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Indian Parliament

The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature consisting of the President of India and two Houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). Although the President is not a member of either House, the President is an integral part of Parliament, and most legislation requires the President's assent to become law.

Key Facts

Type Bicameral national legislature
Houses Rajya Sabha (Upper House); Lok Sabha (Lower House)
Head of State President of India
Presiding Officer, Rajya Sabha Vice-President of India (ex officio Chairman)
Presiding Officer, Lok Sabha Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Seat Sansad Bhavan, New Delhi
Founding Document Constitution of India (came into effect on 26 January 1950)
Term, Lok Sabha Five years, unless dissolved earlier
Term, Rajya Sabha Permanent body; one-third of members retire every two years (member tenure six years)

Constitutional Basis

Parliament is established under Part V of the Constitution of India. Article 79 provides that there shall be a Parliament for the Union consisting of the President and the two Houses. Articles 80 and 81 deal with the composition of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha respectively. Article 105 sets out the powers, privileges and immunities of the Houses and their members.

Composition

Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha represents the States and Union Territories of the Indian Union. Most of its members are elected by the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies through a system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. A small number of members are nominated by the President from among persons distinguished in fields such as literature, science, art and social service. The Rajya Sabha is a continuing chamber and is not subject to dissolution.

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha consists of members directly elected by the people of India from territorial constituencies on the basis of universal adult franchise. Each Lok Sabha is constituted for a term of five years from the date of its first sitting, after which it stands dissolved unless dissolved earlier by the President. The term may be extended during a Proclamation of Emergency.

Functions and Powers

  • Legislation: Parliament makes laws on subjects in the Union List and the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule, and in certain circumstances on subjects in the State List.
  • Financial control: No tax can be levied or expenditure incurred by the Union Government without parliamentary authorisation. The Union Budget is presented to and approved by Parliament.
  • Executive accountability: The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. Parliament exercises control through questions, debates, motions, and committees.
  • Constitutional amendment: Under Article 368, Parliament may amend the Constitution by following the prescribed procedure.
  • Electoral functions: Members of Parliament participate in the election of the President and the Vice-President of India.
  • Other powers: Impeachment of the President, removal of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, and approval of Proclamations of Emergency.

Legislative Procedure

A Bill may be introduced in either House, except a Money Bill, which can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha and on the recommendation of the President. After passage in one House, a Bill is transmitted to the other House. Once both Houses pass it, the Bill is presented to the President for assent under Article 111. In case of disagreement between the two Houses on an ordinary Bill, the Constitution provides for a joint sitting under Article 108, summoned by the President.

Parliamentary Committees

Much of the detailed scrutiny of legislation, finances and administration takes place in committees. These include Standing Committees such as the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings, as well as Departmentally Related Standing Committees and ad hoc committees constituted for specific purposes such as Select and Joint Committees on Bills.

Sessions

Parliament typically meets in three sessions each year: the Budget Session, the Monsoon Session and the Winter Session. Sessions are summoned by the President, and the gap between two sessions of the same House cannot exceed six months.

History

The institutional ancestry of the Indian Parliament can be traced through colonial-era legislative bodies, including the councils established under the Indian Councils Acts and the Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935. The Constituent Assembly, which met from December 1946, drafted the Constitution of India and also functioned as the provisional Parliament after independence. The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950, and the first general elections to the Lok Sabha were held in 1951–52, leading to the convening of the first Lok Sabha in 1952.

Buildings

For most of its existence after independence, Parliament met in the circular Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi, designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker and completed in 1927. A new Parliament Building was constructed in New Delhi as part of the Central Vista redevelopment and was inaugurated in 2023; both Houses subsequently began functioning from the new building.

Significance

As the highest law-making body of the country, Parliament is central to India's parliamentary democracy. It embodies the federal character of the Indian Union through the Rajya Sabha and the principle of popular sovereignty through the directly elected Lok Sabha. Its proceedings, debates and committee reports form an important record of the country's political and policy history.

References

  • Constitution of India, Part V (The Union), Articles 79–122.
  • Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha.
  • Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha).
  • Official websites of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.