Parliament (Part-III)

Parliament (Part-I)

Parliament (Part-II)

Legislative Procedure in Parliament

About: The legislative procedure is identical in both the Houses of Parliament. Every bill has to
pass through the same stages in each House.
Bill: A bill is a proposal for legislation that becomes an act or law when duly enacted.
Types of Bills: Bills introduced in the Parliament are of two kinds; public bills
(government bills) and private bills.
Classification: The bills introduced in the Parliament can be classified into four categories:

Ordinary bills: concerned with any matter other than financial subjects.
Money bills: concerned with financial matters like taxation, public expenditure,
etc.
Financial bills: concerned with financial matters (but are different from money
bills).
Constitution Amendment Bills: concerned with the amendment of the provisions
of the Constitution.

Types of Bills
Public Bill Private Bill
It is introduced in the It can be introduced by any
parliament by a minister. member of the parliament
other than a minister.
It reflects the policies of the It reflects the mood of the
government (ruling party). political party on public
matters.
It has a greater chance to be It is less likely to be passed
passed by parliament. by the parliament.
Its introduction in the house Its introduction in the house
requires 7 days notice. requires a prior notice of one
month.
It is drafted by the concerned Its drafting is the responsibility
department in consultation of the members concerned.
with the Law department.

Classification of Bills

Ordinary Bills

About: Every ordinary bill has to pass through the following five stages in the Parliament before it
 finds a place on the Statute Book.
First Reading: It can be introduced in either House of Parliament either by a minister or by
any other member. The bill is published in the Gazette of India.

The introduction of the bill and its publication in the Gazette constitute the first reading
of the bill.
Second Reading: It is the most important stage in the enactment of a bill and involves three
more sub-stages:

Stage of General Discussion: At this stage, the House can take any one of the following
four actions:

It may take the bill into consideration immediately or on some other fixed date.
It may refer the bill to a select committee of the House.
It may refer the bill to a joint committee of the two Houses
It may circulate the bill to elicit public opinion.
Committee Stage: This committee examines the bill thoroughly and in detail, clause by
clause.

It can also amend its provisions, but without altering the principles underlying it.
Consideration Stage: The House, after receiving the bill from the selected committee,
considers the provisions of the Bill clause by clause.

Each clause is discussed and voted upon separately.

Third Reading: At this stage, the debate is confined to the acceptance or rejection of the
bill.
If the majority of the members present and voting accept the bill, the bill is regarded as
passed by the House.

A bill is deemed to have been passed by the Parliament only when both the Houses
have agreed to it, either with or without amendments.
Bill in the Second House: In the second House, the bill passes through all the three stages.
The second House may:

Pass the bill as sent by the first house (i.e., without amendments).

In such a case, the bill is deemed to have been passed by both the Houses and is
sent to the president for his assent.
Pass the bill with amendments and return it to the first House for
reconsideration.
Reject the bill altogether.
Not take any action and thus keep the bill pending.

If the second House rejects the bill altogether or does not take any action for six
months; a deadlock is deemed to have taken place for which the president can
summon a joint sitting of the two Houses.
Assent of the President: Every bill after being passed by both Houses of Parliament either singly
or at a joint sitting is presented to the President for his assent. The President may:

Give his assent to the bill.

Withhold his assent to the bill.
Return the bill for reconsideration of the Houses. Thus, the President enjoys only a
“suspensive veto.”

Money Bills & Financial Bills

Characteristics Money Bills Financial Bills
Financial Bill-I Financial Bill-II
Constitutional Article 110 deals with Article 117(1) deals Article 117(3) deals
Provisions: money bills. with Finance Bill with Finance Bills-II
Deals ‘only’ with the Also deals with matters Contains provisions
provisions of Article 110. of general legislation involving expenditure
(along with provisions of from Consolidated
article 110). Fund of India but are
not included in Article
110.
Certification of S/He decides whether a No Certification No Certification
Speaker: bill is a money bill or not. required. required.
Introduced in: Only in Lok Sabha. Only in Lok Sabha. In both houses.
President’s Needed to introduce Required Not required
Recommendation: them.
Bills in Rajya Sabha: Cannot be amended or Can be amended or Can be amended or
rejected. rejected. rejected.
President’s Power: Can either accept or Can return it for Can return it for
reject a money bill but reconsideration. reconsideration.
cannot return it for
reconsideration.
Joint Sitting of the No provision to resolve The President can The President can
Houses: the deadlock. summon. summon.

Constitutional Amendment Bills

About: As per the Constitution of India, Constitution Amendment Bills can be of three types
requiring:

A Simple majority for their passage in each House.

A Special majority for their passage in each House
A Special majority for their passage and ratification by Legislatures of not less than
one-half of the States by resolutions to that effect passed by those Legislatures.
House of Introduction: Under article 368, it can be introduced in either House of Parliament and
has to be passed by each House by special majority.

There is no provision of joint sittings on a Constitution Amending Bill (or in a Money Bill).

Joint Sitting Of Two Houses

About: Joint sitting is extraordinary machinery provided by the Constitution to resolve a

deadlock between the two Houses over the passage of a bill.
Conditions of Deadlock: A deadlock is deemed to have taken place under any one of the
following three situations:

If the bill is rejected by the other House.

If the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the bill.
If more than six months have elapsed from the date of the receipt of the bill by the
other House without the bill being passed by it.
Applicability: The provision of joint sitting is applicable to ordinary bills or financial bills only and
not to money bills or Constitutional amendment bills.

In the case of a money bill, the Lok Sabha has overriding powers, while a Constitutional
amendment bill must be passed by each House separately.
Role of Speaker: The Speaker of Lok Sabha presides over a joint sitting of the two Houses
and the Deputy Speaker, in his absence.

If both are absent, the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha presides.

Quorum: The quorum to constitute a joint sitting is one-tenth of the total number of
members of the two Houses.
Instances of Joint Sittings: Since 1950, the provision regarding the joint sitting of the two
 Houses has been invoked only thrice. The bills that have been passed at joint sittings are:

Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1960.

Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill, 1977.
Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002.

Parliamentary Privilege

About: Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of
Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their
functions”.

When any of these rights and immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of
privilege and is punishable under law of Parliament.
Privileges in the Constitution: The Constitution (Article 105 for Parliament and Article 194
for State Assemblies) mentions two privileges, i.e. freedom of speech in Parliament and right of
publication of its proceedings.
Provisions in the Rule Book: Rule No 222 in Chapter 20 of the Lok Sabha Rule Book and
correspondingly Rule 187 in Chapter 16 of the Rajya Sabha rulebook governs the parliamentary
privileges.

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