Duration of Houses

 Lok Sabha has a fixed term of 5 years and can be dissolved by the President
earlier if there is a majority.
 The original Constitution had a term of Lok Sabha as 5 years. 42nd (A)
Act(1976) changed to 6 years. It was changed to 5 years by Constitution 44th
Amendment Act 1978.
 Rajya Sabha has an indefinite term and not subject to dissolution (Article 83).
The term of an Individual Rajya Sabha member is 6 years and one third of its
members retire every two years, in accordance with provisions as prescribed by
the parliament of India.
 While a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, 5 year period for Lok
Sabha may be extended by Parliament by law for a period not exceeding one
year at a time and not exceeding in any case beyond a period of six months
after the Proclamation has ceased to operate.
 Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution
2

 Art 85. Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution.—(1) The

President shall from time to time summon each House of Parliament to
meet at such time and place as he thinks fit, but six months shall not
intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed
for its first sitting in the next session.
 (2) The President may from time to time— (a) prorogue the Houses or
either House; (b) dissolve the House of the People
 Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution
3

 The Constitution of India has imposed the duty upon the President that he must
summon each house at such intervals that the maximum time gap between two
sessions of the parliament is 6 months. So the parliament must meet atleast twice
a year.
 Prorogation is end of a session. The time between the Prorogation and reassembly
is called "Recess".
 Prorogation: The termination of a session of Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha by an
order made by the President under article 85(2) (a) of the Constitution is called
Prorogation. A prorogation puts an end to a session and not the Lok Sabha itself.
 Dissolution: Dissolution may take place either by end of 5 year term of Lok
Sabha or the end of term as extended by emergency or by an order of President
as mentioned in article 85 (2)
4

 Adjournment: Adjournment refers to postponement of the further

transaction of the business for specified time. Adjournment terminates
the sitting of the House which meets again at the time appointed for
the next sitting.
 Adjournment sine die: Adjournment sine die refers to termination of a
sitting of the House without any definite date being fixed for the next
sitting.
5

Consider the following statements:

1. The President of India can summon a session of Parliament at such place as he/she
thinks fit
2. The Constitution of India provides for 3 sessions of Parliament in a year, but it is not
mandatory to conduct the 3 sessions
3. There is no minimum number of days, the Parliament is required to meet in a year
Which of the above statements is/ are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 2 and 3 only
6

Answer C
7

With reference to the Parliament of India, consider the following statements:

1) Prorogation of a House by the President of India does not require the advice of
the Council of Ministers.
2) Prorogation of a House is generally done after the House is adjourned sine die
but there is no bar to the President of India prorogating the House which is in
session.
3) Dissolution of the Lok Sabha is done by the President of India who, save in
exceptional circumstances, does so on the advice of the Council of ministers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2
c) 2 and 3
d) 3 only
8

Answer C
 Officers of Parliament
9

 Art 89. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of

States.—(1) The Vice- President of India shall be ex officio
Chairman of the Council of States.
 The Council of States shall, as soon as may be, choose a member by
simple majority of the Council to be Deputy Chairman
10

 Art 90. Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the office of Deputy
Chairman.—A member holding office as Deputy Chairman of the Council of
States— (a)shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the
Council;
 (b) may at any time, by writing under his hand addressed to the Chairman,
resign his office; and
 (c) may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Council passed by
a majority of all the then members of the Council: (effective majority)
 Provided that no resolution for the purpose of clause (c) shall be moved
unless at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention to move
the resolution.
11

Art 91. Power of the Deputy Chairman or other person to perform the duties of
the office of, or to act as, Chairman.—
 While the office of Chairman is vacant, or during any period when the Vice-
President is acting as, or discharging the functions of, President, the duties of
the office shall be performed by the Deputy Chairman,
 If the office of Deputy Chairman is also vacant, by such member of the
Council of States as the President may appoint for the purpose.
 During the absence of the Chairman from any sitting of the Council of States
the Deputy Chairman, or, if he is also absent, such person as may be
determined by the rules of procedure of the Council, or, if no such person is
present, such other person as may be determined by the Council, shall act
as Chairman
 For this purpose panel of six vice-chairman is nominated by the Chairman. It
is not mentioned in Constitution, but as per rules of RS
 Vice President Removal Resolution-Role of Chairman
12

