The House of the People

The Lok Sabha is the popular house of the parliament because its members are directly elected by the common electorates of India. All the members of this House are popularly elected, except not more than two from the Anglo-Indian community, who can be nominated by the President in case he feels the Anglo-Indian community has not got proper representation in the House.

In the Constitution, the strength of the Lok Sabha is provisioned under Art. 81 to be not more than 552 (530 from the States, 20 from the Union Territories and 2 may be nominated from the Anglo-Indian community). But the Constitution empowers the Lok Sabha under Art 82 to readjust its strength after the completion of each census. However, the parliament had earlier frozen the representation of the states and the union territories in the Lok Sabha at 550(530+20) till the year 2001. Recently again, the government has extended this freeze in the Lok Sabha seats till the year 2026 by Constitution (84th Amendment Act, 2001.

Special Powers of the Lok Sabha

There are certain powers, which are constitutionally granted to the Lok Sabha and not to the Rajya Sabha. These powers are-

1. Money and Financial Bills can only originate in the Lok Sabha.

2. In case of a Money Bill, the Rajya Sabha has only the right to make recommendation and the Lok Sabha may or may

3. not accept the recommendation. Also, a Money Bill must be passed by the Upper House within a period of 14 days. Otherwise, the Bill shall be automatically deemed to be passed by the House. Thus, the Lok Sabha enjoys exclusive legislative jurisdiction over the passage of the Money Bills.

4. The Council of Ministers are responsible only to the Lok Sabha and hence the Confidence and No-confidence motions can be introduced in this House only.

5. Under Art. 352, the Lok Sabha in a special sitting can disapprove the continuance of a national emergency proclaimed by the President, even if the Rajya Sabha rejects such a resolution.

Tenure of the Lok Sabha

The normal tenure of the Lok Sabha is five years. But the House can be dissolved by the President even before the end of the normal tenure. Also, the life of the Lok Sabha can be extended by the Parliament beyond the five-year term during the period of national emergency proclaimed under Art. 352. But this extension is or a period of not more than one year at a time, (no limit on the number of times in the Constitution has been mentioned). However, such extension shall remain in force for not more than 6 months after the emergency has been revoked.

The original Constitution, under Art. 83, envisaged the norma! tenure of the Lok Sabha to be 5 years. However, Parliament by 42nd Amendment extended it to 6 years, but the Constitution (44th Amendment) Act again fixed the original normal tenure of five years.

Qualifications for the membership of Lok Sabha

To become a member of the Lok Sabha, the person must:

1. be a citizen of India.

2. be not less than 25 years of age.

3. be a registered voter in any of the Parliamentary constituencies in India.

4. should not hold any office of profit

Vacation of seats

Provisions for vacation of the seats in the Parliament are listed in Art. 101. These are:

1. No person shall be a member of both the Houses of Parliament. If a person is chosen for both the Houses, he/she shall have to vacate membership of either House.

2. If a member of either House is disqualified under Article 102 (1) and (2).

3. If a member resigns in writing addressed to the Chairman (Council of States) or Speaker (House of People) as the casemay be, and if his resignation is accepted by the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be.

4. If a member of either House absents himself from the House without its permission for a period of more than sixty days, the House may declare his seat vacant.

Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha

The Speaker is the chief presiding officer of the Lok Sabha. The two officers are elected from amongst the members of the House after a new Lok Sabha is constituted. The Speaker presides over the meetings of the House and his rulings on the proceedings of the House are final. He has the responsibility to uphold the dignity and privileges of the House. In the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker performs the Speaker's duties The Speaker continues to hold office even after the House is dissolved and a new Lok Sabha is constituted.

The Speaker and Deputy Speaker may be removed from their offices by a resolution passed by the House by an effective majority of the House after a prior notice of 14 days to them.

The Speaker, to maintain impartiality of his office, votes only in case of a tie i.e to remove a deadlock and this is known as the Casting Vote.

Special powers of the Speaker

There are certain powers which belong only to the Speaker of Lok Sabha while similar powers are not available to his counterpart in tine upper house, i.e. the Chairman of Rajya Sabha. These are-

1. Whether a Bill is Money Bill or not is certified only by the Speaker and his decision in this regard is final and binding.

2. The Speaker, or in his absence, the Deputy Speaker, presides over the joint-sittings of the parliament.

3. The committees of parliament function essentially under the Speaker and their chairpersons are also appointed or

4. nominated by him. Members of the Rajya Sabha are also present in some of these committees.

5. If the Speaker is a member of any committee, he is the ex-officio chairman of such a committee.

Special position of the Speaker

The Constitution has given a special position to the office of the Speaker.

