PARLIAMENT

According to Article 79, the Parliament consists of the President,

the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People
(Lok Sabha). Though, the President is not a member of either of
the house, he is an integral part of it.
RAJYA SABHA
 Maximum Strength 250 (Out of these, President nominates 12 members amongst persons
having special knowledge or practical experience in the fields of literature, science, art
and social service).
 Presently, the Parliament, by law has provided for 233 seats for the States and the Union
Territories. The total membership of Rajya Sabha is 245.
 All the states and only 2 Union Territories, Delhi and Puducherry are represented in the
Rajya Sabha.
 Representatives of the state are elected by members of State Legislative Assemblies on
the basis of proportional representation through a single transferable vote. States are
represented on the basis of their population.
 There are no seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Rajya Sabha.
 Conditions to be a member of Rajya Sabha are as follow – Citizen of India. – 30 years of
age. – Be a parliamentary elector in the state in which he is seeking election. – Others as
prescribed by Parliament from time-to- time. – For 6 years, as one-third members retire
every 2 years.
 Vice-President is the Ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He presides over the proceedings
of the Rajya Sabha as long as he does not act as the President of India during a vacancy in
the office of the President of India.
 Also a Deputy Chairman is elected from among its members.
 In Rajya Sabha any bill can originate, apart from Money Bill (including budget).
 Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution unlike Lok Sabha.
Special Powers of the Rajya Sabha
 A resolution seeking the removal of the Vice-President can originate
only in the Rajya Sabha.
 If the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a majority of not less than
two-third of the members present and voting that it is necessary in the
national interest that Parliament should make laws with respect to any
matter enumerated in the State List. It shall be lawful for Parliament
to make law for a period of not more than 1 year. (Article 249).
 If the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a majority of not less than
two-third of the members present and voting, then it is necessary in
the national interest to create one or more All-India services,
Parliament by law, provides for such service or services. (Article 312)
LOK SABHA
 Maximum Strength 550 + 2 (530 : States, 20 : UTs)
 Present Strength of Lok Sabha (543 +2)
 Lok Sabha is not a permanent body and is subject to dissolution.
 The normal tenure of the Lok Sabha is 5 years, but it may be dissolved earlier by the
President. The life of the Lok Sabha can be extended by the Parliament beyond the 5
years term, when a proclamation of emergency under Article 352 is in force. But the
Parliament cannot extend the normal life of the Lok Sabha for more than 1 year at a
time, but in any case such extension cannot continue beyond a period of 6 months after
the proclamation of emergency comes to an end.
 Quorum for Either House Article 100 (c) 1/10 of the total number of members.

Conditions to be a Member of Lok Sabha

 Citizen of India and at least 25 years of age.
 Must not hold any office of profit.
 He must not unsound mind/insolvent.
 He must registered voter in any parliamentary constituency.
 A member can be disqualified
– if he voluntarily gives up the membership of party.
– if he over rules the ‘whip’.
– if he remains absent for 60 days without intimation.
SPEAKER
 Presiding officer in Lok Sabha is the Speaker (in his/her absence, Deputy Speaker). The
members among themselves elect him/her.
 The Speaker continues in office even after the dissolution of the Lok Sabha till a newly
elected Lok Sabha meets. Speaker sends his resignation to Deputy Speaker.
 Usually the Speaker, after his election cuts-off all connections with his party and acts in
an impartial manner. He does not vote in the first instance, but exercises his casting
vote only to remove a deadlock.
 Charges his salary from the Consolidated Fund of India.
 The majority of the total membership can remove speaker after giving a 14 days notice.
During this time, he does not preside over the meetings. After his removal, continues in
office till his successor takes charge.
Powers and Functions of Speaker
 The Speaker presides at the meetings of the house of the people as well as joint sitting of
two Houses of Parliament.
 The Speaker gives permission to the members to speak in the house.
 If the Quorum (presence of only one-tenth of the total strength of the house) is not
complete, the Speaker can adjourn the House.
 He decides as to whether a Bill is a Money bill or not.
 He appoints the Chairman as well as Deputy Chairman of all the committees of the house.
Speaker takes the final decision as to disqualifying a member on grounds of defection.

