Parliament of India

Also called: Parliament, Sansad, Article 79 · Topic: Parliament: Composition, Powers and Law-making · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 10 "Grassroots Democracy – Part 1: Governance"; Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Legislature"

Meaning

The Parliament of India is the law-making body of the Union. Under Article 79 it has three parts: the President, the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People) [3]. It makes Union laws, keeps the government answerable, controls public money and amends the Constitution. It also takes part in electing and removing the President.

It matters because it is the most representative organ of government. Class 11 NCERT calls the legislature "the centre of all democratic political process". India has a parliamentary system, so the government stays in office only while it has the support of the Lok Sabha.

Explanation

Composition: three parts, two Houses

• Article 79: "There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the President and two Houses…", the Council of States and the House of the People [3].
• Lok Sabha: its members are elected directly by the people.
• Rajya Sabha: its members are elected indirectly, mainly by the elected members of the state Assemblies.
• The President is part of Parliament but not a member of either House.
• The President does not sit or vote in the Houses.
• A Drafting Committee member argued that the President is the executive head of the nation, so the President should be part of the legislature [3].

• This follows the British (Westminster) model of "the King/Queen-in-Parliament". The head of state is part of the legislature but is not a member of it.

• Parliament still needs the President to work:

What the President does	Article
Summons the Houses (calls them to meet) and prorogues them (ends a session)	Art. 85
Dissolves the Lok Sabha (ends its term early)	Art. 85(2)(b)
Addresses the Houses, including the special address at the first session each year and after each general election	Arts. 86, 87
Assents to bills. A bill becomes law only after the President's assent	Art. 111
Issues ordinances (temporary laws made when Parliament is not in session)	Art. 123

Functions: four heads (Class 8 NCERT)

1. Constitutional: amends the Constitution (Art. 368) and takes part in electing and removing the President.
2. Law-making: passes laws on subjects in the Union List and the Concurrent List (Seventh Schedule).
3. Executive accountability: controls ministers through questions, debates and no-confidence motions (a vote saying the House no longer supports the government).
4. Financial accountability: no tax can be raised and no money spent without Parliament's approval (the budget and demands for grants).

• More than a law-making body:
• The Council of Ministers stays in office only while it has the confidence (majority support) of the Lok Sabha.
• So the legislature can choose and dismiss the government.
• Walkouts (members leave the House to protest), protests, cooperation and unanimity (all parties agreeing) all happen inside it.

Limits: why India has no parliamentary sovereignty

• Parliamentary sovereignty is the British idea that Parliament can make or unmake any law, and no court can strike its laws down.
• India's Parliament is limited by:
• a written Constitution, which is the supreme law
• federalism: powers are divided between the Union and the states (Seventh Schedule), so Parliament cannot freely make laws on State List subjects
• Fundamental Rights (Part III): Art. 13 makes void any law that takes away these rights
• judicial review (the courts' power to strike down unconstitutional laws) under Arts. 13, 32 and 226

• the basic structure: Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution, but it cannot destroy its core features, such as democracy, federalism or judicial review (Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, 1973)

• Result: India sits between British parliamentary sovereignty and American judicial supremacy (where the courts have the final word).

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it sits: Part V (The Union), Chapter II: Parliament. Chapter I of Part V is The Executive.

• The order of chapters does not make the executive superior. In a parliamentary system the executive comes from the legislature and answers to it.

• Origin: Art. 79 was Draft Article 66. The Constituent Assembly adopted it without amendment on 3 January 1949 [3].

• A view the courts later rejected: on 18 November 1949, N.V. Gadgil told the Constituent Assembly that the only limits on Parliament were procedural (about how laws are passed, not what they say).

• After Kesavananda Bharati (1973), the limits on Parliament also cover what a law or amendment says, not just how it was passed.

