Parliament

Ask a student "how many houses does Parliament have?" and the answer is "two". Ask the Constitution, and it says three parts. Article 79 says Parliament consists of the President and two Houses: the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). The President is not a member of either House, yet no Bill becomes an Act without his assent, only he summons and prorogues the Houses, and he can issue ordinances. So he is an integral part of Parliament. The structure is bicameral, a feature taken from Britain, where the lower House is directly elected and the upper House represents the units of the federation.

The Lok Sabha (Article 81). The Constitution allows a maximum of 550 members: not more than 530 chosen by direct election from the States and not more than 20 from the Union Territories. At present the House has 543 elected seats, of whom 524 come from the States and 19 from the Union Territories (as of 2025; the figures reflect the 2008 delimitation). The nominated Anglo-Indian seats (two) were abolished by the 104th Amendment, effective January 2020, so the old figure of 552 is history. Seats are given to States in proportion to population (Article 81(2)), so that every MP represents roughly the same number of voters; the 1971 Census has been used as the base since the 42nd Amendment (1976), and the 84th Amendment (2001) extended this freeze until the first Census after 2026. The idea is simple: a State that controlled its population should not lose seats to a State that did not.

Reservation in the Lok Sabha. Of the 543 seats, 84 are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 47 for Scheduled Tribes (Article 330), and the 104th Amendment extended this reservation up to 2030. The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, reserves one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies for women, including one-third of the SC and ST seats (the "quota within quota"). It will come into effect only after the delimitation that follows the first Census taken after its commencement, and it is meant to run for 15 years at first. Delimitation itself is done by the Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned in any court (Article 329(a)).

The Rajya Sabha (Article 80). The maximum is 250 members: 238 representing the States and Union Territories and 12 nominated by the President for their special knowledge in literature, science, art and social service. At present it has 245 members: 233 elected and 12 nominated. The seats are distributed among the States and UTs by the Fourth Schedule: Uttar Pradesh has the most (31), then Maharashtra (19), Tamil Nadu (18), and West Bengal and Bihar (16 each); several small States have just one. Members are elected by the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies by the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (Article 80(4)); for the UTs, the members are elected by the electoral colleges of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, which have Assemblies. Since 2003 a candidate need not be an elector of the same State, and the ballot is open for Rajya Sabha elections.

Why two Houses? The Lok Sabha speaks for the people and can topple a government. The Rajya Sabha speaks for the States, thinks slowly, and acts as a brake: it cannot be dissolved, so a wave of popularity in one election cannot sweep it away. One-third of its members retire every second year, which keeps the House continuous (hence "permanent House") while still refreshing its membership. The Lok Sabha runs for five years from its first sitting unless dissolved earlier, and during a National Emergency Parliament can extend its life one year at a time, but not beyond six months after the Emergency ends.

Who can sit in Parliament, and what takes a seat away? The Constitution answers this in Articles 84, 99 to 104, and then hands the details to Parliament and the Election Commission. Think of it as a four-gate path: qualify, take the oath, sit and vote, and finally lose the seat if something goes wrong. Learn each gate with its Article number, because the examiner loves the numbers.

The oath (Article 99). Every member must take an oath or affirmation before taking his seat, in the form in the Third Schedule, before the President or a person appointed by him. In the new Lok Sabha it is the Pro-tem Speaker, appointed by the President, who administers the oath to members until a Speaker is elected. A person who sits or votes without taking the oath is liable to a penalty of Rs 500 for each day (Article 104). The Constitution leaves the pay and allowances of members to Parliament by law (Article 106).

Disqualification (Article 102). A person is disqualified from being chosen as, and from being, a member of either House if he: (a) holds an office of profit under the Government of India or a State Government (other than an office that Parliament has declared by law not to disqualify), (b) is of unsound mind and so declared by a competent court, (c) is an undischarged insolvent, (d) is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or is under an acknowledgement of allegiance to a foreign State, (e) is disqualified by a law made by Parliament (the Representation of the People Act, 1951), or (2) is disqualified under the Tenth Schedule (defection). The phrase "office of profit" is not defined; it means an office that brings a financial gain and could make a member lean towards the executive.

Who decides, and what about convictions? If a question of disqualification under Article 102(1) arises, the President decides, after obtaining the opinion of the Election Commission, and he acts according to that opinion (Article 103). Disqualification for defection is decided by the Speaker or the Chairman, not the President. Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a member convicted of an offence and sentenced to two years or more is disqualified from the date of conviction and for six years after release. In Lily Thomas v. Union of India (2013) the Supreme Court struck down the clause that allowed a convicted member to continue while appealing, so the disqualification is now immediate. In Jaya Bachchan v. Union of India (2006) the Court upheld the disqualification of an MP for holding an office of profit.

