Parliamentary Committee

The work done by the Parliament in modern times is not only varied and complex in nature, but
also considerable in volume. The time at its disposal is limited. It cannot, therefore, consider all
the legislative and other matters that come up before it. A good deal of its business is, therefore,
transacted in Committees of the House, known as Parliamentary Committees

Parliamentary Committee means a Committee which is appointed or elected by the House or

nominated by the Speaker and which works under the direction of the Speaker and presents its
report to the House or to the Speaker and the Secretariat.

By their nature, Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds: Standing Committees and Ad hoc
Committees.

 Standing Committees are permanent and regular committees which are constituted from
time to time in pursuance of the provisions of an Act of Parliament or Rules of Procedure
and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. The work of these Committees is of continuous
nature. The Financial Committees, Department Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) and
some other Committees come under the category of Standing Committees.

 Ad hoc Committees are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to exist when they
finish the task assigned to them and submit a report. The principal Ad hoc Committees are
the Select and Joint Committees on Bills. Railway Convention Committee, Joint Committee on
Food Management in Parliament House Complex etc. also comes under the category of ad
hoc Committees.

Need For Parliamentary Committees:

 Thorough scrutiny of bills

 Eases work burden of the Executive as it is involved in multiple works.

 Allows detailed deliberation on the Bills in a calm atmosphere.

 Parliamentary Committees acts as vibrant link between the Parliament, the Executive and
public -through opinion seeking.

 Committees assist Legislature & Prevent Misuse of Power of Executive.

 Through Committees, Parliament exercises its control and influence over administration.

 Provides Expertise on diverse areas of legislations which helps in understanding the nuances
of any Issue at hand.

 Give opportunity to new MPs (back benchers) who do not get adequate time to speak in
Parliament.

 The committee system is designed to enhance the capabilities of MPs, enlighten them on the
whole gamut of government activity and contribute ideas to strengthen parliamentary
system and improve governance.

Challenges of Parliamentary Committees:

 Elections Parliamentary Committees Occur to annually, this often leads to continuous change
in their composition. MPs fail to develop specialization.

 Lack of adequate specialized secretariat support.

 There is no mandate in the rule of both houses of Parliament to necessarily refer bills to
Standing Committees, Government in the name of exigency. does not want bills to be
referred to Standing Committees. This often leads to lack of detailed scrutiny of a bill.

 MPs are unable to pay attention to committees as their political, social and constituencies
make a huge demand on their time. They fear that if they fail to attend to these, they will lose
election.

 Despite the committee functioning under the overall control of the presiding officers, no
mechanism for a regular assessment of performance of committees have been put in place.

Public Accounts Committee

 Significance: PAC charged with a critical function of legislature. overseeing government

finances. PAC holds ministries accountable to audit reports of the CAG, inquiries into
whether government funds were spent for purposes for which they were allocated, and
into the reasons for any excess expenditure by government bodies.

Historical Evolution

First set up in 1921 in the wake of the Montague- Chelmsford Reforms Underwent a radical
change with the coming into force of the Constitution (1950), when the PAC became a
Parliamentary Committee functioning under the control of the Speaker with a non-official
Chairman appointed by the Speaker from among the Members of Lok Sabha elected to the
Committee. The Minister of Finance ceased to be a Member of the Committee

Structure of PAC:

 PACs constituted by Parliament every year.

 Members of PAC-Consists of 22 members of which 15 are from Lok Sabha and 7 members of
Rajya Sabha elected every year according to the principle of proportional representation by
means of single transferable vote.

 Chairperson appointed by Speaker. There is convention that the Chairman is from

opposition.

 Union Minister is not eligible to be elected as a member of PAC

 The Reports of the Committee are adopted by consensus among members.

Functions:

Examine Report of CAG of accounts of the Union Government submitted by CAG to the
President. Article 151 of the Indian constitution requires the President to lay this report before
each House of the Parliament.

 In examining the report of the CAG, the committee has to satisfy itself that

 The expenditures made by the government, were authorized by the Parliament.

 That the expenditures under any head has not crossed the limits of parliamentary
authorization.

Challenges With Functioning Of PAC:

 The Committee, however, does not examine the accounts relating to such public
undertakings as are allotted to the Committee on public undertakings.

 Cannot question policies of the government. It only concerns itself with the execution of
policy on its financial aspects.

 The reports of the committee are adopted by consensus. This creates issues as dissenting
issues are usually dropped by committee.

