THE PARLIAMENT

Submitted by
YASH SHUKLA

Roll No.:- 174140054

Class:- B.Com LLB IVth Semester

of

Faculty of Law

Dr. Shakuntala Misra National

Rehabilitation University
Lucknow
In04/2019

Under the guidance of

Dr. GULAB RAI

(Asst. Professor)
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 INTRODUCTION

The Parliament of the Indian Union consists of two Houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of
States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). These two houses and the President
together constitute the Parliament of India. The object behind the creation of the Rajya
Sabha is to provide for a second chamber so that legislation passed by one House can be
reviewed and altered if needed by the other.

Rajya Sabha continuing chamber as it is a permanent body not subject to dissolution. One-
third of its members retire at the end of every two years and elections are held for the
vacant positions. A member of Rajya Sabha has a six year term, unless he resigns or is
disqualified.

Lok Sabha is the lower or the popular chamber of the Indian Parliament. Under the
Constitution not more than 525 members are to be chosen by direct election from territorial
constituencies in the States and not more than 20 members to represent the Union
Territories. In addition, two members of the Anglo-Indian community may be nominated by
the President if he is of the opinion that the community is not adequately represented in the
Lok Sabha.

The President has the right to summon, prorogue and dissolve the Parliament. The power
to dissolve and to prorogue is exercised by the President on the advice of his Council of
Ministers. The dissolution brings the life of Lok Sabha to an end while prorogation merely
terminates a session. Adjournment does not put an end to the existence of a session but
merely postpones further transaction of business for a specified time, whereas prorogation
puts an end to all business except Pending Bills.

Each house of Parliament has its own presiding officers. Lok Sabha has a Speaker as its
principal presiding officer and a Deputy Speaker to assist him and officiate as presiding
officer in his absence. The Rajya Sabha is presided over by the Chairperson, assisted by a
Deputy Chairperson. The latter performs all the duties and functions of the former in case of
his/her absence.

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha enjoys very wide and extensive powers. The Speaker
presides over the sitting of the Lok Sabha and conducts the proceedings, maintains order
and decorum in the House and decides points of order, interprets and applies rules of the
House.

The Speaker represents the whole House and it is on his impartiality that the success of
parliamentary polity depends. Whenever the Speaker is absent, the Deputy Speaker
presides over the deliberations of the House and exercise all the powers of the Speaker
under the Rules of Procedure.

The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairperson of the Council of States; but during
any period when the Vice-President acts as President or discharges the functions of the
President, he does not perform the duties of the office of the Chieftain of the Council of
States. The Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha is assisted by a Deputy Chairperson chosen
from the Council of States from amongst its member

The Parliament of India is a bi-cameral legislature. It consists of two houses- Rajyasabha &
Lok Sabha and President of India. Parliament makes law with the help of its both the
chambers. Laws passed by the parliament and approved by the president are enforced in
the whole country.

Its powers and functions can be classified in to following heads:

(1). Legislative powers

(2). Executive powers

(3). Financial powers

(4). Constituent powers

(5). Judicial powers

(6). Electoral powers

(7). Other powers

Legislative Powers- All the subjects in our constitution are divided among state, union and
concurrent lists. In concurrent list Parliamentary law is over riding than state legislative
law.Constitution also have powers to make law with respect to state following
circumstances:

(i).  When Rajya Sabha passes a resolution to that effect

(ii). When national emergency is under operation

(iii).When two or more states request parliament to do so

(iv). When necessary to give effect to international agreements, treaties and conventions

(v).  When President’s rule is in operation.

2) Executive Powers- According to parliamentary form of government executive is

responsible to the parliament for its acts and policies. Hence parliament exercises control
by various measures like committees, question hour, zero hour etc. ministers are
collectively responsible to the Parliament.

3) Financial Powers- It includes enactment of budget, scrutinizing the performance of

government with respect of financial spending through financial committees (post budgetary
control)

4) Constituent Powers- Example - To amend the constitution, to pass any laws required

5) Judicial Powers- Includes;

(i).  Impeachment of President for violation of constitution

(ii). Removal of judges of Supreme Court and High court

(iii). Removal of Vice- President

(iv). Punish members for breach of privileges like sitting in the house when the member
knows he is not an eligible member, serving as member before taking oath etc.

