PARLIAMENT

PARLIAMENT

·       Known as Westminister model of govt.

·       Articles 79 to 122 in Part V of the constitution deal

Parliament consists of 3 parts:

          President

          House of the People

          Council of States

Prez is integral part bcoz

bills passed by both the houses are assented by Prez to make it an ACT.

          He summons and prorogues both the houses

          Addresses both the houses

          Issues ordinances

Parliament includes	In UK (Crown in the Parliament)	In USA (Congress)	India (Prez in the Parliament)
Crown (King or Queen)/Prez	ü	û	ü
Upper house	ü House of Lords	ü Senate	ü Rajya sabha
Lower house	ü House of Commons	ü House of Representatives	ü Lok Sabha

Parliamentary form lays emphasis on “interdependence between the legislative and executive”.

Presidential form lays stress on the “separation of legislative and executive organs”.

	RS	LS
Composition	250 (238+ 12 nominated)	552 (530 + 20-UT + 2 Anglo Indians-nominated
Constitutional	4th Schedule – allocation of seats	Universal Adult Franchise- reduced age 21 to 18 thru 61st Constitutional amendment Act, 1988
Basis of allocation	Population of States	Territorial constituencies in the states ü Uniformity of representation in : b/w diff. states ü b/w diff. constituencies in the same state
Representation of UTs	Out of 7 only Delhi and Pondicherry have	Empowered the Constitution to prescribe the manner of choosing rep.- accordingly Direct Election
American Senate (Comparison)	No nominated members Each state has 2 senates- fixed (50* 2)
Type of Representation	Proportional representation	Territorial Representation

Readjustment of seats after each Census:

Delimitation Commission Acts – 1952,1962,1972,2002

          42^nd Amendment Act, 1976- froze the readjustment till 2000 at 1971 census.

          84^th Amendment Act of 2001, extended the ban on readjustment for 25 yrs.  till 2026 at 1991 census figures. However, 87^th Amendment of 2003- set the basis at 2001 census figures.

Reservation for SC and STs:

          In 1950 for 10 yrs (1960)

          79^th Amendment in 1999 – the reservation to last till 2010.

          84^th Amendment in 2001, - readjustment at 1991 figures

          87^th Amendment in 2003 – readjustment at 2001 census figures.

	RS	LS
Duration	Permanent – not subject to Dissolution ü 1/3rd of its members retire every second yr	5 yrs- from the date of its first meeting after the general elections- after which it automatically dissolves
Presiding Officers	Chairman, Deputy Chairman, a panel of Vice – Chairpersons	Speaker, Deputy Speaker, a Panel of Chairpersons for LS
Election of Presiding Officers	Vice-Prez ; Ex-Officio Chairman	Among the Members of LS, date of election fixed by the Prez.
Term of Presiding Officers	As long as he is VPrez.	Life of LS
Re-election, re-nomination	Members are eligible for any no. of times
Term of the member	Constitution- no mention but left it to the Parliament; Parl.- in the Representation of the People Act,1951 – made it 6 yrs
Re-election procedure	Through elections;  Nomination by Prez at the beginning of every 3rd Yr.
Order for retirement	1st batch – lottery; Act authorized Prez to make provisions
Authorisation to Dissolve before completion of the term	-	Prez can dissolve; cannot be challenged in the court of law
Extension of the term	----	During Emergency by a law of Parl. For 1 Yr for any times; Elections should be held b4 6 months after the expiry of EMERGENCY.
Resignation- addressed to	Chairman of RS	Speaker of LS

MP Qualifications:

          1. Constitution;             

o   Indian Citizen

o   Must take an oath acc. to the form prescribed in III Schedule

o   Not less than 30 yrs. of age (RS)  and 25 yrs.(LS) 

o   Must possess other qual. Prescribed by the Parl.

2. Parliament:

o   Must be registered as an elector for a Parl. Constituency (RS & LS)

o    Must be a member of SC,ST if he were to contest from a reserved Constituency.

Disqualifications: Prez decision is final after consulting Election Com

ü Under Constitution

o   Holding an Office of Profit

o   Unsound mind

o   Undischarged insolvent

o   Acquires  citizenship of any other country

o   Disqualified by any other law

ü Parliament – the Representation of People Act (1951):

o   Found guilty of election offences or corrupt practices in elections

o   Must not have been convicted in any offence resulting in imprisonment of 2 or more yrs. (Preventive Detention is ignored.)

o   Should not have failed to lodge an a/c of election expenses with in the stipulated time.

o   No interest in govt. contracts, works or services

o   Must not have been removed from govt. service for corruption or disloyalty

o    Must not have been convicted for promoting enmity b/w diff groups or for the offence of bribery

o   Must not have been punished for preaching and practicing social crimes.

