Functions of Parliament and the powers of the two Houses

Detail

A. What Parliament does: the eight functions (Class 11)

1. Legislative function (making laws)

• Parliament makes laws for the whole country.
• In practice, the bureaucracy (permanent civil servants) drafts the bills. The Cabinet decides what each law says and when it comes up.
• So Parliament "often merely approves" laws that the Cabinet has already decided on (NCERT).
• No bill becomes law until both Houses pass it in the same form. The only exception is a money bill. This rule goes back to the Draft Constitution [3].

2. Control of the executive

• The government has to answer to Parliament.
• Members use questions, debates, motions and committees to check it.
• Department-related Standing Committees (committees that examine each ministry's work and budget) were set up in 1993. The decision was taken at a joint meeting of the Rules Committees of both Houses on 11 March 1993 [3].

3. Financial function

• The government cannot raise a tax or spend money without Parliament's approval.
• The Annual Financial Statement (the Budget) is laid before both Houses (Art. 112(1)). Both Houses can discuss it, but demands for grants go only to the Lok Sabha [3].
• Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the Union's accounts are laid before both Houses [3].

4. Representation

• Members speak for the different regions, groups and views of the people.

5. Debating function

• Parliament is the country's highest forum for debate.
• There is no limit on what can be discussed. Members can speak without fear of being punished for what they say.
• On 16 May 1952, the first Rajya Sabha Chairman, Dr S. Radhakrishnan, said: "Parliament is not only a legislative but a deliberative body" [3].

6. Constituent function (amending the Constitution)

• Parliament amends the Constitution under Art. 368.
• Each House must pass the amendment bill separately by a special majority: a majority of the House's total membership and two-thirds of the members present and voting.
• Both Houses have equal power here. An amendment bill can start in either House [3].
• If the two Houses disagree, the bill fails. There is no joint sitting for constitutional amendments [3]. Examples:
• 1970: the Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Bill to abolish privy purses (payments to former princely rulers) passed the Lok Sabha but failed in the Rajya Sabha [3].
• 1989: the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Amendment Bills passed the Lok Sabha but failed in the Rajya Sabha [3].

• 1978: the Rajya Sabha made important changes to the Forty-fifth Amendment Bill, and the Lok Sabha accepted them [3].

• Limit: Parliament cannot destroy the Constitution's core features (basic structure, Kesavananda Bharati, 1973). See amendment-basic-structure.

7. Electoral function

• President: elected by the elected MPs of both Houses and the elected MLAs of the states and of the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry (Art. 54).
• Vice-President: elected by all members of both Houses (Art. 66).

8. Judicial function

• Parliament can remove:
• the President, by impeachment (Art. 61);
• the Vice-President (Art. 67(b));
• judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts (Arts. 124(4), 217).

Other powers

• Approving emergencies: proclamations under Arts. 352, 356 and 360 lapse unless Parliament approves them in time. See emergency-provisions.
• Reorganising states (Art. 3):
• Parliament can form new states and change state areas, boundaries or names by law.
• The bill needs the President's recommendation. The President first sends it to the state legislature concerned for its views.

• It passes by simple majority. Art. 4 says such a law is not an Art. 368 amendment.

• Legislative councils (Art. 169):

• The state assembly first passes a resolution by a majority of its total membership and two-thirds of those present and voting.
• Parliament then creates or abolishes the state's legislative council (upper House) by an ordinary law.

Duty to uphold core values (Class 8)

• Parliament must work within, and protect, the Constitution's core values. These are:
• universal adult franchise (every adult citizen can vote);
• separation of powers;
• federalism;
• Fundamental Rights;
• the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs).

B. Where the two Houses are equal

Matter	Rule	What happens if the Houses disagree
Ordinary (non-money) bills	Can start in either House; both must pass	Joint sitting (Art. 108). Held three times: 1961 Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1959; 1978 Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill, 1977; 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002 [3]
Constitutional amendments (Art. 368)	Special majority in each House	Bill fails; no joint sitting [3]
Impeachment of the President (Art. 61)	Charge signed by 1/4 of the House's members, after 14 days' notice; each House passes by 2/3 of its total membership	One House brings the charge and the other investigates it
Removal of judges (Art. 124(4))	Each House passes by a majority of total membership + 2/3 present and voting; ground is "proved misbehaviour or incapacity"	Both Houses must pass in the same session
Removal of the Vice-President (Art. 67(b))	Must start in the Rajya Sabha (see C3)	Lok Sabha must agree
Approval of emergency proclamations (Arts. 352, 356, 360)	Both Houses must approve	Rajya Sabha alone if the Lok Sabha is dissolved (see C4)

• The Constituent Assembly's plan was that the two Houses would be equal except in money matters, voting of supplies (demands for grants) and the power to "make or unmake governments" [3].

