Legislative Council

Also called: Vidhan Parishad · Topic: Parliament: Composition, Powers and Law-making · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"; Class 9, Ch 7 "Elections"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Legislature"

Meaning

The Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) is the upper House of a state legislature. Its members are partly elected indirectly and partly nominated by the Governor. A state has one only if Parliament creates it by law (Art. 169), after the state's Legislative Assembly asks for it by a special-majority resolution. Six states have one: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh [3].

It matters for two reasons. First, it is the only optional House in India's federal design. Second, its weak powers and its use for party gain make it a regular topic in both Prelims and Mains.

Explanation

Place in the state legislature

• State legislature (Art. 168): made up of the Governor plus one or two Houses.
• Unicameral state (one House): has only the Legislative Assembly. Most states are unicameral.

• Bicameral state (two Houses): has the Assembly and a Council.

• A smaller copy of the Rajya Sabha: like the Rajya Sabha, the Council is a permanent House. It is never dissolved.

• Each member serves six years.

• One-third of members retire every two years.

• No control over the government: the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible only to the Assembly, not to the Council. Collective responsibility means the whole ministry stays in office only while it keeps the Assembly's majority support.

Creating or abolishing a Council (Art. 169): step by step

Step	Who acts	Majority or condition needed
1	Legislative Assembly passes a resolution	Majority of its total membership and two-thirds of members present and voting (a special majority)
2	Parliament passes a law	Simple majority in both Houses (an ordinary law)
3	President gives assent	The Council is created or abolished

• Not a constitutional amendment: this law can change the Constitution where needed, for example the list of bicameral states in Art. 168. But it is not treated as an amendment under Art. 368 [2].
• So it does not need the hard procedure used for a formal amendment.

• The Constituent Assembly added this route as draft Art. 148A on 30 July 1949 so that states could change their second chamber easily [2].

• Parliament is not bound: Parliament does not have to act on the Assembly's resolution. Some resolutions have stayed pending for years.

Size and composition (Art. 171)

• Size: at most one-third of the Assembly's total strength and at least 40 members [4].
• How members are chosen:

Share	Chosen by
1/3	Members of local authorities (municipalities, district boards and similar bodies)
1/12	Graduates living in the state who graduated at least 3 years earlier
1/12	Teachers with at least 3 years' service in institutions of secondary-school level or higher
1/3	MLAs, who must elect people who are not members of the Assembly
Rest (about 1/6)	Nominated by the Governor: people with special knowledge of literature, science, art, the co-operative movement and social service

• Voting method: elected members are chosen by proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote [4].
• Voters rank candidates in order of preference.
• If a candidate gets more votes than needed, the extra votes pass to each voter's next choice.

Limits on its powers

• Ordinary bill passed by the Assembly (Art. 197): 1. The Assembly passes a bill and sends it to the Council. 2. The Council rejects it, does not pass it within 3 months, or makes changes the Assembly does not accept. 3. The Assembly passes the bill again and sends it back. 4. The Council again rejects it, holds it for more than 1 month, or makes changes the Assembly does not accept. 5. The bill is deemed passed by both Houses in the form the Assembly wants.

• Maximum delay: 3 + 1 = 4 months. The Council can only delay and advise. It cannot block a bill [5].

• No joint sitting: states have no joint sitting, so the Assembly always prevails.

• Bill that starts in the Council: if the Assembly rejects it, the bill dies.
• Money bill (Arts. 198–199): a money bill is a bill only about taxes, borrowing or spending from state funds.
• It can be introduced only in the Assembly.
• The Speaker decides whether a bill is a money bill.
• The Council must return it within 14 days, with or without recommendations. The Assembly may accept or reject those recommendations.
• If the Council does not return it in 14 days, the bill is deemed passed.

In the Constitution and practice

• Constitutional basis:
• Art. 168: sets out which states have two Houses.
• Art. 169: creation and abolition.
• Art. 171: composition. It was debated on 2 June, 30 July and 19 August 1949 [4].