Pro-Tem Speaker
The President appoints a seniormost member of the newly-elected Lok Sabha as the Pro-Tem
Speaker. He has all the powers of the speaker. He presides over the first sitting of the newly-
elected Lok Sabha and administer oath to the new members. When the new Speaker is elected
by the House, the office of the Pro-Tem Speaker ceases to exist.
Deputy Speaker
 The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the Vice-Presiding Officer of the Lok Sabha,
the Lower House of Parliament of India. He acts as the Presiding Officer in case of
leave or absence caused by death or illness of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
 He holds office till either he ceases to be a Member of the Lok Sabha or he himself
resigns from the Lok Sabha. He can be removed from office by a resolution passed in
the Lok Sabha by a majority of its members. He is supposed to resign from his original
party because as a Deputy Speaker, he has to remain impartial.

Special Powers of Lok Sabha

 Money and the financial bills originate only in Lok Sabha. The confidence and no
confidence motions can be introduced in Lok Sabha only.
 Article 352 says that the Lok Sabha in a special sitting can disapprove the
continuance of National Emergency, even when the Rajya Sabha rejects such a
resolution.
Sessions of Parliament
 Begins with the consent of the President.
 Gap between two sessions should not be more than 6 months.
 The Parliament generally meets in three sessions in a year which are as follow
Budget Session (February-May)
 The budget session was usually held from February to May every year.
 It is considered to be a highly crucial session of the Parliament.
 The Budget is usually presented on the last working day of the month of February.
 Here, the members discuss the various provisions of the budget and matters concerning
taxation, after the Finance Minister presents the budget.
 The budget session is generally split into two periods with a gap of one month between them.
 This session every year starts with the President’s Address to both Houses.
Monsoon Session (July-August).
 The monsoon session is held in July to September every year.
 This is after a break of two months after the budget session.
 In this session, matters of public interest are discussed.
Winter Session (November-December)
 The winter session of Parliament is held in mid-November to mid-December every year.
 It is the shortest session of all.
 It takes up the matters that could not be considered upon earlier and makes up for the
absence of legislative business during the second session of the Parliament.
Joint Session
 It is ordered by the President to consider a particular bill in case
i. bill passed by one house and rejected by the other.
ii. the amendments made by the other house are not acceptable to the house
where the bill originated.
iii. when a bill remains pending or unpassed for more than 6 months.
 Joint session of Parliament is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. In
his absence, by the Deputy Speaker, or in his absence by the Deputy Chairman of
Rajya Sabha or in his absence any other member of the Parliament who is
acceptable to both the houses.
 Deadlock over the bill is resolved by a majority of the members of both the
Houses of Parliament present and voting.
 The Lok Sabha has larger membership.
 No fresh amendment can be done in joint session.
 There is no provision of joint session for passing Money Bills and Constitutional
Amendment Acts.
 In Indian history, only three bills have been referred to the joint sitting
1. Dowry Prohibition Bill — 1961
2. Banking Service Commission Bill — 1978
3. POTA Bill — 2002
Termination of Sitting
The sitting of a house may be terminated by
 Dissolution The Lok Sabha is subject to dissolution. Dissolution takes place
when the President exercises his power under Article 85(2). It can be
dissolved on the expiry of its term of 5 years.
 Prorogation It means the termination of a session of the house by an order
made by the President under Article 82(2)(a) of the Constitution.
 Adjournment It does not put an end to the existence of a session of
Parliament, but it merely postpones the further transaction of business for
a specified time, hours, days or weeks. Adjournment generally does not
have any effect on pending business