Vacating the seat (Article 101). (1) No dual membership of Parliament: a person cannot be a member of both Houses; if elected to both, he must resign from one within 10 days of the result as per rules, failing which his Rajya Sabha seat falls vacant. (2) A person cannot be an MP and an MLA at the same time; if he is elected to both, his seat in Parliament becomes vacant unless he resigns from the State Legislature within 14 days. (3) A member may resign by writing to the Speaker or the Chairman. (4) If a member is absent from all meetings for 60 days without permission, the House may declare the seat vacant; days when the House is prorogued or adjourned for more than four consecutive days are not counted. The Speaker also vacates his office if he ceases to be a member of the Lok Sabha.

Every House needs a referee. In the Lok Sabha the referee is the Speaker; in the Rajya Sabha it is the Chairman, who is the Vice-President of India by virtue of his office. The idea of a neutral Speaker comes from the House of Commons in Britain, where the Speaker leaves his party and the House protects his impartiality. In India the Speaker is chosen from among the members, and even though he belongs to a party, the office demands fairness. The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, on the other hand, is not a member of that House at all.

What does the Speaker do? He presides over the House and maintains order; allows or disallows questions and motions; decides whether a Bill is a Money Bill (Article 110(3)); presides over the joint sitting (Article 108(4)); decides disqualification on defection under the Tenth Schedule; gives a casting vote in a tie (Article 100); and appoints the chairmen of the committees. His salary is charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, so Parliament cannot vote it down. A newly elected Lok Sabha first meets under a Pro-tem Speaker, who is appointed by the President; the new Speaker is then elected. The Speaker stays in office after the Lok Sabha is dissolved until the first meeting of the next Lok Sabha. When a resolution for his removal is under discussion, he cannot preside (though he may speak and vote in the first instance, but has no casting vote).

The leaders. The Leader of the House is the Prime Minister (or a minister he nominates), who manages the government's business. The Leader of the Opposition heads the largest opposition party that has at least 10 per cent of the seats (a rule set by convention from the days of the first Speaker); he is paid under the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977. The post stayed vacant in the Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2024 because no opposition party had enough seats; in the 18th Lok Sabha (2024) Rahul Gandhi was recognised as the Leader of the Opposition. The Whip is the party's officer who tells members how to vote; the Deputy Speaker is by convention an opposition member, though the 17th Lok Sabha did not elect one.

Sessions (Article 85). The President summons each House at intervals so that six months do not pass between its last sitting in one session and its first sitting in the next. In practice there are three sessions a year: the Budget Session (February to April or May, the longest), the Monsoon Session (July to August) and the Winter Session (November to December). Know the four words that students mix up: a sitting is one meeting on one day; adjournment ends a sitting and is done by the presiding officer; prorogation ends a session and is done by the President; dissolution ends the life of a Lok Sabha and is done by the President (only the Lok Sabha). At the first session after each general election and the first session of each year, the President addresses both Houses together (Article 87), and the government's policy is then debated on a Motion of Thanks.

What lapses on dissolution? (1) A Bill pending in the Lok Sabha lapses. (2) A Bill passed by the Lok Sabha but pending in the Rajya Sabha also lapses. (3) A Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha but not yet passed by the Lok Sabha does not lapse. (4) A Bill passed by both Houses and awaiting the President's assent does not lapse. (5) If the President has already notified a joint sitting, dissolution does not stop it (Article 108(5)). The test is simple: only what is alive in the Lok Sabha dies with it.

Quorum and voting. The quorum to constitute a meeting of either House is one-tenth of the total number of members, including the presiding officer (Article 100(3)); if there is no quorum, the Speaker or Chairman must adjourn the House or suspend the meeting. Decisions are taken by a majority of members present and voting, excluding the presiding officer, who votes only in case of a tie. Special majorities (for example, for a constitutional amendment) are exceptions. The language of business is Hindi or English (Article 120), though the presiding officer can allow a member to speak in his mother tongue.

A Parliament is not only a law factory; it is the place where the government is questioned, tested and held accountable. For this, the Houses use a set of parliamentary devices. Think of them in three layers: questions (to get information), motions (to take up an issue or test the government) and privileges (the protection that lets a member speak without fear). Almost every device is in the Rules of Procedure of each House (made under Article 118), not in the Constitution itself.

