Functions of Parliament of India – Part V of Indian Constitution

The Indian Parliament consists of a Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and President of India. There are normally three sessions of the Parliament that are, Budget session, Monsoon Session, and Winter Session.

Learn more about Parliament of India as this topic is important for competitive exams like UPSC, SSC etc.

Functions of the Parliament of India

Chapter II of Part V of the Indian constitution deals with the roles and functions of the Parliament. Articles 79 to 123 talk in-depth about the Parliament of the country.

Motions in Parliament of India

A motion is a formal proposal that asks the house to take some action. With the permission of the presiding officer, motion is necessary to be stated in the parliament before the conduction of a discussion.

There are three kinds of motions in the Parliament that are, Subsidiary, Substitute, and Substantive motions.

A substantive motion is the one that is a self-contained independent proposal. A substitute motion is a motion in substitution of an original motion and if it is adopted by the house, it supersedes the original motion.

And a subsidiary motion is the one that does not have a meaning in itself and is not capable of stating a decision.

There are different types of motions in parliament that are-

1. Privilege Motion

Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities that are enjoyed by the MPs, MLAs, and MLCs, individually and collectively, to aide them, effectively discharge their functions.

When any of these rights or immunities is disregarded, the offense is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under the law of Parliament. And thereof, a privilege motion is moved against the breach of parliamentary privileges.

2. Censure Motion

A censure motion is against the ruling government and can only be taken forward by the opposition in the house. And if such a motion is passed in the Lok Sabha, the council of the ministers is bound to take it into the confidence of the Lok Sabha at the earliest possible.

3. No-Confidence Motion

A no-confidence motion can only be moved in the Lok Sabha and that too, by the opposition. This motion shall be against the council of ministers as a whole and not against a particular individual. Unlike the Censure motion, this motion does not require a specific ground.

4. Call Attention Motion

To call the attention of a minister to a matter of urgent public importance, a Call attention Motion shall be passed by a minister. After that, the minister is supposed to make an authoritative statement on the respective matter.

5. Adjournment Motion

A motion that is related to the adjournment of the business of the house to discuss a definite matter that is of urgent public importance.

6. Cut Motion

A cut motion is an effective tool to test the strength of the government. It is said that if a cut motion is adopted by the house and the government does not have a majority then it is bound to resign.

Sessions in parliament of India

Sessions in a parliament are the time period in which a house meets almost every day to manage the business. There are typically three types of Sessions, which are Budget, Monsoon, and Winter Session.

1. Budget Session

The budget session is held from the months of February to May, every year. It is considered to be one of the most crucial sessions of the parliament. This session is generally split into two periods with a gap of one month between them.

2. Monsoon Session

The monsoon session is held between the months of July to September, every year. Matters of the public are discussed in this session.

3. Winter Session

The winter session is held between the months of mid-November to mid-December, every year. This session is the shortest session of all. The topics that were left to be discussed in the previous sessions are taken up in this session.

Indian Parliamentary Proceedings

There are a few devices that are used in the Parliamentary Proceedings. The devices are the following –

1. Question Hour

The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for the Question Hour. During this time, the members are supposed to ask questions and expect answers from the ministers.

2. Half an Hour Discussion

A matter of sufficient public importance, which has been subjected to a lot of debate and the answer to which needs elucidation on a matter of fact, are put up in the Half an Hour Discussion. Three days a week can be allotted by the speaker for such discussions.

3. Short Discussion

A short Discussion is also known as a two-hour discussion as the time allotted for such a discussion should not exceed two hours.

4. Place of Order

When the proceedings of the House do not follow the normal rules of procedure, a Member can raise a point of order.

It should relate to the interpretation of the Rules of the House or such articles of the Constitution that regulate the business of the House and it should raise a question that is within the cognizance of the Speaker.

5. Special Mention

A matter which could not be raised during question hour, half-an-hour discussion, short duration discussion, or under adjournment motion, calling attention notice or under any rule of the House can be raised under the special mention in the Rajya Sabha.