6). Electoral Powers- It has its participation in the election of President and

The members of Lok Sabha elects speaker and deputy speaker from among its members.
Similarly members of Rajya Sabha elects deputy chairman.
7). Other Powers-

(i).  To discuss various issues of national and international importance

(ii). Imposing emergency

(iii). Increase or decrease area, change names, alter the boundary of the states

(iv). Create or abolish state legislature etc any powers can be added from time to time

Article 245 of the constitution declares that parliament may make laws for the whole or any
part of the territory of India and a state legislature can make laws for the whole or any part
of the state. Seventh Schedule of the constitution distributes the legislative powers between
the centre and the state by putting subjects into Union List, State List and Concurrent List.
The centre can make law on any of the subjects in the union list or in the concurrent list.
The parliament can override the law of a state on a subject listed in concurrent list. In
addition to these powers, the residuary powers are also vested with the parliament.

General layout of the Parliament

The centre and the focus of the building is the Central Hall. It consists of chambers of the Lok
Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the Library Hall and between them lie garden courts. Surrounding
these three chambers is the four storyed circular structure providing accommodations for
Ministers, Chairmen, Parliamentary committees, Party offices, important offices of Lok Sabha
and Rajya Sabha Secretariats and also the offices of the ministry of Parliamentary affairs. The
Central Hall is circular in shape and the dome is 29.87 metres (98 feet) in diameter. It is a place
of historical importance. The Indian Constitution was framed in the Central Hall. The Central
Hall was originally used in the library of erstwhile Central Legislative Assembly and the Council
of States. In 1946, it was converted and refurbished into Constituent Assembly Hall. At present,
the Central Hall is used for holding joint sittings of both the houses of parliament and also used
for address by the President in the commencement of first session after each general election.

Proposal for a new building

A new Parliament building may replace the existing complex. The new building is being
considered on account of the stability concerns regarding the current complex. A committee to
suggest alternatives to the current building has been set up by the Former Speaker, Meira Kumar.
The present building, an 85-year-old structure suffers from inadequacy of space to house
members and their staff and is thought to suffer from structural issues. The building also needs to
be protected because of its heritage tag.
The constitution also empowers the Parliament to make law on a state
subject in the following circumstances:
When Rajya Sabha passes a resolution supported by two-thirds of the members present
and voting

\When a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation

When two or more states make a joint request to the parliament

When it is necessary for parliament to implement any international treaty, agreement or

convention

When President’s rule is in operation in the state

Executive Powers and Functions

In India, political executive is a part of the parliament. Parliament exerts control over the
executive through procedural devices such as question hour, zero hour, calling attention
motion, adjournment motion, half-an-hour discussion, etc. Members of different political
parties are elected/nominated to the parliamentary committees. Through these committees,
the parliament controls the government. Committee on ministerial assurances constituted
by parliament seeks to ensure that the assurances made by the ministries to parliament are
fulfilled.

Article 75 of the constitution mentions that the council of ministers remains in office as long
as it enjoys the confidence of the Lok Sabha

The ministers are responsible to the Lok Sabha individually and collectively. Lok Sabha can
remove the council of ministers by passing a no confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.
Apart from that, the Lok Sabha can also express lack of confidence in
the government in the following ways:

By not passing a motion of thanks on the President’s inaugural address.

By rejecting a money bill

By passing a censure motion or an adjournment motion

By passing a cut motion

By defeating the government on a vital issue

These powers of parliament help in making government responsive and responsible.

Financial Powers and Functions

Parliament enjoys the supreme authority in financial matters. Executive cannot spend any
money without parliament’s approval. No tax can be imposed without the authority of law.
The government places the budget before the parliament for approval. The passage of the
budget means that the parliament has legalized the receipts and expenditure of the
government. The public accounts committee and the Estimates committee keep a watch on
the spending of the government. These committees scrutinize the account and bring out the
cases of irregular, unauthorised or improper usage in public expenditure.

In this way, parliament exerts budgetary as well as post-budgetary control on the

government.

If the government fails to spend the granted money in a financial year.

The remaining balance is sent back to the Consolidated Fund of India. This is known as
‘rule of lapse’. This also leads to increase in expenditure by the end of the financial year.
 Judicial Powers and Functions

judicial powers and functions of the Parliament are mentioned below:

It has the power to impeach the President, the Vice-President, the judges of the Supreme
Court and the High Court. It can also punish its members or outsiders for the breach of
privilege or its contempt.