 Challenges of reports of CAG on which PAC reports are based: increase share of government
expenditure through NGOs and Public Private Partnership which are beyond the mandate of
CAG audit.

Estimate Committee

The origin of this committee can be traced to the standing financial committee set up in 1921.
The first Estimates Committee in the post-independence era was constituted in 1950 on the
recommendation of John Mathai, the then finance minister.

Structure:

 Originally, it had 25 members but in 1956 its membership was raised to 30. All the thirty
members are from Lok Sabha only.

 The Rajya Sabha has no representation in this committee. These mem bers are elected by
the Lok Sabha every year from amongst its own members, according to the principles of
proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.

 The term of office is one year. A minister cannot be elected as a member of the committee.

 The chairman of the committee is appointed by the Speaker from amongst its members and
he is invariably from the ruling party.

The function of the committee is to examine the estimates included in the budget and suggest
economies' in public expenditure.. Hence, it has been described as a 'continuous economy
committee'. In more detail, the functions of the committee are:

 To report what economies, improvements in organisation, efficiency and administrative

reform consistent with the policy underlying the estimates, can be affected.
 To suggest alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency and economy in
administration.

 To examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the
estimates.

 To suggest the form in which the estimates are to be presented to Parliament The
Committee shall not exercise its functions in relation to such public under- takings as are
allotted to the Committee on Public Undertakings. The Committee may continue the
examination of the estimates from time to time, throughout the financial year and report to
the House as its examination proceeds.

It shall not be incumbent on the Committee to examine the entire estimates of any one year. The
demands for grants may be finally voted despite the fact that the Committee has made no
report.

However, the effectiveness of the role of the committee is limited by the following:

 It examines the budget estimates only after they have been voted by the Parliament, and not
before that.

 It cannot question the policy laid down by the Parliament.

 Its recommendations are advisory and not binding on the ministries.

 It examines every year only certain selected ministries and departments. Thus, by rotation, it
would cover all of them over a number of years.

 It lacks the expert assistance of the CAG which is available to the Public Account Committee.

 Its work is in the nature of a post- mortem.

Departmental Standing Committee:

 There are 24 Departmentally Related Standing Committees covering under their jurisdiction
all the Ministries/ Departments of the Government of India. These Committees have played
an important role in not only making the executive accountable but also providing
meaningful assistance to the executive through their comprehensive reports on important
issues. Let us investigate the constitution, composition, functions and challenges in its
functioning.

 These Subject Committees were to examine the activities of the concerned

Ministries/Departments and to report as to what economies, improvements in organisation,
efficiency or administrative reforms consistent with the policy approved by Parliament might
be effected. Apart from other functions, these Committees were to examine the Annual
Reports and Plan Projects/activities of the concerned Ministries.

 In 1993, it was finally decided to set up 17 Department-related Parliamentary Standing

Committees each consisting of 15 members of Rajya Sabha and 30 from Lok Sabha to cover
various Ministries/Departments of the Union Government to further strengthen the
accountability of the Government to Parliament.
COMPOSITION

With the addition of 7 more Committees in July 2004, the number of Department-related
Parliamentary Standing Committees was raised to 24 but with reduced membership of 10
members from Rajya Sabha and 21 members from Lok Sabha.

Jurisdiction:

 Of the total Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees, 8 were placed within

the jurisdiction of the Chairman, Rajya Sabha and 16 within the jurisdiction of the Speaker,
Lok Sabha.

 The Chairmen of the first 8 Committees are appointed by Chairman, Rajya Sabha and the
remaining 16 by the Speaker of Lok Sabha.

 Rules 268 to 277 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Conduct of States
and Rules 331 C to 331 N of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha
govern the Constitution and functioning of these Committees.

DRPSC Makes Executive More Accountable By:

 Considering the demands for grants of the relate a Ministries/ Departments and report
thereon. The report shall not suggest anything of the nature cut motions.

 Examining bill relating to Ministries/Departments, referred to Committee by Chairman or

Speaker and report thereon.

 Considering Annual Reports of Ministries/Departments and report thereon.

 Considering National Basic Long Term Policy Documents presented to the Houses, if referred
to the Committee by the Chairman or the Speaker and report on such policy documents.

STATE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

ARTICLES (168 TO 212)

The Constitution provides for a Legislature for every State. However the question as to whether
the State Legislature shall be unicameral (having one House only) or bicameral (having two
Houses), is left for each State to decide for itself.

CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE (ARTICLE 168)

Article 168 provides that where there are two Houses of the Legislature one shall be known as
the Legislative Council and the other as the Legislative Assembly, and where there is only one
House, it shall be known as the Legislative Assembly,

Creation and Abolition of the Legislative Council (Article 169):

 Article 169 contains provisions for the creation of the Legislative Council if the State
Legislature does not have a Council and also for the abolition of the Council if it exists. The
procedure is the same for both, the creation as well as abolition of the Legislative Council.

 Article 169(1) empowers Parliament to make a law for the purpose. However, Parliament
shall make a law for this purpose only on receiving a resolution of the Legislative Assembly of
the State to that effect, passed by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by
a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting.

 A law enacted by Parliament under Article 169(1) shall not be deemed to be an amendment
of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368.

Composition of Legislative Council: The Legislative Council, commonly known as Vidhan

Parishad, is the House of the State Legislature. If created under Article 169, it is instituted, as a
permanent House, in the following manner.

Article 171(1) provides that the total number of members in the legislative Council of a State shall
not exceed one-third of the total number members in the Legislative Assembly of that State, but
not less than 40 members in any case.

The composition of the Legislative Council shall be provided, by law, by Parliament. Until so
provided, the Council shall be constituted as provided in clause (3) of article 171.

 One-third of the MLCs are elected by the state’s MLAs,

 Another 1/3rd by a special electorate comprising sitting members of local governments such
as municipalities and district boards,

 1/12th by an electorate of teachers and another 1/12th by registered graduates.

 The remaining members are appointed by the Governor for distinguished services in various
fields namely, literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service.

Significance of Legislative Council:

 Institution of Checks & Balance A second chamber in states acts as an institution of checks
and balances on every Bill as it prohibits hasty, defective, careless & ill- considered legislation
made by the assembly by making provision for revision and thought.

 Ensures Diverse Representation by facilitating representation of professionals and experts

who cannot face direct elections. The governor nominates one-sixth members of the council
to provide representation to such people.

 Prevent autocracy: It puts a check on autocratic tendencies of the lower chambers.

 Reduce workload of legislative assembly: Legislative council lessens the burden of the lower
House and enables assembly to fully concentrate on measures of greater importance.

Illustration: The ruling party in Karnataka was worried to get more seats in the Legislative
council during the election because of the fear of non-passing of the anti-conversion bill in
council. This shows the Council keeps a check on hasty legislation.
Review of its Criticism:

 Superfluous and Mischievous: If a majority of the members in the upper house belong to the
same party which holds majority in the lower house, the upper house will become a mere
ditto chamber.

 Not an Effective Check: Whether a Bill is approved by the Council or not, assembly can still go
ahead after four months.

 Vested Interests: Legislative Council serves only as a stronghold of vested interests of people,
who are not interested in legislation.

 Backdoor Entrance of the Defeated Members: Legislative Council can be utilised to

accommodate discredited party-men who may not be returned to the Assemblies.

 Expensive Institution: It is expensive and a big drain on the State’s exchequer.

Illustration: The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet decided to abolish the legislative council. Because the
contentious capital decentralisation bill has been blocked by Telegu Desam party who is in
majority in Council. Thus, it looks like an unwanted child in Andhra Pradesh.

The parliamentary committee advocated for the evolution of a national policy for
creation/abolition of Legislative Councils. It said, ‘The status of Second Chamber cannot be of
temporary nature depending on the mood of the Government of the day nor can be abolished
once created, only at the whims and fancy of a newly elected Government in the State.’

Legislative Assembly (Article 170):

 The Legislative Assembly, commonly known as Vidhan Sabha, or the lower House of the
State Legislature, is elected directly by people in the State, on the basis of the system of adult
franchise, for a period of 5 years.

 Article 170(1) provides that the Legislative Assembly of each State shall consist of not more
than 500 and not less than 60 members. However in Arunachal and Sikkim, the minimum
seat is fixed at 30.

 For electing the members, the State is divided into territorial constituencies in such manner
that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted
to it shall, so far as practicable, same throughout the State. It is required with the object of
maintaining uniformity in the scale of representation of the different constituencies.

 The Constitution provides for the reservation of seats in the Legislative assemblies of the
States for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

Duration of House of State Legislature

Legislative Assembly [Article 172(1)]:

 Article 172(1) provides that a Legislative Assembly shall continue for five years from the date
appointed for its first meeting. The Legislative Assembly may, however, be dissolved by the
Governor under Article 174(2) (b) before the expiration of its term of five years. The
 expiration of its term of five years operates as dissolution of the Assembly.

