Parliament Of India

PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES

 1. INTRODUCTION

 Indian polity is Representative Parliamentary democracy.

 Three key features of our political scheme –Representative,
Parliamentary and Democracy
 Clear demarcation of functions of different organs in the
written Constitution.
 Exceptional place of dominance amongst the organs of the
State given to Parliament
 Under the scheme of the Constitution, Parliament does not
itself rule the country; it exercises effective command
through a purposive use of Parliamentary procedures and a
system of Committees
 President of India

Ram Nath Kovind

•The President is a constituent part of Parliament

• He performs certain constitutional functions in relation to Parliament.
•At the beginning of the first session, the President addresses both
houses of Parliament. (Arts. 86-87)
 He may from time to time summon/prorogue the Houses or either
House of the Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha. (Art. 85)
He may promulgate such ordinances as the circumstances appear to
him to require. (Art. 123)
• All the executive powers of the Union is vested in the President,
exercised with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.(Art.53)
Chairman (RS)-Sh. Venkaiah RAJYA SABHA
Naidu (Council of States)

LOK SABHA
(House of the People) Speaker (LS)-Sh. Om Birla
 RULES OF PROCEDURE

Article 118 of the Constitution has vested in each House of Parliament

the power to make rules for regulating its procedure and conduct of its
business. This power is subject to the provisions of the Constitution.

When Lok Sabha was constituted for the first time in 1952, ‘Rules of
Procedure and Conduct of Business’ which were in force immediately
before commencement of the Constitution were modified and adapted
by the Speaker under Article 118(2).
Matters not covered by the rules are governed by convention,
practices, precedents, decisions from the chair given from time to time
and by directions issued by the Speaker under the rules.

Godavari S. Misra . Nandkishore AIR 1953 Or. 111- Unless there is a

contravention of some provisions of the Constitution, the Courts have
no power to interfere with such Rules or their administration.
 Commencement of the Session
In practice, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs informs the planned date of
a session to the Secretaries- General of the Houses. All the members are
circulated a provisional Calendar of sittings and allotment of days for
answering questions (Bulletin Part- II) along with the summons. Normally 04-
10 weeks preceding the commencement of date of session, summons are
issued to members. A session may be called at few days notice in emergent
cases.
President’s address

President’s address to both the Houses of Parliament in the Central Hall.

President’s address is laid on the table separately by each of the House
Sittings of the House
A sitting of the House is duly constituted when it is presided over by
the Speaker/Chairman or any other member competent to preside
over a sitting of the House under the Constitution or the Rules.
Normally, 3 sessions (120 days) of the House are held during a year.
But after the Departmentally Related Parliamentary Standing
Committees, the actual sittings have been reduced.
 Seating Order

The seating order in the House is determined by the Speaker.

 Usually, the members of the ruling party are allotted seats to the
right of the Speaker and opposition members on the left side. Same is
followed in case of Rajya Sabha also.

 The first sitting is devoted to the newly elected members taking the
prescribed oath and then signing the Roll of members.

The President appoints senior member as the Speaker pro tem. He

continues in office till the Speaker is elected.
Seating Order in lok sabha
 Seating ArranGement in rajya sabha

 In Rajya Sabha, Chair of the Chairman is placed right at the centre of

the Chamber.  Members sit in such order as Chairman may determine.
 Members of ruling party given seats on the right side and members
of the opposition parties are given seats on the left side of the Chair.
 First seat on the right side of the Chair is reserved for the Leader of
the House and the second seat for the Prime Minister.
 First seat to the left side of the Chair is reserved for the Deputy
Chairman and the seat next is reserved for the Leader of the
Opposition.
 Hour of Commencement

 Sittings of the House, unless the Speaker otherwise directs,

ordinarily commence at 11.00 hours.

 The normal hours of sitting are from 11.00 hours to 13.00 hours and
from 14.00 hours to 18.00 hours.

 One hour from 13.00 hours to 14.00 hours as lunch break.

Quorum - Minimum number of the members required to be present
for conducting a meeting of the House.
Constitution has fixed one-tenth strength as quorum for both Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Thus, to conduct a sitting of Lok Sabha, there should be at least 55
members present while to conduct a sitting of Rajya Sabha, there
should be at least 25 members present.
 4. ARRANGEMENT OF BUSINESS AND LIST OF BUSINESS

Parliamentary Business can be divided into two broad categories

1. Government Business and 2. Private Members’ Business.

It is mainly for the Government to make a decision about the duration
of a session and to plan the business of the House
A tentative list of business likely to be taken up during the session is
supplied by Government nd published in Bulletin-part II.
The last two and half hours of a sitting on every Friday are fixed for
transaction of Private Members’ Business.
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs makes an announcement in the
House on the last working day of the week, usually Friday, regarding
programme of business for the subsequent week.
Bills, Motions and Resolutions can be initiated by the Government as
well as the private members
Piarelal Singh v. State of ●
Held that the validity of any proceedings in either
House of Parliament or a House of State Legislature
Madhya Pradesh therefore cannot be called in question before a Court
AIR 1955 NAG 11 of law on the ground of irregularity of procedure.