 Art 92. At any sitting of the Council of States, while any resolution
for the removal of the Vice-President or Deputy Chairman is under
consideration, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman shall not
preside, though he is present.
 The Chairman shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to
take part in the proceedings of, the Council of States while any
resolution for the removal of the Vice-President from his office is
under consideration but shall not be entitled to vote at all on such
resolution or on any other matter during such proceedings.
 Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the
13
People
 Art 93-The House of the People shall choose two members of the House
to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker by simple majority
 The institutions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker originated in India in
1921 under the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1919
(Montague—Chelmsford Reforms).
 In 1921, the Frederick Whyte was appointed by the Governor-General
of India as the first Speaker of the central legislative assembly.
 In 1925, Vithalbhai J. Patel became the first Indian and the first elected
Speaker of the central legislative assembly.
14

 Upto the 9th Lok Sabha, both the Speaker and the Deputy
Speaker were usually from the ruling party. Since the 10th Lok
Sabha(1991), there has been a consensus that the Speaker
comes from the ruling party (or ruling alliance) and the post of
Deputy Speaker goes to the main opposition party.
 Conditions of the office of Speaker/Deputy Speaker
15

 Art 94. Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of Speaker and Deputy
Speaker.— A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of the
People— (a)shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the House of the
People;
 (b) may at any time, by writing under his hand addressed, if such member is the Speaker,
to the Deputy Speaker, and if such member is the Deputy Speaker, to the Speaker, resign
his office; and
 (c) may be removed from his office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a
majority of all the then members of the House(effective majority): Provided that no
resolution for the purpose of clause (c) shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice
has been given of the intention to move the resolution:
 Provided further that, whenever the House of the People is dissolved, the Speaker shall not
vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the House of the People
after the dissolution
 17th Lok Sabha dissolved on June 5, 2024 but Mr Om Birla continued as speaker till immediately
before the first meeting of 18th Lok Sabha on June 24, 2024
16

Art 95. Power of the Deputy Speaker or other person to perform the duties of the
office of, or to act as, Speaker.—
 While the office of Speaker is vacant, the duties of the office shall be performed
by the Deputy Speaker or,
 if the office of Deputy Speaker is also vacant, by such member of the House of
the People as the President may appoint for the purpose.
 During the absence of the Speaker from any sitting of the House of the People
the Deputy Speaker or, if he is also absent, such person as may be determined
by the rules of procedure of the House, or, if no such person is present, such
other person as may be determined by the House, shall act as Speaker
 For this purpose ten Chairmen is nominated by LS Speaker – not under constitution
but as per rules of LS
 Pro-tem speaker
17

 The first meeting after the election

when the Speaker and the Deputy
Speaker are elected by members of
the Parliament is held under a senior
member of Parliament called Pro-tem
Speaker
 One of the Senior most leadesr is
appointed as Pro-tem speaker by
President, so that he can carry on the
activities till the permanent speaker is
chosen. (Brahtuhari Mahtab)
 Speaker Removal Resolution-Role of Speaker
18

 Art 96. At any sitting of the House of the People, while any resolution
for the removal of the Speaker from his office is under consideration,
the Speaker, or while any resolution for the removal of the Deputy
Speaker from his office is under consideration, the Deputy Speaker,
shall not preside, though he is present
 The Speaker shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take
part in the proceedings of, the House of the People while any
resolution for his removal from office is under consideration in the
House and shall be entitled to vote only in the first instance as a
normal member
 Salaries and allowances of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman and the
Speaker and Deputy Speaker
19

 Art 97.There shall be paid to the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman
of the Council of States, and to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker
of the House of the People, such salaries and allowances as may be
respectively fixed by Parliament by law
 Independence of Speaker
20

