Legislative Procedure in Parliament, Constitutional Provisions

Legislative Procedure in Parliament

Both houses of Parliament follow the same legislative process to pass laws into law. In both houses, the bills go through the same processes. Bills might be either public or private. The executive must create specific rules and regulations within the parameters of the law, while Parliament only creates laws in their broadest sense. Delegated legislation, executive legislation, or subordinate legislation are terms for this.

The Legislative Procedure in Parliament is an important part of Indian Polity which is an important subject in UPSC Syllabus. Students can also go for UPSC Mock Test to get more accuracy in their preparations .

Legislative Procedure in Parliament of India

In each of the two Houses of Parliament, the legislative process is the same. When a bill is properly enacted, it becomes an act or law and is presented for legislation. Four categories—Ordinary, Money, Financial, and Constitutional Amendment Bills—can be used to categorise bills. In this article, students can read all about Legislative Procedure in Parliament and find all the important information related to it in this article. 

Both government and private member bills follow the same legislative process. According to Article 109, Money Bills and Finance Bills cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha. They can only be discussed in Lok Sabha. This implies that they cannot be presented as Private Members’ Bills. The remaining bills may be presented in either house.

Legislative Procedure in Parliament Constitutional Provisions

The Constitution’s Articles 107 to 122 address the legislative process in relation to the passage of bills in Parliament. The terms of the introduction and passage of the Bill are described in Article 196 of the Indian Constitution.

With one exception, Articles 198 and 207 describe the steps involved in passing a Money Bill and a Financial Bill, respectively. Any House of the legislature may introduce additional bills.

Also Read: Pro-Tem Speaker

Legislative Procedure in Parliament Stages of Bills

A private member must give one month’s notice of his intention to introduce a bill if he wants to do so. The individual who wants to present the bill asks for the House’s approval before doing so. The Bill advances to the next phase if the House approves its presentation. After being introduced in the House, the bill is later published in the Gazette of India. The first reading of the bill is when it is introduced and published in the gazette.

Second Reading

In this, members of the Treasury and the Opposition give speeches in favour of or against the Bill’s guiding ideas. At this stage, the fundamental ideas and broad rules of the Bill are discussed. During the consideration stage of the bill, amendments are made clause by clause. There are four potential alternative actions:

The bill may be considered immediately, referred to a Select Committee of the House, referred to a Joint Committee of the Houses, or any combination of these. The law may be distributed to get the public’s view on it.

Committee Stage

It thoroughly and in-depth analyses each clause of the bill. It has full authority to call any individual, hear from experts, check the documentation, and make recommendations for Bill’s improvement. It may also change its rules, but only without changing the guiding ideas. The committee compiles its reports following professional analysis and submits them to the House.

Consideration State

The report is divided into two sections: the committee’s suggested amendments to the bill and the committee-recommended amendments themselves. At this point, the Bill will be discussed clause by clause and amendment after amendment. Each provision and amendment is examined and put to a vote separately. Members may also suggest changes. If the House approves the amendments with a majority, they are included to the Bill.

Third Reading

The third reading serves as the last one. No amendments are permitted at this point because the general concepts of the bill have already been assessed during the second reading stage, therefore the discussion is currently just focused on whether the law should be accepted or rejected as a whole. If a majority of the members present and voting approve a measure, it is deemed to have passed by the House. The bill is then approved by the House speaker and sent to the second House for consideration and approval.

Bill in Other House

The same three readings are required for the bill that was sent to the other House. The Opposite House is presented with four options for consideration in the reading after the Bill has been discussed in the first two stages. They are:

• The bill might be approved without changes. In this situation, the Bill will be regarded as having passed both Houses.
• If the originating House accepts the Bill as amended by the other House, it will be deemed to have been approved by both Houses. If, however, the originating House rejects the other House’s amendments and there is still a difference between the two Houses regarding the amendments, the President may call a joint meeting of the two Houses to break the impasse under Article 108;
• It could either completely reject the bill or decide to do nothing, which would keep the bills waiting.

Joint Sitting

New amendments cannot be proposed during a joint sitting. Exception: If these revisions led to disagreement between the two houses or were mandated as a result of the bill’s passage being delayed. A simple majority is required to pass a bill. The bill is judged to have passed both Houses if a majority of the members present and voting in the joint session vote in favour of it.

President’s Assent

A bill is given to the President for his approval once it has been approved by not less than half of the State Legislature, both Houses of Congress, or the joint session of Parliament, as applicable.

A Bill other than a Money or Constitutional Amendment Bill may receive the President’s assent, the President’s assent may be withheld, or the President may return the Bill to Parliament for reconsideration with his own suggestion. Parliament may accept or reject his proposal, but if it is resent to the President for approval, the President must now approve it. He cannot refuse to pay the bill. After getting the President’s approval, the Bill becomes an Act.

Also Read: Devices of Parliamentary Proceedings

Legislative Procedure in Parliament Special Provision

Money Bill

A bill is declared to be a money bill under Article 110 of the Indian Constitution if it exclusively deals with any or all of the following issues:  the levying, repealing, waiving, changing, or regulating of any tax; the controls on the government of India’s borrowing of funds; the management of the Indian Contingency Fund or the Consolidated Fund, as well as the payment of funds into or withdrawals from any such fund;

The appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India; The declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure; The receipt of withdrawal or the custody of public account of India or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a State; Any matter incidental to any of the matters specified above.

If there is any doubt as to whether a Bill is a money Bill or not, the Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision is decisive. He has made a decision that cannot be challenged in court, by either House of parliament, or by the President.

The President’s recommendation is required before the Money Bill can be introduced. The Rajya Sabha receives the President’s recommendation, which is required for introduction in the Lok Sabha, along with the Speaker’s affirmation that it is a money bill, for its recommendation. A Money Bill cannot be rejected or changed by the Rajya Sabha under its own authority. He just serves as a recommendation.

The Rajya Sabha must return the Bill to the Lok Sabha with or without recommendations within 14 days of receiving it from the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha’s recommendation is not need to be accepted by the Lok Sabha. The Money Bill shall be assumed to have been passed by both Houses if it is approved by the Lok Sabha, whether or not the Rajya Sabha’s suggestion is accepted. The Speaker will then present the Money Bill to the President for his approval. The President must grant his approval to the Money Bill; he cannot submit it to Parliament for reconsideration.

Finance Bill

In addition to any or all of the items listed under Article 110, the Finance Bill also includes other items. Article 117 of the Constitution deals with them. There are two categories of financial bills that do not gain the Speaker’s certification: A Bill that includes any of the items listed in Article 110 but does not just deal with those items, for instance, a Bill that includes a taxation section but does not only address taxes [Article 117(1)]. Any regular Bill with provisions affecting Consolidated Fund expenditures (Article 117(3)).

Legislative Procedure in Parliament UPSC

The Indian Constitution was drafted with the goal of providing impartial, effective, and honest service to its populace. Compared to the State Legislature, the legislative procedure of Parliament has greater authority. Legislative councils in state legislatures only have advisory authority, whereas, in parliament, the upper house and lower house both have equal authority, with few exceptions. Conclusion: Parliament has substantial power that manifests in a variety of different ways. Students can read all the details related to UPSC by visiting the official website of StudyIQ UPSC Online Coaching.

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