 The term of five years of the Assembly may be extended by Parliament by law, during the
operation in force of a Proclamation of Emergency made under Article 352.

Legislative Council Article 172(2)

Article 172(2) provides that the Legislative Council of a State shall not be subject to dissolution,
but as nearly as possible one-third of its members shall retire every second year in accordance
with the provisions made by Parliament, by law. Though, the Council cannot be dissolved by the
Governor as is the case with the Legislative Assembly, but the Council can be abolished by
Parliament, by law, made under Article 169.

Qualification for Membership of State Legislature (Article 173):

A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Legislature of a State unless he -

(a) is a citizen of India, and makes and subscribes before some person authorized in that behalf
by the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the
purpose in the Third Schedule;

(b) is, in the case of a seat in the Legislative Assembly, not less than twenty-five years of age and
in the case of a seat in the Legislative Council, not less than thirty years of age; and

(c) possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law
made by Parliament.

Disqualification for Membership of State Legislature (Article 191):

1. A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of the Legislative
Assembly or Legislative Council of a State -

(a) if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any
State specified in the First Schedule, other than an office declared by the Legislature of the
State by law not to disqualify its holder;

(b) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;

(c) if he is an undischarged insolvent;

(d) if he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or
is under any acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State;

(e) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament.

Explanation: For the purposes of this clause, a person shall not be deemed to hold an office of
profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State specified in the First
Schedule by reason only that he is a Minister either for the Union or for such State.

2.A person shall be disqualified for being a member of the Legislative Assembly or Legislative
Council of a State if he is so disqualified under the Tenth Schedule.

Decision on Question as to Disqualifications of Members (Article 192):

 Clause (1) of 192 provides: "If any question arises as to whether a member of a House of the
Legislature of a State has become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in Clause
(1) of Article 191, the question shall be referred for the decision of the Governor and his
decision shall be final".

 However, Clause (2) requires that the Governor, before giving any decision on any such
question, is required to obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and to act according
to such opinion.

 As to disqualifications on the ground of defection, Para 6 of the 10th Schedule provides that
the question shall be referred to the Presiding Officer of the House, whose decision shall be
final.

 Article 192 is applicable only to disqualifications to which a member becomes subject after
he is elected as such. As regards the disqualifications which arose long before his election,
neither the Governor nor the Election Commission, has jurisdiction under Article 192. Such a
matter can only be raised in an election petition before the Court.

SESSION OF STATE LEGISLATURE

Summoning of Sessions and Prorogation of the Houses (Article 174):

 Article 174 provides that the Governor shall, from time to time, summon House of the State
Legislature to meet at such time and place as he thinks Thus; it is the Governor, who has
power to summon the Sessions of the Bares of the State Legislature from time to time.

 However, the exercise of power of the Governor is conditioned by the requirement that six
months must not intervene between the last sitting one Session of the House and the date
appointed for its first sitting in the next Session. There shall not, therefore, be an interval of
more than six month between two Sessions of a House.

 Clause (2) of Article 174 confers on the Governor the power of prorogation of the Houses of
Legislature. So, the Governor may prorogue from time to time the House or either House of
the State Legislature

 Prorogation means termination of the Session.

Dissolution of the Houses

As regards the Legislative Assembly, Article 174(2)(b) empowers the Governor to dissolve the
Assembly before the expiration of its term of fu years.

Dissolution of Legislative Assembly by the President

Article 174(2)(b) expressly vests the power of dissolving the Assembly in the Governor, even if
that had to be on the advice of the State Council of Ministers. But, when the President assumes
to himself the Governmental powers by a Proclamation made under Article 356(1), the power of
giving advice would automatically be taken over by the President for the purpose of the
dissolution of the House. Therefore, dissolution by the President after the issuance of the
Proclamation would be as good as dissolution of the Assembly by the Governor whose powers
are taken over.

Officers of State Legislature

The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (Article 178-181):

 The presiding officer of the Legislative assembly is known as the Speaker.

 He is elected by the members of the assembly from amongst its own members.

 The Assembly elects another member to be the Deputy Speaker. So often as the office of
Speaker or Deputy becomes vacant, the Assembly shall choose another member to be
Speaker or as the case may be.