 Question Hour The first hour of a sitting of the Lok Sabha devoted to
questions and that hours is called the Question Hour.
The question are of three kinds
1. Starred 2. Un-starred 3. Short notice
 Zero Hour The period follows the question hours and it starts at the noon
and its duration is one hour (from 12 noon to 1 pm). During the Zero Hour
various issues of public importance are raised without prior notice.
Conduct of Law in Parliament
The proposal for a law is called bill. Until a bill is passed through a proper procedure, it cannot
be a law or an act. Only Speaker of Lok Sabha decides whether the bill is a Money Bill or an
Ordinary Bill.
Ordinary Bill
 All the bills other than financial bills, money bills and the Constitutional Amendment are
ordinary bills.
 An Ordinary Bill can be introduced in any of the two houses of Parliament and also introduced
by either a minister of the government or any member of the house.
Money Bill
 No Money Bill can be introduced without the consent of the President of India. (Article 110).
 It can be introduced only in Lok Sabha. The speaker certifies a bill to be a Money Bill and his
decision is final in this regard. (Article 110)
 Money Bills relate to bills seeking imposition or abolition of taxes, matters pertaining to
borrowing of money by the government, custody and maintenance of consolidated funds etc.
 When the Money Bill is passed by the Lok Sabha, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha for its
recommendations. Rajya Sabha can delay, it only for 14 days. Its final approval lies with Lok
Sabha only.
Financial Bill
 Any bill dealing with revenues or expenditure, but not certified as, Money Bill by the speaker
is a Financial Bill.
 Financial Bill can be introduced only on the recommendation of President.
Parliamentary Committees
Committees have been created so that members of Parliament can discuss and debate on
the working of a certain department of the government.
 Most of the committees function under the direction of the Speaker and essentially of
the Lok Sabha.
 Members of the Rajya Sabha are associated with all the committees except the
Estimates Committee.
 The Chairman of all the committees (except the Joint Committees on Salaries and
Allowances of MPs) are appointed by the Speaker from amongst the members of the
committees.
 In case, Speaker is a member of a committee, he becomes Ex-officio chairman of the
committee.
 Committees are classified under two heads : Standing Committee and Adhoc
Committee. Adhoc Committees are created for a temporary period.
 The Standing committees are broadly classified into the following categories :
Committees of Enquires, Committees to Scrutinise, Financial Committees,
Committees of Administrative Character, Committees with provision of facilities to
member.
 The Financial Committees of Parliament are Estimates Committees, Public Accounts
Committees, Committee on Public Undertaking and 24 Departmental Related
Committees.
 The Public Accounts Committee was set-up first in 1921 under the Provision of
the Government of India Act of 1919. At present, it consists of 22 members (15
from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha). Since, 1967 a convention has
developed whereby the Chairman of the Committee is selected invariably form
the opposition.
 The origin of the Estimates Committee can be traced to the standing Financial
Committee set-up in 1921. The first Estimates Committee was set-up in 1950.
It has 30 members, all from the Lok Sabha only.
 The Committee on Public Undertakings was created in 1964 on the
recommendations of the Krishna Menon Committee. It has 22 members (15
from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha).
 In 1983, 17 Department Related Standing Committees were set-up. In 2004, 7
more committees were set-up. Thus, total 24 committees exists as of today.
The Accounts of Government
Consolidated Fund of India [Article 266 (1)]
 All revenues received by the government by way of taxes like income tax, central excise,
customs and other receipts flowing to the government in connection with the conduct of
government business i e. ., non-tax revenues are credited into the Consolidated Fund
constituted under Article 266 (1) of the Constitution of India.
 Similarly, all loans raised by the government by issue of public notifications, treasury bills
(internal debt) and loans obtained from foreign government and international institutions
(external debt) are credited into this fund. All expenditure of the government is incurred
from this fund and no amount can be withdrawn from the fund without authorization
from the Parliament (in effect that of Lok Sabha).