Electoral Powers and Functions

The electoral powers and functions of the parliament are mentioned below;

The elected members of the parliament (along with state assemblies) participate in the
election of the President

All the members of the parliament participate in the election of the Vice-President.

The Lok Sabha elects its Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

The Rajya Sabha elects its Deputy Chairman.

Members of various parliamentary committees are also elected

Constituent Powers and Functions

Only parliament is empowered to initiate any proposal for amendment of the constitution. A
bill for amendment can be initiated in either House of Parliament.  However, the state
legislature can pass a resolution requesting the parliament for the creation or abolition of
the legislative council in the state. Based on the resolution, the parliament can make an act
for amending the constitution for that purpose.

There are three types of bills for constitution amendment which requires:
Simple Majority: These bills need to be passed by simple majority, that is, a majority of
members present and voting in each of the House.

Special Majority: These bills need to be passed by the majority of the House and two-third
of the members present and voting in each of the House. Special majority and consent of
half of all the state legislatures: These bills are to be passed by the special majority in each
house. Along with this, atleast half of the state legislatures should give consent to the bill.

Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Its Members

Both the Houses of Parliament as well as of a State Legislature have similar privileges
under the Constitution. The privileges of each House may be divided into two groups: (i)
those enjoyed by the members individually and (ii) those which belong to each House of
Parliament as a collective body.

Privileges of Individual Members: Freedom from Arrest:

Section 135A of the C.P. code, as amended by Act 104 of 1976 exempts a member from
arrest during the continuance of a meeting of the Chamber or Committee of which he is a
member or of a joint sitting of the Chambers or Committee, and during a period of 40 days
before and after such meeting or sitting, in civil or original cases.

This privilege also means that no member can be arrested within the precincts of the
Parliament without the permission of the House to which he belongs. A member can be
arrested outside the walls of the House on cases under Preventive Detention or
Maintenance of Internal Security or any other such Act.

It is, however, the duty of the arresting officer that he should immediately inform the
presiding officer of the House to with the member belongs about arrest, bail or release of
the member concerned. The main idea behind this privilege is that the members of the
House should not be unnecessarily detained by the executive government and the
constituents are not denied proper representation.

(ii) Freedom of Attendance as Witnesses: According the English practice, a member cannot
be summoned, without the leave of the House, to give evidence as a witness while
Parliament is in session.

(iii) Freedom of Speech:

While an ordinary citizen’s right of speech is subject to the restrictions specified in Art. 19
(2) such as the law relating to defamation, a member of Parliament cannot be made liable in
any court of law in respect of anything said in Parliament or any Committee thereof
The freedom of speech is, however, subject to the rules framed by the House under its
powers to regulate its internal procedure. The dignity of the House must be preserved. The
Constitution itself imposes another limitation upon the freedom of speech in Parliament,
namely, that no discussion shall take place in Parliament with respect to the conduct of any
judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court in the discharge of his duties except upon a
motion for presenting an address to the President praying for the removal of the judge.

CONCLUSION

The Indian judiciary may view itself as the custodian of the constitution and act as the
balance between the contending levels and powers of a complex array of public
institutions. Eventually the composition of the judiciary and sustenance of the conditions
of its endurance are formulated and given concrete shape by the Parliament. The Lok
Sabha is the epicentre of Parliament, and its public presence has grown enormously
over the years. It was not easy for India to opt for parliamentary democracy as there
was no precedence. Recent literature on Indian politics has highlighted the rise of Other
Backward Classes (OBCs) to prominence from the 1980s onwards. The tendency to
assert pluralism or diversity cannot be seen as an attempt to promote a notion of
nationalism distanced from individual rights or a post-modern tendency of de-centring of
the nation or the consequence of the global turn of Indian polity. The role and functions
of Parliament assume great significance in view of the basic principles and assumptions
associated with parliamentary democracy. A parliamentary form of government
acknowledges the fact that in this system, Parliament derives its power directly from the
consent of the people expressed through periodic elections and that it exists to
implement the will of the people. The parliamentary system also ensures the best
possible participatory democratic system and active interaction between the people and
their representatives. In this system, the Executive not only emanates from Parliament
but is also accountable to Parliament for all its acts of omission and commission. This
accountability of the Executive to Parliament is based on the principle that since
Parliament represents the will of the people, it should be able to oversee and keep the
Executive under control and constant surveillance.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dr J.N Pandey The Contitution oF India.

Dr. V.N Shukla Constitutional Law