 Till the 17th Century, the British Crown got the House of Commons (equivalent of
our Lok Sabha) to elect a person whom it wanted as the Speaker. However, since
middle of 19th Century, the Speaker is considered to be an impartial chairman of
the House of Commons.
 In Britain, the Speaker once elected to his office, resigns from the political party
to which he belonged. In subsequent elections to House of Commons, he seeks
election not as a member of any political party but as a Speaker of the House.
 In our Constitution, while the Tenth Schedule allows a speaker to resign from their
political party on being elected to the office of Speaker, it has been never done
by any speaker till date. Further, the Speaker contests and gets elected in a Lok
Sabha election from a constituency as a member of political party
 Similar process to that of Britain may be followed or atleast Speaker’s can resign
from their political party once elected to that post to demonstrate impartiality.
21

 “Once a speaker, always a speaker’! Do you think the practice should

be adopted to impart objectivity to the office of the Speaker of Lok
Sabha? What could be its implications for the robust functioning of
parliamentary business in India. (Mains 2020)
22

With reference to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, consider the following
statements:
While any resolution for the removal of the speaker of the Lok Sabha is under
consideration
1) He /she shall not preside.
2) He/She shall not have the right to speak.
3) He/She shall not be entitled to vote on the resolution in the first instance
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
23

Answer A
 Conduct of Business
24

 Art 99. Oath or affirmation by members.— Every member of either House

of Parliament shall, before taking his seat, make and subscribe before the
President, or some person appointed in that behalf by him, an oath or
affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third
Schedule.
 Art 100. Voting in Houses, power of Houses to act notwithstanding
vacancies and quorum.— (1) Save as otherwise provided in this
Constitution, all questions at any sitting of either House or joint sitting of the
Houses shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present
and voting, other than the Speaker or person acting as Chairman or
Speaker. The Chairman or Speaker, or person acting as such, shall not vote
in the first instance, but shall have and exercise a casting vote in the case of
an equality of vote
25

 (2) Either House of Parliament shall have power to act notwithstanding

any vacancy in the membership thereof, and any proceedings in
Parliament shall be valid notwithstanding that it is discovered
subsequently that some person who was not entitled so to do so voted
or otherwise took part in the proceedings.
 (3) Until Parliament by law otherwise provides, the quorum to
constitute a meeting of either House of Parliament shall be one-tenth
of the total number of members of the House.
 Leaders of Parliament
26

 Leader of House – PM is leader of house of which he is a member. In

other house, the PM nominates a member as leader of that house.
 Manmohan Singh (RS)/ Pranab Mukherjee & Sushil kumar Shinde (LS)
 Narendra Modi (LS) / J P Nadda(RS)

 Leader of Opposition – Largest party after the ruling party in each

house
 Presently Mallikarjun Kharge in RS and in LS – Rahul Gandhi
 Legislative Procedure
27

 Art 107. Provisions as to introduction and passing of Bills.— (1)

Subject to the provisions of articles 109 and 117 with respect to
Money Bills and other financial Bills, a Bill may originate in either
House of Parliament.
 (2) Subject to the provisions of articles 108 (joint sitting) and 109
(money bill), a Bill shall not be deemed to have been passed by the
Houses of Parliament unless it has been agreed to by both Houses,
either without amendment or with such amendments only as are
agreed to by both Houses.
 Ordinary Bill
Suggest Amendments

Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha Initiate The Other House

Agree
Initiating House Accept
President for Assent

28
29

 (3) A Bill pending in Parliament shall not lapse (expire) by reason of

the prorogation of the Houses.
 (4) A Bill pending in the Council of States which has not been passed
by the House of the People shall not lapse on a dissolution of the
House of the People
 (5) A Bill which is pending in the House of the People, or which having
been passed by the House of the People is pending in the Council of
States, shall, subject to the provisions of article 108, lapse on a
dissolution of the House of the People.
30

• When houses are prorogued

• Bill introduced and pending in Rajya Sabha
does not lapse when Lok Sabha is dissolved
Bills don't lapse
• Bill passed by both houses and pending with
President for assent does not lapse when Lok
Sabha is dissolved

