.
The following procedure shall be followed by each of the Standing committees in examining the Bills and making report there on;
(a) The Committee shall consider the general principles and clauses of the Bills refereed to them and make report thereon;
(b) The Committee shall consider only such Bills introduced in either of the House as are referred to them by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, as the case may be; and
(c) The Committee shall make report on the Bills in given time.
There are 17 departmentally related Standing Committees with each Standing Committee covering a few Ministries under its jurisdiction. Each Standing Committee shall consist of 30 members nominated by Speaker from lok Sabha and 15 members nominated by Chairman Rajya Sabha from among members of Rajya Sabha. Chairman of 6 Committees would be nominated by Chairman of Rajya Sabha while the Chairman of all committees would be nominated by the Speaker. The term of office of Committee shall not exceed one year.
The Reports of the Standing Committees shall have only persuasive value and shall be treated as advice of the Committees. What is Private Members’ business: Every member who is not a Minister is called a Private Member. Private Members’ business includes Private Member’s Bills and Private members’ Resolutions. The Period of notice for introduction of a Bill is one month unless the presiding Officer allows introduction at a shorter notice, and that or a Resolution is two days.
17 departmental related committees were set up in 1993
In July 2004, rules were amended to provide for the constitution of seven more such committees, thus raising their number to 24.
The framework of our Parliamentary government may be criticized on three grounds. First, though we have the lengthiest Constitution in the world, its provisions relating to the framework of Parliamentary government are quite sketchy. Much has been left to the conventions prevailing in Britain and other countries having the same form of government. We have not yet been able to establish healthy traditions as a result of which the working of this form of government is ably done.
For instance, if we take a flashback of mid 80’s, the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi did not observe the practice of keeping the President well informed about the affairs of administration despite being constitutionally obliged to do so as per the terms of Article-78, and so the relationship between the two heads, the ‘dignified’ and the ‘efficient’, as termed by Walter Bagehot, became strained short of becoming an open constitutional crisis.
Second, accountability of the rulers to the ruled is the most essential requirement of a democratic system especially in a Parliamentary system like ours. But the fact of accountability exists by the side of stability of administration. In case no party gets a clear majority in the Lok Sabha and coalition governments come with the wind and go with the whirlwind, the accountability of the government of the day will become merely a farce. Moreover, India a poor nation of teeming millions cannot afford to have recurrent elections keeping in view the humongous expense involved in the elections.
For this reason, it is suggested by many responsible leaders that we should switch over to the Presidential form of government. It remained a matter of serious academic debate in the 1990s. During the period of 1989-91 we had a very sad experience of the governments under V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar who could not play the role of an effective leader on account of their weak position in the Lok Sabha. The parties that did not join the government but preferred to render support from ‘outside’ pulled the legs and so first the BJP took the toll on the V.P. Singh’s government in 1990 and then the Congress (I) did the same for the governments of Chandra Shekhar in 1991.
Lastly, over the years the position of one man (Prime Minister) became so powerful that our country came to have the same form of government what Crossman called, ‘Prime Ministerial form of Government with respect to England. The head of the government became so powerful that all other ministers became either his/her camp-followers or ‘palace guards’. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi took many decisions on her own and converted her ministers into non-entities. So was the case of her successor, Rajiv Gandhi. Similar trend cannot be given an oversight even during the regime of PM, Modi.
The Prime Minister’s Secretariat established by Shastri became Prime Minister’s Office and now the PMO has become a centre of extra-constitutional power in its own right. A glaring instance of PMO’s rise may be quoted of Rajiv Gandhi’s government when, his Defence Minister, (K.C. Pant) quoted to have said that he could not have the clearance from the PMO to see Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Keeping all this in his view, a veteran politician of India says: “The Cabinet form of government was undoubtedly twisted out of shape during the premiership of Indira Gandhi, especially after the Congress split in 1969. During the emergency it was reduced to mockery. Rajiv Gandhi has not only restored the Cabinet Government, he has further undermined it. His cronies dominate the decision-making process from outside the Cabinet; within the Cabinet, ministers are afraid to speak out their mind. Cabinet meetings are not the forum of serious discussion of policies; they are the occasions for competitive adulation of the leader.”