ü On Grounds of DEFECTION: X schedule – decided by the Speaker & Chairman of LS & RS respectively. But subject to Judicial review (SC,1992)

o   Voluntarily gives up his membership of the party on whose ticket he is elected to the House

o   If he votes or abstains from the voting in the House contrary to the directions of his political party

o   Independently elected candidate joins any political party

o   Any nominated member joins any political party after the expiry of 6 months

Vacating of Seats:

·       Double membership:

o   if both RS and LS –

§  must intimate within 10 days in which house he wants to continue, otherwise RS membership stands cancelled by default.

§  If a sitting member in the House gets elected to other House also, the First House membership stands cancelled.

§  If a person is elected to 2 seats in the House, he must choose one, otherwise both will become vacant.

o   If b/w LS/RS and State Legislature:

§  If a person is so elected his seat in Parl. Becomes vacant, if he does not resign from the state Legislature within 14 days.

·       Disqualification

·       Resignation

·       Absence : found to be absent for more than 60 days without its meetings

·       Other cases:

o   If election is declared void by the court

o   Expelled by the house

o   Elected to the office of Prez or VPrez

o   Appointed to the Office of Governor

LS Speaker

Can resign from office by writing to the Deputy Speaker.

          Whenever LS is dissolved the Speaker does not vacate his office and continues till the newly elected LS meets.

Role, Powers and Functions

·         Head of the LS and its representatives

·         He is the guardian of powers and privileges of the members, the House as a whole and its committees

·         He is the Principal Spokesperson of the House and his decision regarding the Parliamentary matters is final.

Sources of LS Speaker’s Powers and Duties 

·        Constitution of India

·        The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of LS

·        Parliamentary Conventions

Powers and Duties:

•      maintains order and decorum in the House for conducting its business and regulating its proceedings

•      final interpreter of the provisions of i) Const; ii)LS Rules iii) the parliamentary precedents within the House

•      adjourns or suspends the meeting in absence of quorum

•      does not vote in the first instance but can exercise his vote in case of a tie (CASTING VOTE)

•      presides over a joint sitting of the Parliament, summoned by the Prez.

•      Can allow a ‘secret sitting’ of the house at the request of the Leader of the House

•      He decides whether a Bill is a money  bill or not; his decision is final

•      Decides the questions of disqualifications (subject to Judicial Review- SC,1992)

•      Acts as the ex-officio chairman of the Indian Parliamentary Group of the Inter Parliamentary union.

•      Acts as the ex-officio chairman of the conference of presiding officers of the country.

•      Appoints the chairman of all the parliamentary committees of the LS and supervised their functioning.

•      He is the Chairman of Business Advisory Commt., the Rules Commt. And the General Purpose Commt.

Provisions ensuring IMPARTIALITY and INDEPENDENCE

·        Can be removed only by a resolution passed by the LS with Absolute Majority. Motion can be place only with the support of at least 50 members (security of tenure).

·        Salaries and Allowances are not subject to annual voting.

·        His work and conduct cannot be discussed and criticized on the LS except on a substantive motion.

·        His powers of regulating procedure or conducting the business in the house are not subject matter to the jurisdiction of any court.

·        Cannot vote in the first instance. (Casting vote only)

·        Given high Order of Precedence (7^th Rank) – along with CJI and above the cabinet ministers but below PM, Deputy PM.

		LS Speaker		LS D Speaker		RS Chairman		RS D Chairman
British India (Central legislative Assembly)	Independent India	Vithalbhai J Patel -1925	G V Mavalankar (1946-56)		A Ayyangar
Election eligibility		Among the members of LS		Among the members of LS		Vice Prez.		Among members of RS
Date of Election		Decided by the Prez.		Decided by LS Speaker
Term		Life of LS		Life of LS		Ex-officio
Resignation –  addressed to		Deputy Speaker of LS		Speaker of LS		Prez		Chairman
Removal		Resolution passed by majority members of LS with 14 days of prior notice		Resolution passed by majority members of LS with 14 days of prior notice				Resolution passed by majority members of RS with 14 days of prior notice
Special Privileges		Presides over the JOINT sitting of the Parl. Decides a bill as money bill or not; Salary and Allowances not subject to annual vote. High Order of Precedence; His powers not subject matter of the jurisdiction of any court; Final authority of LS; Security of tenure;		If appointed to any Parliamentary Commt. – automatically becomes Chairman; Salary and Allowances not subject to annual vote;		Chairman is not the member of the House. Salary and Allowances not subject to annual vote.		Not subordinate to the Chairman, but directly responsible to the RS; Salary and Allowances not subject to annual vote.