• Parliamentary control at work (NCERT examples):

Year	Event	What it shows
1983 (22 Feb)	The Lok Sabha suspended its normal business to debate the situation in Assam	The House can put a public crisis ahead of routine work
1985	Protests over atrocities on Dalits in Andhra Pradesh	Parliament gives a voice to weaker sections
1998	Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha's urea price rise was withdrawn after an opposition walkout	A protest inside the House can change policy
2002 (28 Feb → 11 Mar)	The fertiliser price rise in Jaswant Singh's budget was rolled back within 12 days	Pressure in the House can change a budget decision

• Parliament's buildings:
• Old building: designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker and opened in 1927. The Constituent Assembly sat in its Central Hall from December 1946 to January 1950 [6].
• New Sansad Bhavan: the Prime Minister inaugurated it on 28 May 2023 [2]. It has a triangular shape, and its green design cuts electricity use by 30%.
• Lok Sabha chamber: peacock theme, 888 seats [2]. Rajya Sabha chamber: lotus theme, 384 seats [2].
• Special session: it began on 18 September 2023 with a debate on "Parliamentary Journey of 75 Years Starting from Samvidhan Sabha" [5].

• On 19 September 2023 the old building was named Samvidhan Sadan and the new one Sansad Bhavan [5]. The new building held its first sitting that same day.

• First law passed in the new building:

• It was introduced as the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 [7].
• It became the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023. It reserves one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the State/UT Assemblies [5].

• The Lok Sabha passed it 454 to 2, and the Rajya Sabha passed it unanimously [5].

• The Sengol: a gold-plated silver sceptre (ceremonial staff) in the Chola tradition, with Nandi (the sacred bull) on top.

• The Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam (a Shaiva monastery in Tamil Nadu) gave it to Jawaharlal Nehru on 14 August 1947 [4].
• It was later kept at Anand Bhawan, Prayagraj [4].

• In May 2023 it was installed beside the Speaker's chair in the new Lok Sabha [2].

• Lok Sabhas so far: the first Parliament was elected in 1952. The 18th Lok Sabha was formed in June 2024.

Don't confuse with

• Parliament vs Lok Sabha: "Parliament" means the President plus both Houses (Art. 79). The Lok Sabha is only one House. It is the House the government answers to.
• Part of Parliament vs member of Parliament: the President is a part of Parliament but not a member of either House. The President summons and prorogues the Houses but never sits in them.
• Parliamentary sovereignty vs constitutional supremacy: in Britain, no court can strike down a law of Parliament. In India the Constitution is supreme, so courts can strike down laws (judicial review) and amendments that destroy the basic structure.
• Samvidhan Sadan vs Sansad Bhavan: Samvidhan Sadan is the old building (named on 19 September 2023). Sansad Bhavan is the new building (inaugurated on 28 May 2023).

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 79: Parliament = President + Council of States + House of the People. The President is part of Parliament but not a member of either House.
• Draft Art. 66 became Art. 79. It was adopted without amendment on 3 January 1949 [3].
• Article matches: summoning, prorogation and dissolution: Art. 85. Address to the Houses: Arts. 86, 87. Assent to bills: Art. 111. Ordinances: Art. 123. Amendment: Art. 368.
• Part V order: Chapter I is The Executive. Chapter II is Parliament.
• New building chambers: Lok Sabha has the peacock theme and 888 seats. Rajya Sabha has the lotus theme and 384 seats [2].
• Trap: the 128th Amendment Bill, 2023 became the 106th Amendment Act, 2023 (one-third reservation for women).

Mains Points

• Centre of democratic politics, or in decline?
• Parliament can still force a rollback: urea in 1998 and fertiliser prices in 2002.
• But the Cabinet now sets the agenda, the House sits on fewer days, and the anti-defection law (which can disqualify MPs who go against their party) ties MPs to the party line.

• Reforms proposed: a minimum number of sitting days, more use of committees, and fixed time for opposition business.

• A limited legislature:

• Written constitutionalism, federalism, Fundamental Rights and the basic structure (Kesavananda Bharati, 1973) stop a majority from becoming a "tyranny of the majority".
• Gadgil's 1949 view that the limits are only procedural shows the risk the courts later guarded against.

• A good answer weighs the people's mandate against constitutional limits.

• The President inside Parliament, and the symbolism of 2023:

• Art. 79 links the executive and the legislature.
• Assent (Art. 111) and ordinances (Art. 123) show how much law-making depends on the executive. Too many ordinances weaken Parliament.
• The new building was made bigger to fit the extra seats expected after the next delimitation (redrawing constituencies and seat numbers). Its first work was the women's reservation law.
• Critics say the Sengol, a royal and religious symbol, sits uneasily in a secular republic.

Related concepts

• Parliamentary sovereignty
• Samvidhan Sadan
• Sengol

Read more

• Why a Parliament: the legislature in a parliamentary democracy