PARLIAMENT

PART - 2

Bills in Parliament

LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE IN PARLIAMENT

The legislative procedure is identical in both the Houses of Parliament.Every bill has to pass through
the same stages in each House.

A bill is a proposal for legislation and it becomes an act or law when duly enacted.
The bills introduced in the Parliament can also be classified into four categories:
1. Ordinary bills, which are concerned with any matter other than financial subjects.
2. Money bills, which are concerned with the financial matters like taxation, public expenditure, etc
3. Financial bills, which are also concerned with financial matters (but are different from money bills).
4. Constitution amendment bills, which are concerned with the amendment of the provisions of the
Constitution.

ORDINARY BILLS
Every ordinary bill has to pass through the following five stages in the Parliament before it finds a
place onthe Statute Book:
1. First Reading: no discussion at this stage, only reading
2. Second Reading: Stage of General Discussion, Committee Stage, Consideration, public opinion
3. Third Reading: no deliberations/amendments now. Only pass or fail
4. Bill in the Second House: In the second House also, the bill passes through all the three stages,
thatis, first reading, second reading and third reading.

There are four alternatives before this (second) House:

a. it may pass the bill as sent by the first house (i.e., without amendments);
b. it may pass the bill with amendments and return it to the first House for reconsideration;
c. it may reject the bill altogether; and
d. It may not take any action and thus keep the bill pending.
If the second House passes the bill without any amendments or the first House accepts the
amendments suggested by the second House, the bill is deemed to have been passed by both the
Houses and the same is sent to the president for his assent.
On the other hand, if the first House rejects the amendments suggested by the second House or the
second House rejects the bill altogether or the second House does not take any action for sixmonths,
a deadlock is deemed to have taken place.
To resolve such a deadlock, the president can summon a joint sitting of the two Houses. If the majority
of members present and voting in the joint sitting approves the bill, the bill is deemed tohave been
passed by both the Houses.

5. Assent of the President:

Every bill after being passed by both Houses of Parliament either singly or at a joint sitting, ispresented
to the president for his assent.
There are three alternatives before the president:
a. he may give his assent to the bill; or
b. he may withhold his assent to the bill; or
c. he may return the bill for reconsideration of the Houses.
If the president gives his assent to the bill, the bill becomes an act and is placed on the StatuteBook.
If the President withholds his assent to the bill, it ends and does not become an act. (absoluteveto)
If the President returns the bill for reconsideration and if it is passed by both the Houses again with
or without amendments and presented to the President for his assent, the president mustgive his

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assent to the bill. Thus, the President enjoys only a- suspensive veto.

FUNDS
The Constitution of India provides for the following three kinds of funds for the Central government:
1. Consolidated Fund of India (Article 266)
2. Public Account of India (Article 266)
3. Contingency Fund of India (Article 267)

Consolidated Fund of India

It is a fund to which all receipts are credited and all payments are debited.
a. all revenues received by the Government of India;
b. all loans raised by the Government by the issue of treasury bills, loans or ways and means of
advances; and
c. all money received by the government in repayment of loans forms the Consolidated Fund ofIndia.
All the legally authorised payments on behalf of the Government of India are made out of this fund.
No money out of this fund can be appropriated (issued or drawn) except in accordance with a
parliamentary law.

Public Account of India

All other public money (other than those which are credited to the Consolidated Fund of India)
received by or on behalf of the Government of India shall be credited to the Public Account of India.
This includes provident fund deposits, judicial deposits, savings bank deposits, departmental deposits,
Remittances, etc.
This account is operated by executive action, that is, the payments from this account can bemade
without parliamentary appropriation.
Such payments are mostly in the nature of banking transactions.

Contingency Fund of India

• The Constitution authorised the Parliament to establish a ‘Contingency Fund of India’, into which
amounts determined by law are paid from time to time.
• Accordingly, the Parliament enacted the contingency fund of India Act in 1950.
• This fund is placed at the disposal of the president, and he can make advances out of it to meet
• unforeseen expenditure pending its authorisation by the Parliament.
• The fund is held by the finance secretary on behalf of the president.
• Like the public account of India, it is also operated by executive action.