Things however witnessed a change for the better under the stewardship of P.V. Narasimha Rao and his successors to some extent. But the strong position of the Prime Minister has become a fait accompli.
But then, there remains the other side of the story that the Prime Minister should not be taken as a ‘dictator’ in view of the fact that the control of the Parliament is always there. Moreover, the free press has its own part to play in exposing the extra-constitutional and patently as well as latently unconstitutional activities of the working head of the state. Still a pertinent question may be raised as to:
What has made the position of the Prime Minister so unassailable? An answer to this question should be traced both in the prevailing political conditions in which opposition parties have not been able to play their part in an effective manner as we are witnessing now and also in the wrong tradition of identifying the party in power with the government as happens in a country under a totalitarian form of government. The Prime Minister is not only the head of the government and the working head of the state; he is also the supreme leader of his party having majority in the Parliament. It all makes him the supreme ruler of the country.
Our Parliament is a non-sovereign law-making body like the legislature of other countries excluding Britain. While the Constitution has accepted the principle of separation of powers and placed the Parliament in a position of its own, its powers have been circumscribed by the written provisions of the Constitution, the norms of a federal polity and above all, by the system of judicial review. The Supreme Court and the High courts have the power to declare any law of Parliament void, in part or full, if it is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution. Not only this, the Courts have also invented some other grounds to strike down a law of a Parliament as the doctrines of ‘competence’ and of ‘basic structure of the Constitution’. We know that in a parliamentary system the executive usurps the inherent functions of the Parliament. All official bills are carried through and a bill moved by a private member has hardly any chance of adoption unless it receives the blessings of the Ministers. The Parliament discusses matters included in the agenda prepared by the Business Advisory Committee in which the Prime Minister, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha play the decisive role. The voice of the Leader of the Opposition is given some weight of course, but it is the leaders of the party in power who dominate all the proceedings.
Consequently, what the Parliament discusses or may discuss is determined by the policy of the executive. The Cabinet decides about the duration of the sessions of Parliament. Above all, the Prime Minister, may advise the president to dissolve the Lok Sabha at any time. As such, the Parliament looks like a tool in the hands of the Ministers.
It, however, does not mean that in our political set up, the Parliament has become either like an ornamental institution or virtually redundant. It is true that the members of both the Houses have lost their autonomy in the name of the discipline in the ranks of the party and they have to vote in the House according to the whip issued by the party leader so as to avoid the penalty of defection amounting to the loss of their membership of House, it should not be lost sight of the fact that the deliberations of the Parliament have their own impact on the administration of the country. The criticism of the ministry compels the administration to stick to the right side or to face a situation of exit.
In case no party commands clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the ministry has to behave in a very responsible way so as to survive in the struggle for existence. The events of the last few years testify to this fact. Some Prime Ministers (like Nehru, Shastri, Indira and Rajiv) could behave like powerful rulers of the country just on account of the overwhelming strength of their party in both Houses of Parliament. But other Prime Ministers (like Morarji Desai, Chaudhry Charan Singh, V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar and Vajpayee) could not complete their term for want of support in the Lok Sabha. Happily, the recent developments indicate that our Parliament “is becoming more representative of the people of India, of the level of their political awareness, or their lack of sophistication and of their problems, hopes and aspirations.” Only worry is the continuous stalemate and din accompanied by frequent adjournments on the part of the presiding officers. Let the Parliament prove true to its institutional character as the microcosm of the world by developing some healthy practices or conventions.
Key terms
Ad Sine Die: It is an adjournment of the house without fixing any date, day or time of the next meeting or re-assembly.
Administrative Law: That part of the law, which is administered not by the ordinary courts but by special tribunals known as administrative courts. These courts only handle those cases in which state is the party. The system is not favoured by some because it makes the state a judge giving verdict in its own case.
