Evaluate the role of Joint Parliamentary Committees in scrutinising contentious legislation, with reference to recent JPC deferrals in 2026.

Q. Evaluate the role of Joint Parliamentary Committees in scrutinising contentious legislation, with reference to recent JPC deferrals in 2026. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Joint Parliamentary Committees (JPCs) are ad hoc panels of both Houses constituted to examine specific Bills or matters in depth, away from the time pressure of the floor. Their worth is best judged by two 2025-26 referrals — the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill and the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill — whose JPCs deferred meetings just before the 2026 Monsoon Session.

Merits: deliberative value - Depth on constitutionally sensitive Bills: the 130th Amendment Bill, allowing removal of the PM, CMs and Ministers detained 30 consecutive days for offences punishable with 5+ years, was referred to a Joint Committee (Chair: Aparajita Sarangi) on the very day of introduction [1] — pre-empting a floor-only debate on issues of separation of powers, presumption of innocence and federalism. - Technical scrutiny of restructuring: the VBSA Bill merges UGC, AICTE and NCTE into one Commission with Regulatory, Standards and Accreditation Councils, excluding medical and legal education; its Joint Committee (Chair: Daggubati Purandeswari) allows sectoral consultation impossible in a session [2]. - Bipartisan legitimacy: cross-party, bicameral composition lets Opposition concerns enter the record even where the government commands a majority.

Limitations - Selective use: only about 16% of Bills in the 17th Lok Sabha went to committees, with just four to JPCs — far below earlier Houses [3]. - Recommendations are advisory, not binding on the government. - Politicisation of timelines: the July 2026 deferral of the 130th Amendment JPC for "more consultations" and the cancellation of the VBSA JPC's draft-report adoption were read politically rather than procedurally [4].

On balance, JPCs remain the most substantive scrutiny mechanism available for contentious Bills, and the 2026 deferrals show consensus-seeking at work rather than institutional failure. Strengthening them — mandatory referral norms for constitutional amendments, fixed reporting timelines and published dissent — would convert episodic delay into predictable deliberation, realising the Constitution's design of Parliament as a deliberative, not merely majoritarian, institution.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 — PRS Legislative Research — removal-on-detention provisions, 30-day trigger, Joint Committee referral and chair 2. The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 — PRS Legislative Research — merger of UGC/AICTE/NCTE, three Councils, excluded courses, Joint Committee referral 3. Functioning of the 17th Lok Sabha: Vital Stats, PRS Legislative Research — 16% of Bills referred to committees; four Bills to JPCs 4. "Panels examining Bill for removal of Ministers and VBSA Bill defer meeting", The Hindu, 19 July 2026 — July 2026 deferral and cancellation of the two JPC meetings