• Bill pending in Lok Sabha on dissolution of

Lok Sabha
Bills lapse
• Bill passed in Lok Sabha and pending in Rajya
Sabha on dissolution of Lok Sabha
 HOW A BILL BECOMES AN ACT (Legislative
31
Procedure)
 A Bill is the draft of a legislative proposal.
 It has to pass through various stages before it becomes an Act
of Parliament.
 (A)First Reading
 The legislative process starts with the introduction of a Bill in either House
of Parliament—Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
 A Bill can be introduced either by a Minister or by a private member. In
the former case it is known as a Government Bill and in the latter case it
is known as a Private Member’s Bill.
 It is necessary for a member-in-charge of the Bill to ask for leave to
introduce the Bill. If leave is granted by the House, the Bill is introduced.
32

 If the motion for leave to introduce a Bill is opposed, the Speaker may
allow brief explanatory statement to be made by the member who
opposes the motion and the member-in-charge who moved the motion.
 Where a motion for leave to introduce a Bill is opposed on the ground that
the Bill initiates legislation outside the legislative competence of the House,
the Speaker may permit a full discussion thereon.
 Thereafter, the question is put to the vote of the House. If the permission is
granted the bill is introduced. Usually for Government bills, there is no
opposition and the bill gets introduced without any problem.
33

 Publication in Gazette
 After a Bill has been introduced, it is published in the Official Gazette.
 Even before introduction, a Bill might, with the permission of the
Speaker, be published in the Gazette.
 In such cases, leave to introduce the Bill in the House is not asked for
and the Bill is straightaway introduced.
34

 Reference of Bill to Standing Committee

 After a Bill has been introduced, Presiding Officer of the concerned
House can refer the Bill to the concerned Standing Committee for
examination and make report thereon.
 If a Bill is referred to Standing Committee, the Committee shall
consider the general principles and clauses of the Bill referred to them
and make report thereon.
 The Committee can also take expert opinion or the public opinion who
are interested in the measure.
35

 After the Bill has thus been considered, the Committee submits its
report to the House.
 The report of the Committee, being of persuasive value shall be
treated as considered advice given by the Committees.
36

 (B)Second Reading
 The Second Reading consists of consideration of the Bill which is in two
stages.
 First Stage: The first stage consists of general discussion on the Bill as a
whole when the principle underlying the Bill is discussed.
 At this stage it is open to the House to refer the Bill to a Select
Committee of the House or a Joint Committee of the two Houses or
to circulate it for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon or to
straightaway take it into consideration.
37

 If a Bill is referred to a Select/Joint Committee, the Committee

considers the Bill clause-by-clause just as the House does.
 Amendments can be moved to the various clauses by members of the
Committee.
 Second Stage: The second stage of the Second Reading consists of
clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill as introduced or as reported
by Select/Joint Committee.
 Discussion takes place on each clause of the Bill and amendments to
clauses can be moved at this stage.
38

 Amendments to a clause are put to the vote of the House before

the relevant clause is disposed of by the House.
 The amendments become part of the Bill if they are accepted by a majority
of members present and voting.
 (C)Third Reading
 Thereafter, the member-in-charge can move that the Bill be passed. This
stage is known as the Third Reading of the Bill.
 At this stage the debate is confined to arguments either in support or
rejection of the Bill without referring to the details thereof further than that
are absolutely necessary.
39

 In passing an ordinary Bill, a simple majority of members present and

voting is necessary.
 But in the case of a Bill to amend the Constitution, a majority of the
total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-
thirds of the members present and voting is required in each House of
Parliament.
 Bill in the other House
 After the Bill is passed by one House, it is sent to the other House for
concurrence with a message to that effect, and there also it goes
through the stages described above except the introduction stage.
40

• Introduced with the permission of the house

First • Speaker or Chairman may refer the Bill to Standing Committee
Reading • Standing Committee gives report after consulting public or experts

• General discussion after which house may refer to Select Committee

Second • Select Committee will consider clause by clause and suggest amendments
Reading • House will consider clause by clause and pass amendments

• Member-in-charge can move that the Bill be passed

Third • Debate confined to overall arguments in support or rejection of the bill
Reading • Once passed by one house, bill goes through the stages in other house
except introduction stage
41

