UPSC Prelims 2024 Q94: Lapse of Bills on Lok Sabha Dissolution
With reference to the Indian Parliament, consider the following statements:
1. A bill pending in the Lok Sabha lapses on its dissolution.
2. A bill passed by the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha lapses on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
3. A bill in regard to which the President of India notified his/her intention to summon the Houses to a joint sitting lapses on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 1 and 2
- 2 and 3
- 3 only
Answer: (b) 1 and 2
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — Article 107(5) says a Bill pending in the House of the People (Lok Sabha) lapses on a dissolution of the House of the People. This applies whether the Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha or was passed by the Rajya Sabha and sent to the Lok Sabha. The government must bring it again in the new Lok Sabha.
- 2: correct — Article 107(5) also covers a Bill that 'having been passed by the House of the People is pending in the Council of States'. Such a Bill lapses on dissolution, subject to Article 108. Compare Article 107(4): a Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha that the Lok Sabha has not passed does not lapse.
- 3: incorrect — Article 108(5) says a joint sitting may be held, and the Bill passed at it, even if the Lok Sabha has been dissolved after the President notified the intention to summon the joint sitting. This is why Article 107(5) is made 'subject to the provisions of article 108'. Once the notification has been issued, the Bill survives dissolution.
How to eliminate
The question rests on Articles 107 and 108, but the logic narrows it fast. Statement 1 is close to common knowledge: when the Lok Sabha ends, business pending in it ends too. That removes the options without statement 1, leaving '1 only' and '1 and 2'. For statement 2, the rule of thumb is that a Bill lapses if the Lok Sabha has touched it and it has not yet cleared Parliament. A Bill the Lok Sabha has never passed survives in the Rajya Sabha, because the Rajya Sabha is a permanent House that is never dissolved. Statement 3 describes a joint sitting, which exists to break a deadlock between the Houses. If dissolution could kill such a Bill, a government could lose the deadlock-breaking tool just because elections fell due. Article 108(5) protects against that. Facts to remember: Art. 107(4) and (5), and Art. 108(5).
Know more
Lapse of bills on dissolution of the Lok Sabha
The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body, while the Lok Sabha is dissolved. When the Lok Sabha is dissolved, all business pending before it lapses, including Bills, motions and resolutions. Prorogation is different: it only ends a session, and Bills pending in either House do not lapse because of it.
| Position of the Bill when the Lok Sabha is dissolved | Lapses? | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Pending in the Lok Sabha (introduced there, or sent from the Rajya Sabha) | Yes | Art. 107(5) |
| Passed by the Lok Sabha, pending in the Rajya Sabha | Yes | Art. 107(5) |
| Introduced in the Rajya Sabha, not yet passed by the Lok Sabha, still pending in the Rajya Sabha | No | Art. 107(4) |
| President has notified a joint sitting before dissolution | No | Art. 108(5) |
| Passed by both Houses, pending the President's assent | No | Parliamentary practice |
| Returned by the President for reconsideration | No | Parliamentary practice |
Joint sitting (Art. 108). The President may call one if, after one House passes a Bill, the other House rejects it, the Houses finally disagree on amendments, or more than six months pass without the other House passing it. It cannot be used for Money Bills. Constitution Amendment Bills also cannot go to a joint sitting, because Article 368 requires each House to pass them separately by a special majority. At a joint sitting, the Bill needs a majority of the total members of both Houses present and voting. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides.
Only three joint sittings have been held:
- 1961: Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1959
- 1978: Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill, 1977
- 2002: Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002
In the news
2024 was a general-election year. The 17th Lok Sabha's term was due to end on 16 June 2024, the day of the Prelims, and it was dissolved on 5 June 2024. Which pending Bills would lapse at the end of its term was therefore a live question.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Lapse of bills: All three statements test which Bills die, and which survive, when the House is dissolved.
- Dissolution of the Lok Sabha: Each statement depends on what dissolution ends: the whole Lok Sabha, not just a sitting or a session.
- Joint sitting: Statement 3 turns on what happens to a Bill once the President notifies a joint sitting under Article 108.
- Prorogation: Bills do not lapse on prorogation, so this is the common trap when reading 'dissolution' in these statements.