Contingency Fund of India (Article 267)

 The Contingency Fund of India records the transactions connected with Contingency
Fund set by the Government of India under Article 267 of the Constitution of India.
 This fund acts more or less like an imprest account of Government of India and is held
on behalf of President by the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of
Finance, Department of Economic Affairs.
Public Account [Article 266(2)]
 In the public account, constituted under Article 266 (2) of the Constitution,
the transactions relate to debt other than those included in the Consolidated
Fund in India. The transactions under debt, deposits and advances in this
part are those in respect of which government incurs a liability to repay the
money received or has a claim to recover the amounts paid.
 The receipts under public account do not constitute normal receipts of
government. Parliamentary authorization for payments from the public
account is therefore not required.
Centre State Relations (Articles 245 to 263)
It deals with the relations between Union and States. The Centers and States
are an essential feature of federalism.

Legislative Relation
 Article 249 Power of Parliament to Legislative in the national interest.
 Article 250 During a proclamation of emergency Parliament shall have
power to make laws for whole or any part of the territory.
 Article 253 Parliament power to legislate for giving effect to the treaties
and international agreements.

Administrative Relation
 Article 260 Jurisdiction of the union in relation to territories outside India.
 Article 263 Provisions with respect to an Inter-state council.

Financial Relation
 Article 268 Duties levied by union but collected by state.
 Article 269 Taxes levied and collected by union but assigned to the state.
 Article 280 Financial Commission
COMMISSION ON CENTRE-STATE RELATION
 Setalvad Committee, 1966
 Raja Mannar Committee, 1969
 Sarkaria Commission, 1983
 Punchhi Commission, 2007
NATIONAL PARTY
It should secure not less than 6% of the total valid votes polled in its state
during a general election. Besides, it has attained atleast 4 members to Lok
Sabha.
STATE PARTY
It should secure not less than 6% of the total valid votes in that state in that
General Election, besides attaining atleast two members to the Legislative
Assembly of that state at the last Assembly elections.
EMERGENCY PROVISIONS
Types of Emergency
The President is empowered to promulgate three kinds of emergencies which are as follow
i. On the ground of threat to the security of India or of any part of the territory by war or
an external aggression or an armed rebellion (Article 352) known as National Emergency.
ii. On the ground of the failure of the constitutional machinery in a state. (Article 356)
known as the President’s Rule or State Emergency.
iii. On the ground of threat to the financial stability or credit of India or any part of the
territory (Article 360), known as Financial Emergency.

Effects of Financial Emergency

 The Executive Authority of the center extends to directions as the President may deem
necessary and adequate for the purpose.
 It may include a provision requiring the reduction of salaries and allowances of public
servant the reservation of all Money Bills for the consideration of the President.
 The President may issue direction for the reduction of salaries and allowance of union
servants or the Judge of Supreme Court and High Court.
 Thus, during Financial Emergency, the center acquires full control over the states in
financial matters.
 During the operation of Financial Emergency the executive authority of the union extends
to the giving of directions to any state to observe such canons of financial propriety as
may be specified on the directions.
THE JUDICIARY
 We have an integrated judicial set-up (taken from 1953 Government of India Act) in
our country. The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document.
 It’s Part V and Part VI dealing with Union and State Governments respectively.
 Indian Constitution has established an integrated judicial system with the Supreme
Court at the top.
 Judiciary is independent of other two organs of the state i.e., executive and
legislature.
 Judiciary is a part of the democratic structure of the country. It is therefore,
democratic traditions and to the people of the country

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

 It is the highest court of justice in India. Having one Chief Justice + Not more than
30 other judges (after Amendment, earlier 25).
 The judges hold the office up to the age of 65 years.

Qualifications
 A citizen of India.
 Any person who has been a judge of a High Court for 5 years or an
eminent jurist or has been a practicing advocate in High Court for 10
years.
Functions
 It has important power of judicial review.
 It hears certain appeals of civil and criminal cases from the High
Court.
 It hears disputes between the Union Government and the states
and between states.
 It can issue writs for the enforcement of any of the Fundamental
Rights conferred by the Constitution.
 It has advisory jurisdiction and it also functions as court of record.