C. Special powers of the Rajya Sabha

Why it has them: the Rajya Sabha represents the states. When it passes a resolution by two-thirds, this is treated as the states giving their consent to the Centre entering their area [3].

C1. Art. 249: law on a State List subject in the national interest

How it works:

1. The Rajya Sabha resolves, by two-thirds of members present and voting, that Parliament should make laws on a State List matter in the national interest [2].
2. Parliament can then make laws on that matter for the whole of India or any part of it [2].
3. The resolution lasts up to one year. It can be extended one year at a time by a fresh resolution passed the same way [2].
4. The law lapses six months after the resolution ends.

Origins:

• B.N. Rau, the Constitutional Adviser, proposed this power. He wanted to avoid a weakness seen in the Canadian Constitution [3].
• 13 June 1949: Ambedkar's amendment added the one-year limit and the six-month lapse. Some Constituent Assembly members still called the power "anti-federal" [3].

Use:

• 1952: resolution on State List Entries 26 and 27 (trade and commerce within a state; production, supply and distribution of goods) [3].
• 1986: resolution on Entries 1, 2, 4, 64, 65 and 66 (including public order, police and prisons) [3].

C2. Art. 312: new All India Services

• All India Service: a civil service common to the Union and the states. It is recruited by the Centre, but its officers serve in the states.
• The Rajya Sabha resolves, by the same two-thirds majority, that a new service is needed in the national interest. Parliament can then create it by law.
• Ambedkar's reason: such a service takes away part of the states' freedom to recruit their own staff. So the House that guards the states' interests must agree [3].

Resolutions passed:

• 6 December 1961: Indian Engineering Service, Indian Forest Service, and Indian Medical and Health Service [3].
• 30 March 1965: Indian Agricultural Service and Indian Educational Service [3].

What actually exists:

• The Indian Forest Service was created in 1966 under the All India Services Act, 1951 [4].
• Today only three All India Services exist: the IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service [4]. The other services authorised in 1961 and 1965 were never set up.
• An All India Judicial Service is still only a proposal.

C3. Art. 67(b): removal of the Vice-President

1. The resolution can start only in the Rajya Sabha, after 14 days' notice.
2. The Rajya Sabha passes it by a majority of all its then members.
3. The Lok Sabha must agree to it. - Art. 92: while this resolution is being discussed, the Chairman (the Vice-President) must not preside. The Chairman may speak but cannot vote [3].

C4. Approving emergencies while the Lok Sabha is dissolved

• The provisos to Arts. 352(4), 356(3) and 360(2) cover proclamations issued, or still running, while the Lok Sabha is dissolved.
• In that case, approval by the Rajya Sabha alone keeps the proclamation alive.
• The new Lok Sabha must then approve it within 30 days of its first sitting [3].

Proclamation	Time for approval	Majority needed
National emergency (Art. 352)	1 month	Special majority (44th Amendment, 1978)
President's rule (Art. 356)	2 months	Simple majority
Financial emergency (Art. 360)	2 months	Simple majority

Use:

• 1977: the Rajya Sabha was specially called to extend President's rule (central rule in a state under Art. 356) in Tamil Nadu and Nagaland [3].
• 1991: it alone approved President's rule in Haryana [3].
• The Lok Sabha was dissolved both times [3].

The Rajya Sabha can block President's rule: Bihar, 1999

• President's rule was proclaimed in Bihar on 12 February 1999.
• The Lok Sabha approved it, but the government did not take the resolution to the Rajya Sabha, where it lacked a majority.
• The proclamation was revoked on 8 March 1999 [3].

A failed attempt to widen the Rajya Sabha's money powers (1991)

• A private member's bill, introduced on 30 August 1991, proposed a new Art. 117A.
• It would have given the Rajya Sabha the Lok Sabha's financial powers while the Lok Sabha was dissolved.
• The bill was withdrawn in 1992 [3].

D. Exclusive powers of the Lok Sabha

D1. Money bills (Arts. 109–110)

• Money bill: a bill only about taxes, government borrowing, or money paid into or out of the Consolidated Fund. The Speaker's decision on whether a bill is a money bill is final (Art. 110(3)).

The steps:

1. The bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, on the President's recommendation.
2. After the Lok Sabha passes it, the Rajya Sabha has 14 days. It can only make recommendations. It cannot amend or reject the bill [3].
3. The Lok Sabha may accept or reject those recommendations.
4. If the Rajya Sabha does not return the bill in 14 days, the bill is treated as passed by both Houses.

