Should pre-legislative public consultation be made mandatory in India? Discuss in the light of recent parliamentary controversies.

The Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy (PLCP), 2014 asks ministries to publish draft Bills for 30 days of public comment. Yet 227 of 301 Bills introduced after it bypassed consultation [3]. The row over the FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026 shows why an advisory norm is no longer enough.

Recent controversy: FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026

• Introduced in March 2026; referred to a JPC only in August 2026 [2].
• It creates a Designated Authority to vest and sell NGO assets, sets a ₹10 lakh utilisation test for renewal and requires Central approval for investigations [2]. These provisions affect schools, hospitals, places of worship and State police powers.
• Ten Opposition JPC members sought at least four weeks for public comments [1]. Consultation is thus being squeezed into a committee facing a deadline.

Case for a mandatory requirement

• Legitimacy: affected groups such as small NGOs, minorities and States can shape the law. This strengthens Article 19 freedoms in practice.
• Better drafting: early feedback catches flaws, such as retrospective effect, before they reach the courts.
• Declining scrutiny: committees examined 25% of Bills in the 16th Lok Sabha against 71% in the 15th [3].
• Trust: UN rights experts criticised FCRA's vague terms in 2016 [4]. Transparency answers such criticism better than denial.

Concerns about a rigid mandate

• Urgency: security or financial laws may need speed and confidentiality.
• Litigation: a statutory mandate could invite procedural challenges to validly passed laws.
• Tokenism: at least 40 of 74 published drafts missed the 30-day window [3]. A mandate without enforcement changes little.
• Capture: organised lobbies may crowd out unorganised citizens.

Way forward

• Give PLCP statutory backing: a 30-day minimum, a published summary of comments and reasons for rejecting suggestions.
• Allow reasoned exemptions for urgent Bills, laid before the House.
• Require impact assessments covering fundamental rights and federalism.
• Pair consultation with default committee referral of major Bills.

Mandatory consultation with calibrated exceptions would make law-making participatory rather than a closed executive exercise. The FCRA episode shows that consulting early costs less than contested laws later. Institutionalising it would give effect to deliberative democracy and SDG 16.7's call for inclusive, participatory decision-making.