Adult Suffrage: Means that any person who is of certain legally determined age is qualified to be a voter unless he is disqualified under a law made by appropriate legislature (Art. 324).
Annual Financial Statement: A statement made by ministry of finance in the legislature containing the probable income and expenditure of the govt. for any year.
Bill: It is a draft legislative proposal, which on enactment becomes an act and assumes the legal binding.
Ordinary Bill: A bill which can be originated in either house of the parliament and the on which the Upper house shares an equal power as that of the Lower house.
Money Bill: A bill which can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and essentially and purely relates to financial matters.
Financial Bill: A bill besides carrying the provisions related to money matters as contained in a money bill does carry some additional matters other than the money matters. This bill can also be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. But since, a financial bill does contain some other matters other than those contained in the money bill as per Article110 of the Constitution, the Rajya Sabha thus, has equal powers so far as the rejection or amending the same. Similarly, the President can also send the same for re-consideration again.
Appropriation Bill: A formal sanction of the Parliament to the Government to make expenditure out of the consolidated fund of India.
Breach of Privilege and Contempt of House: The difference lies in the body of person, which infringes the privileges. When the house collectively or a member individually is prohibited to realize its/ his privileges from within it is called breach of privilege (Art 105) and when the same is done by a person outside the house it is called contempt of the house (Art 194).
Call Attention Motion: By this motion, a member can ask for explanation from the minister on the matters of urgent public importance at short notice. The speaker is free to allow or disallow such a request.
Censure Motion: A motion, which may be moved against the individual minister a group of ministers for their failure. It may express regret, indignation of house at such failures.
Cut Motions: A motion that sees reduction in the amount of a demand presented by the govt. There are three types of cut motions.
1. Disapproval of policy cut: used to express the disapproval of the policy underlying the demand.
2. Economy cut: asks for reduction on the amount of demand by a specific amount.
3. Token cut: is a device to ventilate specific grievances within the sphere of government responsibility.
Delegated Legislation: Refers to laws or rules enacted by the executive departments under an authority delegated to them by the parliament.
Direct Taxes: The taxes which directly affect an individual for example, Income tax.
Excess Demand for Grants: The demands for excess grants are made after the expenditure has been incurred and after the financial year to which it relates has expired. (Art. 115)
Exceptional Grant: Is made for a particular or special purpose, which does not form the part of the ordinary expenditure of the financial year. No such demands have yet been presented to the parliament. (Art. 116)
Guillotine: There are occasions when the time set for a particular measure is already over inspite of the fact that the discussion on it has not been completed then a vote is taken on the motion before the house to put to vote the rest of measure without discussion. The procedure is called Guillotine.
Lame Duck Session: Refers to the sitting of the elected assembly, which continues in the office during the period between the election and the inauguration of the successor.
Point of Order: Interruption of debate etc. in the legislature with inquiry whether something being said or done is according to the rules or not. The presiding officer decided whether the point of order raised by member should be allowed.
Public Account: Money received from any other source (other than deposited in CFI) by the govt. comes under this account. Examples are pension amounts. Provident funds, Govt. can only take a loan from this account.
Special Mention: It is device to bring to the attention of house and the govt. a matter of urgent public importance that calls for immediate action.
Starred and Unstarred Questions: A starred question is one to which an oral answer is sought while a written answer is sought for the other one i.e. for an unstarred one.
Statute: Law passed by legislative body and set forth in a formal document. It refers to written as opposed to unwritten law.
Supplementary Demand for Grants: If the amount sanctioned for a particular service is insufficient during the year, additional amount is sanctioned through this statement. (Art. 115)
Vote of Credit: In the case of national emergency, house might grant a lump sum without details through vote of credit.
Zero Hour: It is the period which follows the question hour when the members raise any issue of public importance on very short notice or without notice. Not recognized under the rules and procedures of the house of parliament.
By: Parveen Bansal ProfileResourcesReport error
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