Removal of a Judge
 A Judge of Supreme Court can only be removed from office by an order
of the President after an address by each House of Parliament
supported by a majority of the total membership of the house and by a
majority of not less than 2/3rd of the members present and voting on
the ground on (i) proved misbehavior and (ii) incapacity.
 The Constitution of India has ensured that
– they can be removed by Parliament (by complex procedure).
– after retirement, they cannot practice in any Indian Court.
Salary
 Salary is given from consolidated fund which is not deducted (except
during financial emergency).
 Chief Justice’s salary ` 1 lakh.

Independence of Judges
 Decisions and actions of judges cannot be criticised.
 Any type of conduct of judges cannot be discussed in Parliament except
in the case of removal.
 Chief Justice of India is appointed on seniority basis.

Jurisdiction
The functions and responsibilities of the Supreme Court are defined by the
Constitution.
The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court may be categorized as
Original Jurisdiction
 Disputes between the Government of India and one or more states.
 Dispute between the Government of India and one or more states on one
side and one or more state on the other side.
 Disputes between two or more states (e g. ., Kaveri water dispute
between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry).
Public Interest Litigation
SP Gupta vs Union of India Case, 1982, Supreme Court held that any
member of the public can approach the courts for violation of Fundamental
Rights of others, (who may not have sufficient resources to reach the
courts), even through a post card, PN Bhagwati and VR Krishna Ayer were
the prominent justices to have laid down the conditions for such appeals,
popularly called PIL. But PILs must work for public interest alone.

WRIT JURISDICTION
For the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights
 Habeas Corpus It implies that a person imprisoned or detained by the law can
enquire from the court of law, under what authority he has been imprisoned or
detained.
 Mandamus Literally means a ‘command’ issued by the court commanding a person
or a public authority to do or forbade to do something in the nature of public duty.
 Quo Warranto An order issued by the court to prevent a person from holding office
to which he is not entitled and to oust him from that office.
 Certiorari It is a writ, which orders the removal of a suit from an inferior court to
superior court or to squash the order of lower court.
 Prohibition By a higher court to stop proceedings in a lower court on the ground of
overstepping of jurisdiction or isolation of the rules of natural justice.
Advisory Jurisdiction (Article 143)
As the highest court in the country, the Supreme Court can be consulted by the
President on certain issues, if the President feels that an important legal
question or fact of public interest has come to him he can ask the Supreme
Court for its advice. The Supreme Court in such cases would consider it and
give its opinion to the President, but such an opinion is not binding on the
President.

Appellate Jurisdiction
Three types of appeal can be made to the Supreme Court, which are as follow
i. There can be an appeal against any decision or order of a High Court, if the
High Court gives a certificate that it involves some question of interpretation
of the Constitution.
ii. (There can be an appeal against civil cases decided by a High Court, if the
High Court gives a certificate that the case involves a substantial question of
law.
iii. In respect of criminal cases too there can be an appeal to the Supreme
Court. If a High Court has on appeal reversed an order of acquittal of an
accused person and sentenced him to death or if by withdrawing a case from
the lower court to itself it has sentenced a person to death, one can go for
an appeal to Supreme Court.
Revisory Jurisdiction (Article 137)
The Supreme Court can review any judgement given by itself. The
Supreme Court is also given the power under our Constitution to
transfer a case that is being decided in any court and bring it to itself.
If it feels that an important question of law is involved, Parliament can
confer on the Supreme Court more powers by passing a law.

Election Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court has obligation to decide on the disputes regarding the
election of the President and the Vice-President.

Court of Record (Article 129)

All the decisions and proceedings of the Supreme Court are kept as records
and are quoted as precedents in the court. The court can punish for its
own contempt, if any one does not abide by its decision. So, the Supreme
Court is called a ‘Court of Record’.