Question Hour is the first hour of every sitting (11 a.m. to 12 noon in the Lok Sabha). Questions are of three kinds: starred (answered orally, and the member may ask supplementary questions), unstarred (answered in writing, with no supplementaries) and short notice (asked with less than the usual ten clear days of notice, on a matter of urgent public importance, and answered orally). The presiding officer decides whether a question is admissible. Zero Hour has no mention in the Rules; it is an Indian innovation that grew in the 1960s, a slot after Question Hour when members raise urgent matters without the usual notice. It runs until the regular agenda of the day begins.

Why are the adjournment motion and the no-confidence motion for the Lok Sabha only? Because the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha alone (Article 75(3)); the Rajya Sabha cannot topple a government. Calling Attention and Question Hour exist in both Houses because they only seek information. Remember the principle: devices that can bring down the government are Lok Sabha devices.

A famous first: the first no-confidence motion in independent India was moved in 1963 by Acharya J. B. Kripalani against the Nehru government. The motion does not mention reasons, but the House can debate the whole record of the government. A confidence vote is different: it is moved by the government to prove its majority, as when a new government is asked to show its strength on the floor. In S. R. Bommai (1994) the Supreme Court said that the floor of the House is the correct place to test a majority.

Parliamentary privileges (Article 105). Privileges are the special rights that let Parliament and its members work without fear or interference. Article 105(1) gives freedom of speech in Parliament, subject to the Constitution and the rules; Article 105(2) says no member is liable in any court for anything said or any vote given in Parliament or its committees, and nobody is liable for publishing a report under the authority of a House. A member is also free from arrest in civil cases during the session and for 40 days before and after it (not in criminal cases or preventive detention), and is exempt from jury service. The House as a whole has collective privileges: to publish its proceedings, to exclude strangers, to punish for breach of privilege and contempt. Parliament has never codified these privileges by a law. The same protections for State legislators are in Article 194.

Courts and privileges. In Keshav Singh's case (1964-65), a clash between the UP Assembly and the Allahabad High Court, a Presidential Reference under Article 143 established that a High Court can examine a legislature's action if it violates a Fundamental Right. In Raja Ram Pal v. Speaker, Lok Sabha (2007), the Supreme Court upheld Parliament's power to expel members for the "cash for query" scandal but said such action is open to limited judicial review. In P. V. Narasimha Rao v. State (CBI) (1998), the Court had held that MPs who took bribes to vote were protected by Article 105(2); in Sita Soren v. Union of India (March 2024), a seven-judge Bench overruled that view and held that bribery is not protected by parliamentary privilege.

A law begins as a Bill, a draft proposal. Only when both Houses pass it and the President gives assent does it become an Act. The Constitution sorts Bills into four kinds, because the Houses do not have equal say in every kind: Ordinary Bills (Article 107), Money Bills (Article 110), Financial Bills (Article 117) and Constitution Amendment Bills (Article 368). Before learning the steps, learn the reason for the sorting: money and taxes are the business of the House the people elect directly, so the Lok Sabha holds the last word there, while the Rajya Sabha, the House of the States, gets an equal voice in ordinary law and in amending the Constitution.

Every Money Bill is a Financial Bill, but not every Financial Bill is a Money Bill. A Money Bill (Article 110) deals only with matters such as taxes, borrowing, the Consolidated Fund and expenditure charged on it. A Financial Bill category I contains those matters plus other subjects, so it is not a Money Bill. A Financial Bill category II merely involves expenditure from the Consolidated Fund. The Speaker's certificate is what makes a Bill a Money Bill, and the Speaker's decision is final (Article 110(3)).

Joint sitting (Article 108). For an ordinary Bill, or a Financial Bill, the Constitution provides a way out of a deadlock. A joint sitting can be called by the President when (1) the other House rejects the Bill, (2) the Houses finally disagree on the amendments, or (3) six months pass after the Bill is received by the other House without it being passed. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides (if the Speaker is absent, the Deputy Speaker, then the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, as Article 118(4) and the rules provide), and the matter is decided by a majority of members present and voting. Because the Lok Sabha has more than twice the members of the Rajya Sabha, it usually prevails. A joint sitting cannot be held for a Money Bill or a Constitution Amendment Bill. Joint sittings have been held only three times: the Dowry Prohibition Bill (1961), the Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill (1978) and the Prevention of Terrorism Bill (POTA, 2002).