• Arts. 197–199: law-making powers.

• Key instances:

• West Bengal: its Council was set up in 1937 under the Government of India Act, 1935, and abolished in 1969. The Assembly passed its resolution in March 1969, and Parliament approved it about four months later [3].
• Punjab: Council abolished in 1969 [3].
• Andhra Pradesh: Council created in 1958, abolished in 1985 and revived in 2007 [3].
  • In January 2020, the Assembly passed a resolution to abolish it again.
  • The resolution was withdrawn in 2021, so the Council continues.
• Tamil Nadu: Council abolished in 1986. Parliament later passed the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Act, 2010, but the Council was never constituted [3].

• Jammu and Kashmir: Council abolished in 2019 under the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, when the state became a Union territory.

• Pending demands:

• Assam: Assembly resolution in 2010. The Assam Legislative Council Bill, 2013 is pending in the Rajya Sabha [3].
• Rajasthan: Assembly resolution in 2012. The Rajasthan Legislative Council Bill, 2013 is pending in the Rajya Sabha [3].
• Odisha and West Bengal have also passed resolutions seeking a Council.

Don't confuse with

• Rajya Sabha: it is compulsory, has equal power over ordinary bills (a deadlock goes to a joint sitting under Art. 108) and has special powers under Arts. 249 and 312. The Council is optional, can delay an ordinary bill for only 4 months and plays no role in electing the President.
• Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha): it is directly elected, has a five-year term, can be dissolved, and the ministry is responsible to it. The Council is indirectly elected and partly nominated, is permanent and the ministry is not responsible to it.
• Art. 368 amendment vs Art. 169 law: creating or abolishing a Council needs only an ordinary law of Parliament after a special-majority Assembly resolution. It is not an Art. 368 amendment, even though it changes the Constitution's text [2].
• Vidhana Soudha: the building in Bengaluru that houses Karnataka's legislature. It is not another name for the Vidhan Parishad.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 169: a Council is created or abolished by Parliament by simple majority, after the Assembly passes a resolution by a majority of its total membership plus two-thirds of members present and voting. This law is not an Art. 368 amendment [2].
• Art. 171: Council size is no more than 1/3 of the Assembly and at least 40. Shares: 1/3 local bodies, 1/12 graduates, 1/12 teachers, 1/3 MLAs, the rest nominated by the Governor [4].
• Trap: MLAs elect Council members from among people who are not members of the Assembly [4].
• Art. 197 vs Art. 198: the Council can delay an ordinary bill for at most 4 months (3 + 1) and a money bill for 14 days. States have no joint sitting.
• Six Councils: AP, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, UP [3].
• Trap: Tamil Nadu has a 2010 Act, but no Council was ever formed [3].

• Assam and Rajasthan bills are pending in the Rajya Sabha [3].

• Permanent House: members serve six years, and one-third retire every two years.

Mains Points

• Useful second chamber or a "parking lot"?
• For: the graduates', teachers' and nominated seats bring expertise, and a second look at bills checks hasty laws [5].
• Against: it costs money, it can only delay bills for 4 months, and parties often use it to give seats to politicians who lost elections.

• Partisan use: Andhra Pradesh abolished its Council in 1985, revived it in 2007 [3] and moved to abolish it again in 2020 before withdrawing the move in 2021.

• Federal tension in Art. 169: a state's wish for a Council depends on Parliament acting on it. The Assam (2010) and Rajasthan (2012) resolutions have been pending for more than a decade [3].

• Reform ideas: a time limit for Parliament to act, or a uniform national policy on which states should have Councils.

• Weak bicameralism keeps the Assembly supreme:

• The Council has no control over the ministry and only a short power to delay bills.
• States have no joint sitting.
• So a state's second chamber can only advise. It cannot act as a real check on the directly elected Assembly.

Related concepts

• Legislative Assembly

Read more

• State legislatures: assemblies and councils