MONEY BILLS
Article 110 of the Constitution deals with the definition of money bills.
It states that a bill is deemed to be a money bill if it contains only provisions dealing with any of the
following matters:
• The imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;
• The regulation of the borrowing of money by the Union government;
• The custody of the Consolidated Fund of India or the contingency fund of India, the payment or
withdrawal of money from them
• Declaration of any expenditure as ‘charged’ on the Consolidated Fund of India
The receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India or
the custody or issue of such money, or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of astate
If any question arises whether a bill is a money bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the Lok
Sabha is final. His decision in this regard cannot be questioned in any court of law or in the either
House of Parliament or even the president.

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When a money bill is transmitted to the Rajya Sabha for recommendation and presented to the
president for assent, the Speaker endorses it as a money bill.
A money bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha and that too on the recommendation of the
president.
Every such bill is considered to be a government bill and can be introduced only by a minister.
• Money bill can't be introduced by a private member.

The Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend a money bill.

• It can only make recommendations.
• It must return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, with or without recommendations.
• The Lok Sabha can either accept or reject all or any of the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha.If
the Rajya Sabha does not return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, the bill is deemed to have
been passed by both the Houses in the form originally passed by the Lok Sabha.
o Thus, the Lok Sabha has more powers than Rajya Sabha with regard to a money bill.
o On the other hand, both the Houses have equal powers with regard to an ordinary bill.

Finally, when a money bill is presented to the president, he may either give his assent to the bill or
withhold his assent to the bill but cannot return the bill for reconsideration of the Houses.
Normally, the president gives his assent to a money bill as it is introduced in the Parliament withhis
prior permission.

FINANCIAL BILLS - ART.117

Financial bills are those bills that deal with fiscal matters, that is, revenue or expenditure.However,
the Constitution uses the term financial bill in a technical sense.
Financial bills are of three kinds:
o Money bills—Article 110
o Financial bills (I)—Article 117 (1)
o Financial bills (II)—Article 117 (3)
** Money bills are simply a species of financial bills.

Hence, all money bills are financial bills but all financial bills are not money bills.
Only those financial bills are money bills which contain exclusively those matters which are
mentioned in Article 110 of the Constitution.
These are also certified by the Speaker of Lok Sabha as money bills.
The financial bills (I) and (II), on the other hand, have been dealt with Article 117 of the Constitution.

FINANCIAL BILLS (I) - ARTICLE 117 (1)

It contains not only any or all the matters mentioned in Article 110, but also other matters of general
legislation.
A bill that contains a borrowing clause, but does not exclusively deal with borrowing.In two respects,
a financial bill (I) is similar to a money bill:
• both of them can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha, and
• both of them can be introduced only on the recommendation of the president.
In all other respects, a financial bill (I) is governed by the same legislative procedure applicable toan
ordinary bill.
Hence, it can be either rejected or amended by the Rajya Sabha (except that an amendment other
than for reduction or abolition of a tax cannot be moved in either House without the recommendation
of the president).
In case of a disagreement between the two Houses over such a bill, the president can summon a joint
sitting of the two Houses to resolve the deadlock.

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FINANCIAL BILLS (II) - ARTICLE 117 (3)

Contains provisions involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, but does not include
any of the matters mentioned in Article 110.
It is treated as an ordinary bill and in all respects.
Financial bill (II) can be introduced in either House of Parliament and recommendation of the
President is not necessary for its introduction.
It can be either rejected or amended by either House of Parliament.
In case of a disagreement between the two Houses over such a bill, the President can summon a joint
sitting of the two Houses to resolve the deadlock.