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

These are the two houses of the Parliament. Lok Sabha is the lower house and it consists of 543 members. The Rajya Sabha is the higher house and it consists of 250 members.

Any law or decision that needs to be taken by the Government has to first pass in the Lok Sabha and then the Rajya Sabha.

Difference Between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

Special powers of Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha is granted some of the Special Powers by the Indian Constitution. The Special Powers of this house is divided are as follows-

1. Legislative Powers

It must be noted that the Rajya Sabha enjoys equal powers with the Lok Sabha. A bill cannot become a law unless passed by the Rajya Sabha.

2. Financial Powers

After the annual budget has been passed by the Lok Sabha, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha for approval. In concern of the financial matters, the parliament holds the topmost authority and control, however, this control cannot be exercised without the agreement of the Rajya Sabha.

3. Executive Powers

The Prime Minister can be from the Rajya Sabha if the majority party in the Lok Sabha elects him as the leader. It also keeps an eye on the day to day activities of the executive.

4. Amendment Powers

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, together hold the power to amend any of the parts of the Indian Constitution, provided they have a two-thirds majority in each of the houses.

5. Electoral Powers

The Rajya Sabha has some electoral powers, too. The elected members of the Rajya Sabha along with the other members of the Lok Sabha the State Legislative Assemblies elect the President of India.

Adding to this, the members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha together elect the Vice- President of India. Rajya Sabha members also elect a Deputy Chairman from amongst themselves.

6. Judicial Powers

Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha together hold the power to impeach the President of the country upon his violation of the Indian constitution. They can also pass a special order for the removal of a judge of the supreme or the high court.

Furthermore, any charges against the Vice President can only be leveled in the Rajya Sabha.

7. Miscellaneous Powers

Other than the above-mentioned powers, they also hold the authority to approve the ordinances that are passed by the President. They also can make any changes required for amending the qualifications that are needed to be a member of the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.

ANTI DEFECTION LAW AND 10TH SCHEDULE

The 10th schedule of the Indian Constitution that talks about the Anti-Defection Law are designed to prevent political defections that are prompted by the lure of office or material benefits or other considerations.

This law was passed by the parliament in the year 1985 and was reinforced in 2002. It was inserted in The Indian Constitution during the 52nd Amendment. The main aim of this law is to prevent MPs from switching political parties for any personal motive.

It applies to both the houses of the parliament and also the state assembly.

Some of the provisions regarding the disqualification of the members that were brought to this law during the 10th schedule are the following-

The member will stand disqualified if He/She,

1. Gives up his membership of a political party voluntarily.
2. Votes in the House, contrary to any direction issued by his political party.
3. Who is independently elected, joins a party
4. Who is a nominated member, joins a political party after the end of 6 months.

Parliamentary Privileges

Parliamentary privileges are the rights that are granted to the members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. However, it shall be noted that these privileges are not enjoyed by the President of the country.

There are two types of Parliamentary Privileges, that is, Individual and collective.

The individual Privileges include -:

1. Members cannot be arrested during sessions of the parliament, 40 days before beginning, and 40 days after the end of each session and this extends to civil cases, not criminal cases or preventive detention.
2. Any member is not liable to any proceedings in any given court for anything said or any vote by him/her in the parliament or its committees.

The collective Privileges are -:

1. Parliament also holds the right to exclude guests from its proceedings and in some cases of national interest, it can also hold a secret meeting on any important matter.
2. Parliament holds the authority to punish members as well as outsiders for breach of its privileges or its contempt by reprimand, admonition, or imprisonment.
3. The Court does not have the right to investigate proceedings of the House or any of its committees.

Bill and law making Procedure

A bill is the draft of a legislative proposal, that becomes law after receiving the approval of both the houses of the Parliament and the assent of the President.

The bills that are introduced in the parliament can be classified into the following types-

1. Money Bills

These bills are related to financial matters, which include taxation, public expenditure, and more.