 Article 179 provides that the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker shall vacate Speaker, his office if
he ceases to be a member of the Assembly. The Speaker may, at time by writing under his
hand addressed to the Deputy Speaker, resign his office. The Deputy Speaker may resign his
office at any time, by writing his hand addressed to the Speaker.

 The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker, as the case may be, may be removed from his office, by
a resolution of the Assembly passed by a majority of all the then members of the Assembly A
resolution for this purpose can be moved only after a notice of fourteen days has been given
of the intention to move the resolution.

 While the office of the Speaker is vacant, the duties of the office shall be performed by the
Deputy Speaker. If the office of the Deputy Speaker is also vacant, the duties of the office of
the Speaker shall be performed, by such member of the Assembly as the Governor may
appoint for the purpose.

 During the absence of the Speaker from any sitting of the Assembly, the Deputy Speaker, or
if he is also absent, such person as may be determined by the rules of procedure of the
Assembly, or if no such person is present, such other person as may be determined by the
Assembly, shall act as Speaker.

Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Legislative Council (Articles 182 to 185):

 The Presiding Officer of the Legislative Council of a State is known as Chairman. Article 182
provides that the Legislative Council elects its Chairman and Deputy Chairman from amongst
its own members. So often as the office of Chairman or Deputy Chairman becomes vacant,
the Council shall choose another member of the Council to be the Chairman or Deputy
Chairman, as the case may be.

 The Chairman or Deputy Chairman shall vacate his office, if he ceases to be a member of the
Council. The Chairman may resign his office, at any time, by writing addressed to the Deputy
Chairman and the Deputy Chairman may resign by addressing his resignation in writing to
the Chairman,

 The Chairman or the Deputy Chairman may be removed from his office by a resolution of
 the Council passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council. No such resolution
shall be moved unless at least 14 days' notice has been given of the intention to move the
resolution.

 When the office of the Chairman is vacant, the duties of the office are performed by the
Deputy Chairman and if his office is also vacant, the duties of the office of the Chairman are
performed by such member of the Council as the Governor may appoint for the purpose,

 During the absence of the Chairman from a sitting of 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 .

 While any resolution for the removal of either of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman is
under consideration, he shall not preside over the sitting of the Council. He may, however,
be present in the House. He shall have the right to speak in and otherwise to take part in the
proceedings. He shall have the right to vote on such resolution only in the first instance.

 As discussed above, the Speaker can be removed from his office by a resolution of the
Assembly passed by a majority of all the then members of the Assembly. Article 181 provides
that the Speaker shall not preside when such a resolution is under consideration of the
Assembly. But, he can be present in the House and take part in the proceedings when such
resolution is under consideration. He can vote only in the first instance on such resolution.
Similarly, the Deputy Speaker shall not preside when a resolution for his removal from office
is under consideration of the Assembly. Though, he can be present in the House and can
take part in the proceedings when such resolution is under consideration and can vote on
such resolution only in the first instance.

The position, powers and duties of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a State Legislature
are the same as those of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Salaries and Allowances of the Speaker etc. (Article 186):

 Article 186 lays down that the salaries and allowances of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, of
the Legislative Assembly and the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative
Council are fixed by the Legislature of the State by law. Initially the provision was contained
in Second Schedule to the Constitution.

 The salaries and allowances of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Chairman and the
Deputy Chairman are charged upon the Consolidated Fund of the State.

Secretariat of State Legislature (Article 187):

 Article 187(1) provides that each House of the Legislature of a State shall have a separate
Secretarial Staff. However, in the case of the State Legislature having a Legislative Council
there may be created posts common to both Houses of such Legislature.

 The recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to the Secretarial Staff of the
House or Houses of the Legislature may be regulated by the Legislature of the State, by law.

 Until such law is made, Governor in consultation with the speaker of the assembly or the
 chairman of the council may make rules.

Legislative Procedure

The procedure of legislation followed in the State Legislature of a state is broadly similar to that
in Parliament except:

Restrictions on Powers of Legislative Council-Deadlock the Houses (Article 197)

Where the Legislature of a State has a Legislative Council deadlock in the two Houses may result
on a non-Money Bill.

In the case of Union Parliament, Article 108 prescribes the procedure for resolving a deadlock in
the two Houses of Parliament. For this, a j sitting of the two Houses may be summoned by the
President.

There is no provision for holding a joint sitting of the Houses of the State Legislature for
resolving a deadlock, a conflict in two houses on money bill.