M.S.M Sharma v.
Shree Krishna ●
Mere non-compliance with rules of
procedure cannot be a ground for issuing
Sinha AIR1960 SC a writ under Article 32 of the constitution

1186
 Procedure of Parliament
Question Cut Committee
Hours motions s

Half an Hour
Zero Hour Discussion

Adjournme Short Duration

nt Motions
Budget Discussions

Appropria No confidence
tion Act Motions

Calling Attention Supplementary

to matters of Grants &Vote
urgent importance on Credit
The Question Hour was allotted
on different days in rotation for
the answering of questions by
such Departments as the Speaker
provided from time to time,
except in case if addressed to
private members.
QUESTION HOUR

Unless the Speaker otherwise

directs, the first hour of every
sitting of the House is available for
r
asking and answering Questions.
There is no Question Hour on a
Saturday even if a sitting of the
House is fixed on a Saturday for any
particular reason like presentation
of Budget.
•Time gap between the end of
Question Hour and the beginning
of the regular business. Zero Hour
doesn’t find a mention in the
Rules of Procedure.
•it’s considered an informal
procedure for the members of
Parliament to raise matters of
serious importance.
• Members wishing to raise
matters during the “Zero Hour”
need to give notice to the Speaker
prior to the start of the daily
session.
•. The Speaker is the final
authority who can either reject or
accept such request.
In Lok Sabha, only 20 matters
are allowed.
 In Rajya Sabha, seven requests
on a single day.
The total time allocated for Zero
Hour is 30 minutes a member gets
three minutes to raise the issue.
Member is allowed to make
only one Zero Hour request during
a week.
 It is not mandatory to have a
Zero Hour every day during the
session.
 Adjournment Motions

• An extraordinary device Leads to setting aside the

normal listed business of the House.

• Enables the members to raise a discussion in the

House on a definite matter of urgent public
importance.

• Notice is required to be given by a member by 10.00

hours on the day on which the motion is proposed
to be made.
 Short Duration Discussions

Device of short duration

discussions provided in
1953 to enable members to
raise short duration
discussions

Not exceeding two hours on

urgent matters without a
formal motion or a vote
thereon

All sections of the House

may participate in the
debate
Calling Attention to matters of Urgent
Public Importance

There is no debate or a regular discussion

The minister whose attention is called by a

member makes a short statement

Not more than five members whose names are

listed against the item may ask a clarificatory
question
 Passing of A Law/Legislation
 A significant assignment of Parliament is to formulate laws.
 All legislative proposals have to be brought in the form of bills
before the Parliament
 No bill can become law until it receives the approval of both the
Houses of Parliament and assent of the President.

Classification of Bills
Government Bills Private Members Bill
 On the basis of their contents, Bills may further be classified into
Original Bills, Amending Bills, Consolidating Bills, Expiring Laws,
Repealing Bills, Bills to replace Ordinances, Constitution
(Amendment) Bills.
 NOTE: Money and Financial Bills, because of their special features,
are treated separately from other bills.
 Legislative Procedure &Three readings of the Bill

 A Minister is required to give 7 days’ notice of a motion for leave to introduce the
bill. At least two days before the date on which Bill is proposed to be introduced
copies of Bill are made available to the members. Each Bill undergoes three readings.
The First Reading means motion for leave to introduce a Bill, on the grant of leave-
the Bill is introduced. Generaaly not opposed, if opposed- specify reasons for
opposing-may be on lack od legislative competence etc./full discussion allowed. Bill
published in Gazette after introduction with the permission of Speaker

The Second reading consists of two stages: “First Stage” constitutes General
discussion on the principles/provisions of the Bill and refers it to Select/Joint
Committee. “Second Stage” signifies the clause-by- clause consideration of the Bill as
introduced or as reported by a Select or Joint Committee, Amendments moved; Press
communiqué, invites public opinion-examined by Committee on Petitions &
circulated to Members of the House in extenso/summary and may be voted by the
House.

The Third Reading - Discussion confined to arguments either in support/rejection of
Bill –only formal verbal amendments allowed.
 Parliamentary Committees
BACKGROUND
Useful in dealing with matters
which on account of their special
or technical nature are better
considered in detail by a small
number of members rather than
by the House itself.
THREE FINANCIAL
COMMITTEES
• Committees on Estimates
•Public Accounts Committee
•Committee on Public
Undertakings
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Recommendations are
normally accepted and
implemented by The
Govt.
• Where a difference of
opinion between the
Committee and the Govt.
remains unresolved, the
case is referred to the
Speaker for guidance.
 Parliamentary Committees
PROCEDURE
 Committees normally hold their sittings during sessions of Lok
Sabha, but empowered to sit during the inter-session period

 The Chairman of the committee predetermines the date and time

of sitting of a Committee

 The quorum to constitute sitting of a Committee as near as may be

one third of the total number of members of the committee. The
quorum may be reduced in special circumstances

 The sittings of Parliamentary Committee are held in private and are

not open to public.