The procedure for passing a money Bill-

A money bill shall be introduced in the parliament only on the recommendation of the President. It must be noted that the speaker’s certificate on a money bill once given is final and cannot be challenged.

2. Ordinary Bills

Ordinary bills are the bills that are concerned with matters other than financial matters.
The procedure for passing an ordinary bill is as follows-

• First Reading: The introduction of the bill in either of the houses of the Parliament by a minister or by a private member is considered to be the First Reading.
• Second Reading: This is the stage where the bill undergoes detailed scrutiny including discussion of every clause.
• Third Reading: No amendment to the bill are allowed at this stage. Here, the bill needs to be passed by a simple majority of members present and voting in the House.
• Bill in the second house: At this stage, the bill needs to be passed by a simple majority of members present and voting in the House. If the bill is passed at this stage then it goes further for the assent of the President.
• Assent of the President: If the bill gets the assent of the President, then it is treated as a law, otherwise, the bill gets scraped.

3. Finance Bills

The bills that are concerned with the finances but are not included in the money bills are classified under Finance Bills.

The procedure for passing a financial bill is –

Financial bills can be further classified into three types, money bills, Financial Bills (I), and Financial Bills (II). Financial Bills (I) shall be introduced in Lok Sabha but not Rajya Sabha.

They shall be introduced in the Rajya Sabha only on the recommendation of the President. Whereas, financial bills (II) can be introduced in either of the houses without the recommendation of the President.

4. Constitution Amendment Bills

The bills that are concerned with the amendments of the provisions are classified under the Constitutional Amendment Bills.

The procedure of passing a constitution amendment bill is –

These types of bills shall be introduced in the houses of the parliament but not in the state legislature. They don’t require prior permission of the president and can be introduced either by a minister or by a private member.

The Bill must be passed by the parliament and eventually gain the assent of the president to be considered as a law or an act.

Budgets and Funds

Widely speaking, there are basically three types of funds for the central government.

1. Consolidated funds of India

Consolidated funds are talked about in the article 266 of the Indian Constitution. These funds contain,

• All the revenues received by the government.
• All the loans raised by the government.
• Money received by the government for the repayment of loans.

It must be noted that any payment made out of the consolidated bills needs the approval of the president.

2. Public Account of India

The Public money that is received by the government other than the consolidated funds shall be added to the public account of India. Payment out of these funds does not require the approval of the Parliament. Article 226 of the Indian Constitution talks about the Public Account of India.

3. Contingency Fund of India

The contingency Fund of India was established by the parliament back in 1950. These funds are operated by executive action.

They are placed at the disposal of the president to enable advances to be made by him out of such funds for the purposes of meeting unforeseen expenditure or pending authorization of such expenditure by the parliament.

Parliamentary Committees

A parliamentary committee is a committee that is appointed by the house or nominated by the speaker of the chairman. It works under the direction of the speaker.

A parliamentary committee shall present its report to the house or to the speaker or the chairmen. It is also supposed to have a secretariat that is appointed by the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.

There are two types of Parliamentary Committees that are provided in the Indian Constitution. They can be either a Standing Committee or an ad hoc Committee.

A standing Committee is permanent in nature, whereas, an Ad Hoc committee is temporary in nature. The Adhoc Committees are further divided into two types that are, Inquiry and Advisory Committee.

An inquiry committee is constituted from time to time either by the houses, the speaker or the chairman to inquire on a specific topic. However, advisory committees are appointed to consider and report on particular bills. It is supposed to follow the rules of procedure as directed by the speaker.

Conclusion

The parliament of India consists of two houses and the President. Both the houses have their respective functions and shall perform their duties as described in the constitution. Any major decision shall require the approval of both the houses and eventually the President of the Country.

The Indian Parliament organizes various sessions to talk about varied issues. Adding to that, the parliament also enjoys some of the privileges, but the President is not given the advantage to use these privileges.

The parliament is also bound on budget and funds. And to look into the matters, it holds the right to appoint various committees to make its work easier and more effective.