The 14-day limit:

• The Draft Constitution gave the Rajya Sabha 30 days. T.T. Krishnamachari's amendment cut it to 21 days, and a further amendment by him and Ambedkar cut it to 14 days [3].

In practice:

• The Lok Sabha accepted the Rajya Sabha's recommendations on the Income-tax (Amendment) Bill, 1961 [3].
• It rejected the Rajya Sabha's recommendations on the Finance Bills of 1977 and 1978 [3].

D2. Demands for grants (Art. 113)

• Demands for grants: each ministry's request for money.
• Only the Lok Sabha votes on them. It can agree, refuse, or cut the amount.

D3. Removing the government (Art. 75(3))

• Collective responsibility: all ministers stand or fall together. The Council of Ministers is responsible only to the Lok Sabha.
• No-confidence motion: a motion saying the House no longer supports the government. If it passes in the Lok Sabha, the whole Council of Ministers must resign.
• The Rajya Sabha cannot remove a government.

D4. Disapproving a national emergency (Art. 352(7)–(8), 44th Amendment, 1978)

1. One-tenth of the Lok Sabha's total members give written notice to the Speaker, or to the President if the House is not sitting.
2. A special sitting must be held within 14 days.
3. If the Lok Sabha passes a resolution of disapproval by simple majority, the President must revoke the emergency.

D5. Why the Lok Sabha has these powers

• The Lok Sabha is directly elected by the people. So the Constitution gives it the decisive powers: removing a government and controlling money. In NCERT's words: "So, the Lok Sabha controls the purse!"
• In the Constituent Assembly, N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar promised that whenever the Houses clash on an important matter, "particularly matters relating to finance", the House of the People would prevail [3].
• Numbers also favour the Lok Sabha at joint sittings: 543 Lok Sabha members against 245 Rajya Sabha members. On any ordinary bill the Houses disagree on, the Lok Sabha's view usually wins (see Section 8).

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 249 (State List law in the national interest) and Art. 312 (new All India Service) both need a Rajya Sabha resolution passed by two-thirds of members present and voting, not two-thirds of total membership.
• An Art. 249 resolution lasts one year and can be renewed yearly. The law lapses six months after the resolution ends. Rajya Sabha resolutions under Art. 249 were passed in 1952 and 1986.
• Art. 312 resolutions: 1961 and 1965 approved five services. Only the Indian Forest Service (1966) was created, under the All India Services Act, 1951. Only three All India Services exist today: IAS, IPS and IFoS.
• Art. 67(b): removal of the Vice-President starts only in the Rajya Sabha. Impeachment of the President (Art. 61) can start in either House.
• There is no joint sitting for constitutional amendments or money bills. Joint sittings have been held only three times: 1961 (Dowry Prohibition), 1978 (Banking Service Commission Repeal), 2002 (POTA).
• Money bill: the Rajya Sabha has 14 days and can only recommend (Art. 109). The Draft Constitution's 30 days was cut to 21 and then to 14.
• Art. 352(8): one-tenth of Lok Sabha members can demand a special sitting, held within 14 days, to disapprove a national emergency. This was added by the 44th Amendment, 1978.
• The Rajya Sabha alone approved President's rule in 1977 (Tamil Nadu and Nagaland) and 1991 (Haryana), both times while the Lok Sabha was dissolved.
• Trap: creating a legislative council (Art. 169) or reorganising states (Art. 3) does not need the Art. 368 procedure. Simple majority in Parliament is enough.

Mains Points

• "Parliament often merely approves": the Cabinet controls what bills say and when they come up, and party discipline holds members in line. This weakens Parliament's role as a lawmaker. Committee scrutiny of bills, such as by the Department-related Standing Committees set up in 1993, and longer debate on bills are ways to restore it.
• The Rajya Sabha as a federal chamber: Arts. 249 and 312 let the states, through the Rajya Sabha, consent to the Centre entering their area. Critics in the Constituent Assembly called Art. 249 "anti-federal". In practice it has been used rarely (1952, 1986), which suggests it is a safety valve, not a tool of central control.
• Balancing the two Houses: the Rajya Sabha can block constitutional amendments (privy purses 1970; 64th and 65th Amendment Bills 1989) and President's rule (Bihar 1999). This makes it a real check on a Lok Sabha majority. But the money-bill route can be used to bypass it, so the Speaker's power to certify money bills is a live debate.
• Why the Lok Sabha decides on money and on removing governments: the directly elected House holds these powers because of the democratic link with voters. The Rajya Sabha's permanence and its role in revising bills give continuity. The founders wanted it to delay hasty laws but "not prove a clog".