Strictly speaking there cannot be a deadlock in the two Houses of the State Legislature. State
Legislative Council does not enjoy equal powers in respect of passing money Bill as exercised by
the Rajya Sabha in the case of a Union bill.

The power to resolve the conflict in the two Houses is vested with the Legislative Assembly itself.
In regard to non-money Bill which originates in the Legislative Assembly and having been passed
by it, transmitted to the Legislative Council. Article 197 provides the following cases of conflict in
the two Houses of State Legislature:

1. Bill having been passed by the Legislative Assembly is rejected by the Legislative Council

2. Bill having been passed by the Legislative Assembly is passed by the Legislative Council with
amendments the Legislative Assembly does not accept all or any such amendments
recommended by the Legislative Council

3. Bill having been passed by the Legislative Assembly and sent to the Council, is not returned
by the Legislative Council within three months of its receipt in the Council.

In all the above three events, Article 197 provides that the Legislative Assembly may reconsider
that Bill in the same or in any subsequent Session. If the Assembly passes the Bill again with or
without the amendments suggested or agreed to by the Legislative Council, then the Bill shall be
transmitted to the Legislative Council for the second time.

Clause (2) of Article 197 declares that the Bill having been passed for the second time by the
Legislative Assembly and transmitted to the Legislative Council shall be deemed to have been
passed by both the Houses of the State Legislature in the form in which it was passed by the
Assembly for the second time with such amendments, if any, as have been made or suggested
by the Council and agreed to by the Legislative Assembly:

1. Even if the Bill is rejected by the Council

2. If the Bill is not returned by the Council within one month of its receipt therein; or
3. If the Bill is passed by the Council with amendments to which the Legislative Assembly does
not agree.

 It follows that in respect to a non-money Bill, having been passed by the Legislative
Assembly, the Legislative Council does not have any power except to delay the passing of the
Bill for four months.

 A Bill originated in Council, i.e., an Ordinary Bill or a Bill Involving Expenditure from the
Consolidated Fund of the State, having been passed if rejected by the Legislative Assembly,
shall lapse.

Procedure in Financial Matters (Articles 202 To 207)

In financial matters, the procedure starts with the presentation of the Legislature of the State. It
completes with the passing of the Annual appropriation act. All the other procedures are similar
to the budget of Union.

General Procedure

Rules of Procedure (Article 208):

 Clause (1) of article 208 confers power on each house of the state legislature subject to the
provisions of the Constitution, to make rules for regulating its procedure and the conduct of
its business.

 Until rules are made under Clause (1), the rules and standing Orders to force immediately
before the commencement of the Constitution, shall have effect, but subject to modifications
and adaptations made by the Speaker of or the Chairman of the Legislative Council, as the
case may be.

 Clause (3) of Article 208 provides that where a State has a Legislative Council, the rules as to
the procedure, with respect to communications ween the two Houses, may be made by the
Governor, after consultation with the Speaker of the Assembly and the Chairman of the
Legislative council.

Rules of Procedure in Financial Matters (Article 209)

Article 209 confers power on the Legislature of the State to regulate by law, the procedure of and
the conduct of business in the House or Houses fits State Legislature in relation to financial
matters.

Language to be used in the Legislature (Article 210):

 Clause (1) of Article 210 provides that the business in the Legislature of a State shall be
transacted in the official language or languages of the State or in Hindi or in English. It is,
however, subjected to the provisions of Article 348 relating to language of the Supreme
Court and the High Court.

 However, the Presiding Officer of a House may permit any member, who cannot adequately
express himself in any such languages, to address the House in his mother tongue.
Restriction on Discussion in the Legislature (Article 211)

Article 211 provides that no discussion shall take place in the Legislature of a State with respect
to the conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court in the discharge of his
duties. This provision incorporated with a view to secure independence of judiciary.

Irregularity of Procedure in the Legislature (Article 212):

 Clause (1) of Article 212 declares that the validity of any proceedings in the Legislature of a
State shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure.

 Clause (2) of this Article confers immunity on the Officers and members of the Legislature in
whom powers are vested by or under the Constitution for regulating the procedure or the
conduct of business, or for maintaining order in the Legislature. They shall not be subject to
the jurisdiction of any court in respect of the exercise by them of those powers.

 However, the High Court, in the exercise of its supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227,
might interfere in case of breach of Fundamental Rights of persons, by the Members or
Speaker of the House.