JOINT SITTING OF TWO HOUSES - Art 108

Joint sitting is an extraordinary machinery provided by the Constitution to resolve a deadlock
between the two Houses over the passage of a bill.
A deadlock is deemed to have taken place under any one of the following three situations after a bill
has been passed by one House and transmitted to the other House:
• if the bill is rejected by the other House;
• if the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the bill; or
• if more than six months have elapsed from the date of the receipt of the bill by the other House
without the bill being passed by it.
In the above 3 situations, the president can summon a joint sitting for the purpose of deliberating and
voting on the bill.
It must be noted here that the provision of joint sitting is applicable to ordinary bills or financialbills
only and not to money bills or Constitutional amendment bills.
• In the case of a money bill, the Lok Sabha has overriding powers,
• while a Constitutional amendment bill must be passed by each House separately.
If the bill (under dispute) has already lapsed due to the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, no joint sitting
can be summoned.
But, the joint sitting can be held if the Lok Sabha is dissolved after the President has notified his
intention to summon such a sitting (as the bill does not lapse in this case). After the President notifies
his intention to summon a joint sitting of the two Houses, none of the Houses can proceed further
with the bill.
The Speaker of Lok Sabha presides over a joint sitting of the two Houses and the Deputy Speaker,in
his absence.
If the Deputy Speaker is also absent from a joint sitting, the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
presides.
If he is also absent, such other person as may be determined by the members present at the joint
sitting, presides over the meeting.
Chairman of Rajya Sabha does not preside over a joint sitting as he is not a member of eitherHouse
of Parliament.

The Constitution has specified that at a joint sitting, new amendments to the bill cannot beproposed
except in two cases:
1. those amendments that have caused final disagreement between the Houses; and
2. those amendments that might have become necessary due to the delay in the passage of thebill.

Since 1950, the provision regarding the joint sitting of the two Houses has been invoked onlythrice.
1. Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1960: As the Lok Sabha did not agree to the amendments made by the
Rajya Sabha, a joint session was held on May 6, 1961.
2. Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill, 1977: The Rajya Sabha rejected the bill after it ispassed
in the Lok Sabha. A joint Sitting was held on May 16, 1978.
3. Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002: The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha but, rejected by theUpper

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House. A joint sitting was held on March 26, 2002.

Parliamentary Committees
Cabinet Committees
They are an organisational device to reduce the enormous workload of the Cabinet. They also
facilitate in-depth examination of policy issues and effective coordination. They are based on the
principles of division of labour and effective delegation.

The following are the features of Cabinet Committees:

1. Not mentioned in the original Constitution. However, the Rules of Business provide for their
establishment.
2. They are of two types—standing and ad hoc.
o Standing Cab. Comm. - Permanent
o Ad hoc Cab. Comm. - Temporary, disbanded after their task is completed.
3. They are set up by the Prime Minister according to the exigencies of the time and requirements of
the situation. Hence, their number, nomenclature, and composition varyfrom time to time.
4. Their membership varies from 3-8. They usually include only Cabinet Ministers. However,the non-
cabinet Ministers are not debarred from their membership.
5. They not only include the Ministers in charge of subjects covered by them but also includeother
senior Ministers.
6. They are mostly headed by the Prime Minister. Some times by Home Minister orthe Finance
Minister.
7. They not only sort out issues and formulate proposals for the consideration of theCabinet, but also
take decisions. However, the Cabinet can review theirdecisions.

The following, 4 important standing Committees headed by Prime Ministers were functional:
1. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
2. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
3. Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs
4. Cabinet Committee on Political AffairsWatchdog committees on executive:
1. Committees on Public Account committee.
2. Public account undertaking
3. Estimate committees
4. Committees on subordinate legislation
5. Committee on government assurance
6. Department related committees
Public account committee: The twenty-two member committee is elected through a single
transferable vote, 5 from the Lok sabha and 7 from the Rajya sabha. Externally the committeebelongs
to Lok sabha and its chairman is appointed by the speaker and is from the Lok sabha.