 Questions at a sitting of a Committee are determined by a majority

of votes of the member’s present and voting.
 Departmentally Related Standing Committees
17 such Committees were set up on April 1993
In 2004, the number of DRSCs increased from 17 to 24
1. Committee on Commerce 13. Committee on Food, Civil Supplies and
2. Committee on Home Affairs Public Distribution
3.Committee on Human 14. Committee on Labour and Welfare
Resource Development 15. Committee on Petroleum & Chemicals
4. Committee on Industry 16. Committee on Railways
5. Committee on Science & Technology, 17. Committee on Urban and Rural
Environment & Forests Development
6. Committee on Transport, Culture 18. andCommittee on Railways
Tourism 19 Committee on Urban Development
7. Committee on Agriculture 20 Committee on Water Resources
8. Committee on Information Technology21. Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers
9. Committee on Defence 22. Committee on Rural Development
10. Committee on Energy 23. Committee on Coal and Steel.
11. Committee on External Affairs 24. Committee on Social Justice and
12. Committee on Finance Empowerment.
 FUNCTIONS OF
DEPARTMENTALLY RELATED
STANDING COMMITTEES

to consider the Demands for Grants

of various Ministries/Departments
of Government of India;

to examine such Bills as are referred

to the Committee, to consider Annual
Reports of ministries/departments;

to consider policy documents

presented to the Houses and
make reports thereon.
 Legislative Procedure

• In passing an Ordinary Bill, a simple majority of

members present and voting is required.
• According to Art. 107, in case of dissolution of
LS-
– Bills pending in LS-shall lapse
– Bills passed by LS, but pending in RS -shall lapse
– Bills passed by both LS & RS -shall not lapse
– Bills passed by RS, but pending in LS-shall not lapse
10.1.1 BILL IN THE OTHER HOUSE
Once a Bill has been passed by
one House it is transmitted to the
other House.
The Bill goes through all these
stages once more.
 After the Bill has been passed by
the other House, it is sent to the
President for assent.
 But if the other house proposes
certain amendments which are not
acceptable to the originating
House, it may lead to deadlock.
 The deadlock is resolved by
convening a joint- sitting of the two
Houses and the decision is taken by
majority vote.
10.1.2 ASSENT TO BILLS
• The Bill is presented to the
President for his assent once it
is passed by both the Houses.
• The President may give his
assent or may withhold his
assent.
• The President may also return
the Bill to the Houses, if it is not
the Money Bill, to reconsider
the Bill or any specific provision.
• When Bill is again passed and
presented to the President for
assent, the President cannot
withhold his assent.
• A Bill then becomes an Act.
 Joint Session of
Joint Session of Both the Houses (Art. 108)

• Co-ordinate powers with both the Houses for

ordinary legislations
• Joint session required in case the Bill passed by
the I-H is transmitted to the II-H and gets
• (REJECTION/DEADLOCK/TIME BARRED)
– Rejected
– OR
– Disagrees to the amendments proposed by II H OR
– Does not get passed for more than 6 months
 MONEY BILL
• A Money Bill can originate only in the Lok Sabha
on the recommendation of the President. After a
money Bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha, it
is transmitted to the Rajya Sabha.
• The Rajya Sabha is given 14 days to make its
recommendations. If it fails to make
recommendations, the bill is considered to have
been passed by both houses.
• If it makes the recommendations, it is up to the
Lok Sabha to accept or reject the
recommendations.
• Even if the Bill is not accepted, it is deemed to
have been passed by both the houses in the form
in which it was transmitted to the Rajya Sabha.
Then the Money Bill is transmitted to the
President for his assent.
 10.3 PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILL

Only a few Bills are initiated by private members (Not a Minister, but
Member of House).
The discussion on such Bills brings to the notice of the Government
and the public various significant issues and helps the Government to
bring comprehensive legislation on them.
The last two-and-half hours of a sitting on each Friday in LS and
whole of Friday in RS are allotted during a session for transaction of
business relating to Private Members’ Bills.
 The stages of a Private Member’s Bill in the House are similar to
that of Government Bills..
However a member who wishes to bring in a Bill has to give one
month’s notice.
 Kinds of Bills in Parliament
Kind of Bills Introduction Passage

Introduced in Simple majority in each House

Ordinary Bills either House

Simple majority in LS. RS can

recommend changes but LS
Money Bills Introduced only in has the right to reject them.
LS RS must return or pass a
Money Bill within 14 days or it
is deemed passed .

Simple majority of total

membership and two-third
Constitutional Introduced in majority of the MPs present
Amendment Bills either House and voting . Some Bills also
need to be ratified by half the
state legislatures in the
country
 CONCLUSION
The history of Parliamentary government in India is very long and
during this period Parliamentary procedure has taken a distinct shape.

It in fact reflects the people’s

THANKS
will. On the whole it is functioning well.
 It is stirring to note that a number of good Parliamentary practices
have taken deep roots.
At times certain unhealthy practices and deviations
President have in
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed also been
Parliament
noticed. House to address the members of Parliament
on 5 January 1976

Undoubtedly with the passage of time, the foundations of a strong

Parliamentary democracy will be laid in the years to come.

THA NK S