 If both the Houses agree, then sent to President

 If disagreement, then joint sitting and if passed, sent to President
42

 Role of Union Legislature

 Legislative functions of Parliament
◼ 16th Lok Sabha spent 32% of its time in legislative debates which was higher than
previous averages (25%).
◼ But only 25% of bills were referred to committees as against 71% and 60% in the
15th and 14th Lok Sabha
◼ 17th Lok Sabha – only 16% being referred to committees.
◼ Criticism for pushing through important bills without debate
◼ With return of coalition government hopefully more bills will be referred to
committees
43

 Role of Parliament is diminishing

 Party politics rather than individual leaders
 Xth Schedule

 Executive being more powerful and capturing peoples imagination

44

Lapse of Bills PORBandar does not lapse • Prorogation – Not

All other lapse on dissolution lapse
of LS • Originated and
pending in Rajya
Sabha – Not lapse
• Both houses passed
and pending with
President – Not lapse
• Pending in Lok Sabha
or pending in RS after
passed by LS lapses
on dissolution of LS
45

Various Stages of First Stand up, then Select one by • First Reading – Bill may be
passage of a bill one and finally pass it on. referred to Standing
Committee by Speaker or
Chairman.
• Second Reading – Select
committee may be
constituted by the House
and clause by clause
amendments are passed in
the House.
• Third Reading – Overall
passage of the Bill by the
house and transmitting it
to other house.
46

Consider the following statements :

1. The chairman and the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha are not the members
of that house.
2. While the nominated members of the two houses of the parliament have no voting
right in the presidential election, they have the right to vote in the election of the vice
President.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A]1 only
[B]2 only
[C]both 1 and 2
[D]Neither 1 nor 2
47

Answer: B
The Vice-President of India is ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha
also chooses from amongst its members, a Deputy Chairman.
· President: Elected members of parliament (MPs from Lok Sabha as well as Rajya
Sabha). Elected members of State legislative assembly, including that if NCT of
Delhi and Pondicherry
· Vice President: Vice President is elected indirectly, by an electoral college
consisting of members (both elected and nominated) of both houses of the
Parliament
48

With reference to the Parliament of India, consider the following statements:

1. A private member’s bill is a bill presented by a Member of Parliament who is not
elected but only nominated by the President of India.
2. Recently, a private member’s bill has been passed in the Parliament of India for the
first time in its history.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
49

Answer D
50

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1.A Bill pending in the Lok Sabha lapses on its prorogation.

2.A Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha, which has not been passed by the Lok Sabha, shall
not lapse on dissolution of the Lok Sabha.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
51

Answer B
Prorogation does not affect the bills or any other business pending before the
House.
It is the pending notices (other than those for introducing bills) lapse on prorogation
and fresh notices have to be given for the next session. So, 1 is incorrect.
52

Consider the following statements?

1. In the first Lok Sabha, the single largest party in the opposition was the Swatantra
Party.
2. In the Lok Sabha, a "Leader of the Opposition" was recognised for the first time in
1969.
3. In the Lok Sabha, if a party does not have a minimum of 75 members, its leader
cannot be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
53

Answer B
54

With reference to the Deputy speaker of Lok Sabha, consider the following statements:
1) As per the Rules of procedure and conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, the election of the
Deputy speaker shall be held on such date as the Speaker may fix.
2) There is a mandatory provision that the election of a candidate as Deputy Speaker of Lok
Sabha shall be from either the principal opposition party or the ruling party.
3) The Deputy Speaker has the same power as of the Speaker when presiding over the sitting
of the House and no appeal lies against his rulings.
4) The well-established parliamentary practice regarding the appointment of Deputy Speaker is
that the motion is moved by the Speaker and duly seconded by the Prime Minister.
Which of the above statements is are correct
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 1, 2 and 3
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 2 and 4 only
55

Answer A
56

Mains
1. The role of individual MPs (Members of Parliament)
has diminished over the years and as a result healthy
constructive debates on policy issues are not usually
witnessed. How far can this be attributed to the anti-
defection law which was legislated but with a different
intention?