Money Bill step by step (Articles 109 and 110). A Money Bill is introduced only in the Lok Sabha, on the President's recommendation. After the Lok Sabha passes it, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha, which has 14 days to return it with recommendations. The Lok Sabha may accept or reject those recommendations. If the Rajya Sabha does not return the Bill within 14 days, it is deemed passed in the form the Lok Sabha passed it. The President may assent or withhold assent, but cannot return a Money Bill (Article 111, proviso). If the question is whether a Bill is a Money Bill at all, the Speaker decides, and that decision cannot be questioned in any court or by the President.

Article 249 and Article 312 are the two powers that belong to the Rajya Sabha alone. Under Article 249, if the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by two-thirds of members present and voting that it is necessary in the national interest for Parliament to legislate on a State List subject, Parliament gains that power. The resolution lasts for one year and can be renewed again and again for a year at a time; the law made under it ceases to have effect six months after the resolution lapses. Under Article 312, a resolution of the Rajya Sabha supported by two-thirds of members present and voting lets Parliament create a new All-India Service (including an All-India Judicial Service). Currently the three All-India Services are the IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service. The reason is simple: these matters touch the States, and the Rajya Sabha is the States' House. A Constitution Amendment Bill (Article 368) needs a special majority: a majority of the total membership of each House and two-thirds of the members present and voting; where federal features are touched, half of the State legislatures must also ratify. Since the 24th Amendment (1971) the President must give assent.

In a democracy the government may spend only what the people's representatives have allowed. That single idea explains the whole budget procedure. The Constitution gives Parliament the power of the purse: no tax can be levied without law (Article 265) and no money can leave the treasury without Parliament's sanction. The word 'budget' does not appear in the Constitution; Article 112 calls it the Annual Financial Statement, an estimate of the receipts and expenditure for the coming financial year (1 April to 31 March), laid before Parliament every year. The Finance Minister presents it in the Lok Sabha; since 2017 the Union Budget has been presented on 1 February, and the separate Railway Budget was merged into it.

Two kinds of expenditure. Some items are charged on the Consolidated Fund: Parliament may discuss them, but it does not vote on them. Examples are the salaries and allowances of the President, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Supreme Court judges, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and debt charges of the Union. The rest, the voted expenditure, is put to the Lok Sabha as Demands for Grants. Only the Lok Sabha votes on demands; the Rajya Sabha may merely discuss the budget. This is why the Lok Sabha alone can, by refusing a demand or the Finance Bill, bring a government down.

Parliamentary committees do the detailed work that the full House has no time for. A committee is either standing (permanent, constituted every year or periodically) or ad hoc (formed for a task and dissolved after it). The three financial committees keep a watch on public money: the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) checks, with the help of the CAG's reports, whether money was spent as Parliament intended; the Estimates Committee suggests economies and efficiency; and the Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) examines public sector undertakings. Since 1993 the Departmental Related Standing Committees (now 24 in number) examine the Demands for Grants, Bills referred to them and annual reports of ministries. A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is an ad hoc committee drawn from both Houses to probe a specific matter or examine a Bill.

In the 1960s and 1970s Indian politics became notorious for 'Aya Ram, Gaya Ram': legislators changing parties again and again, and governments toppling overnight. The phrase comes from a Haryana legislator of 1967, Gaya Lal, who is said to have changed his party several times within a very short span. To protect stable government and the voter's mandate, the 52nd Constitution Amendment Act, 1985 (during the Rajiv Gandhi government) added the Tenth Schedule, popularly called the Anti-Defection Law. The Schedule applies to Parliament and to State Legislatures, and it is backed by changes to Articles 101, 102, 190 and 191.

The law punishes the legislator, not the party. The idea is that a voter elects a person on a party's ticket, so changing sides after the election betrays that trust. But the law allows three exceptions so that conscience and genuine reorganisation are not crushed: (1) a merger of the original party with another, when at least two-thirds of the legislature party agree; (2) the Speaker or Chairman who gives up party membership on taking office, and may rejoin the party after leaving it; (3) the party itself expelling a member does not by itself disqualify him, as he continues as an 'unattached' member.

Who decides, and what changed later. The question of disqualification is decided by the presiding officer of the House: the Speaker in the Lok Sabha and the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha (and the corresponding officers in State Legislatures). If the question concerns the presiding officer himself, a member elected by the House decides. In Kihoto Hollohan (1992) the Supreme Court upheld the Schedule but struck down the clause that shut out the courts: the presiding officer's decision acts like a tribunal's and is open to judicial review. The 91st Amendment (2003) removed the old 'split' exception, which had let one-third of a party's members walk out together, and linked the Schedule to another reform: a legislator disqualified for defection cannot hold a ministerial post or a remunerative political post (Articles 75(1B), 164(1B) and 361B).