Functions of the committee includes:

To examine the accounts showing the appropriation granted by the parliament tomeet the
expenditure of the government of India.
To examine the Annual Finance Accounts of the Government of India and other accountslaid before
the House.
To examine the reports of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on revenuescript.

Estimate committee: This committee consists of 30 members wholly derived from the Loksabha. All
the parties in the parliament are given proportionate representation in this committee. The Chairman
is appointed by the Speaker from amongst its members. The functions of the committee are:
To report on the efficiency of the policy underlying the estimates;

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To examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy impliedinthe estimates;
To suggest the form in which the estimates are to be presented in the Parliament.
The committee works well in the limits of the policy approved by the Parliament, but it maysuggest a
change if it think so.

Public account undertakings Committee:This committee consists of 15 members of the lok sabha and
7 associated members of the Rajya Sabha. The chairman of the committee is appointed from the
members of the Lok sabha by the Speaker. The functions of the Committeeare:
• To examine the reports and the accounts of the public undertaking specified in the FourthSchedule
of the rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Lok sabha and also the report of the CAG,
if any.
• To examine the efficiency and autonomy of the public undertakings.
• To examine other specific subjects or matters referred to it by the House or the Speaker.

IMPORTANT PARLIAMENTARY TERMS

Question Hour
The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for this.
During this time, the members ask questions and the ministers usually give answers.The questions are
of three kinds, namely, starred, un-starred and short notice:
1. A starred question (distinguished by an asterisk*) requires an oral answer and hence
supplementary questions can follow.
2. An unstarred question, on the other hand, requires a written answer and hence,supplementary
questions cannot follow.
3. A short notice question is one that is asked by giving a notice of less than ten days.It is answered
orally.
Data/answer provided by Ministers in Question Hour is considered to be most authenticsource of data.

Zero Hour
Unlike the question hour, the zero hour is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure. It is an informal
device available to the members of the Parliament to raise matterswithout any prior notice.
The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts until the agenda forthe day (i.e.,
regular business of the House) is taken up.
In other words, the time gap between the question hour and the agenda is known as zerohour.

Closure Motion
It is a motion moved by a member to cut short the debate on a matter before the House. If the motion
is approved by the House, debate is stopped forthwith and the matter isputto vote.
There are four kinds of closure motions:
1. Simple Closure: It is one when a member moves that the matter having been sufficientlydiscussed
be now put to vote.
2. Closure by Compartments: In this case, the clauses of a bill or a lengthy resolution are grouped
into parts before the commencement of the debate. The debate covers thepartas a whole and the
entire part is put to vote.
3. Kangaroo Closure: Under this type, only important clauses are taken up for debate andvoting and
the intervening clauses are skipped over and taken as passed.
4. Guillotine Closure: It is one when the undiscussed clauses of a bill or a resolution are also put to
vote along with the discussed ones due to want of time (as the time allotted for thediscussion is
over).

Calling Attention Motion

It is introduced in the Parliament by a member to call the attention of a minister to a matter of urgent

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public importance, and to seek an authoritative statement from himonthat matter.

However, unlike the zero hour, it is mentioned in the Rules of Procedure.
Privilege Motion or Censure Motion
It is concerned with the breach of parliamentary privileges by a minister.
It is moved by a member(specially from opposition Party) when he feels that a ministerhas committed
a breach of privilege of the House or one or more of its members by withholding facts of a case or by
giving wrong or distorted facts.
Its purpose is to censure the concerned minister.

Lame-duck Session
It refers to the last session of the existing Lok Sabha, after a new Lok Sabha has beenelected.
Those members of the existing Lok Sabha who could not get re-elected to the new LokSabha are called
lame-ducks.

Hung Parliament
A parliament in which no political party has enough seats to secure an overall majority.

Pressure Group
Pressure Groups: Methods of Exerting Influence. There are a variety of ways via which the pressure
groups could exert influence. These can be Trade union, Labour union etcwho have the same motive.

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