Six-month rule for non-member ministers
Also called: Article 75(5) · Topic: Union Executive: President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "Executive"
Meaning
Under Article 75(5), a person who is not a Member of Parliament (MP) can still be made the Prime Minister or a minister. The catch is a time limit. If they do not become a member of either House within six consecutive months, they stop being a minister. The rule lets the PM bring in useful people from outside Parliament. It also keeps the Council of Ministers answerable to Parliament, because every minister must sooner or later sit in it.
Example
In the S.R. Chaudhuri case (2001), the Supreme Court looked at a minister who did not win a seat within six months. The Court said such a person cannot be appointed again during the same legislature's term without first being elected. Resigning and being sworn in again cannot be used to stretch the six months.
Don't confuse with
- Lok Sabha membership: the six-month rule asks for membership of either House. The PM does not have to be a Lok Sabha member. Indira Gandhi (1966), Deve Gowda, Gujral and Manmohan Singh were in the Rajya Sabha.
Related concepts
- Prime Minister of India
- S.R. Chaudhuri case
- Primus inter pares
- Kitchen cabinet
- Deputy Prime Minister