1. Though he is an elected member of the Lok Sabha, he continues to hold his office even after the dissolution of the

2. Hose till a new Lok Sabha is constituted. This is because he not only presides and conducts the parliamentary proceedings but also acts as the Head of the Lok Sabha Secretariat which continues to function even after the House is dissolved.

3. Another part of his special position is that he has been given the responsibility to uphold the dignity and privileges of the House because the Speaker represents the Lok Sabha as an institution.

4. Besides, the speaker exercises certain powers which are not belonging to the Chairman of Rajya Sabha:

5. The Speaker presides over the joint sitting of the two Houses of the Parliament

6. Speaker certifies a Bill as Money Bill and his decision is final in this regard.

7. The Speaker is ex-officio President of Indian Parliamentary Group which in India functions as the national group of Inter-parliament Union.

Speaker Pro-term

As soon as the new Lok Sabha is constituted, the President appoints a Speaker Pro-tem who is generally the senior-most member (seniority in terms of number of years he/she served as a member) of the House. In case two or more members are equally qualified, weight age is given to the member's age. His functions include administering oath to the Lok Sabha members and presiding over the election of a new Speaker. The office of the Speaker Pro-term sinks as soon as the Speaker is elected.

Quorum in Parliament

Quorum is the minimum required attendance to conduct a meeting. The quorum to constitute a meeting of either house of parliament shall be one-tenth (1 /10th) of the total strength of the House.

If, at any time during a meeting of a house there is no quorum, it shall be the duty of the Chairman or Speaker, or person acting as such, either to adjourn the House or to suspend the meeting until there is a quorum.

Penalty for sitting and voting when not qualified

If a person sits or votes as a member of either House of Parliament before he has complied with the requirements of Art. 99 (Oath), or when he knows that he is not qualified or that he is disqualified for membership thereof, he shall be liable in respect of each day on which he so sits or votes to a penalty of five hundred rupees to be recovered as a debt due to the Union.

Leader of the Opposition

There is no provision for the leader of opposition in the Constitution. This institution was created and given a Cabinet rank by an Act of Parliament. The party (other than from the ruling side) with the largest number of members in the Parliament, having at least one-tenth of the strength of Lok Sabah, is recognized as the main Opposition Party.

Joint sitting of the Parliament

There are two occasions on which joint-sitting of the Parliament is convened.

1. During a special address by the President. At the commencement of the first session after each general election to the Lok Sabha and at the commencement of the first session of each year (normally the budget session), the President shall address both the Houses of Parliament assembled together and inform the Parliament of the causes of its summons.

2. For resolving any deadlock over the passage of a Bill.

There are three circumstances, which can lead to a deadlock between the two Houses of the Parliament. If after a Bill, other than a Money Bill or a Constitutional Amendment Bill, has been passed by one House and transmitted to the other House:

1. The Bill is rejected by the other House; or
2. The Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the Bill; or
3. More than six months have elapsed from the date of receiving of the Bill by the other House without the Bill being passed by it, the President may, notify his intention to summon both the Houses to meet in a joint sitting for the purpose of deliberating and voting on the Bill.

The joint sitting of the Parliament is convened by the President and is presided over by the Speaker or, in his absence, by the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha or in his absence, the Chairman or in his absence the Deputy-Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. If any of the above officers are not present than any other member of the Parliament can preside by consensus of both the Houses.

In the year 2002 Joint sitting of the parliament was convened to pass the Prevention of Terrorism Bill, popularly known as POTO. Since the office of the Speaker had fallen vacant owing to the death of G. M. Balayogi, Dy Speaker P. M. Sayeed presided over the Joint Session. It was the third occasion in the Indian parliamentary history that a joint sitting of both Houses was convened to remove a deadlock over a Bill. It should be noted here that in case of joint-sitting to pass a Bill, the Lok Sabha has an edge because of its numerical superiority.

Sessions of the Parliament

The Constitution only states that there should not be a gap of more than six months between two consecutive sittings. There are three types of sessions as per Parliamentary practices.

1. Budget Session. Between February and May. This is the most important and the longest session.
2. Monsoon session. July-August.
3. Winter session. November-December. This is the shortest session.

Special Session

There is a provision for special sessions in the Constitution. In this case it can be convened by the President on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers on the basis of an at least 14 days prior notice to the President or the Speaker, as the case may be. In another case, if the Lok Sabha is not in session, not less than one-tenth of the members can, on prior notice of 14 days, write to the President for convening a session for the rejection of national emergency (under Art. 352). The Council of Ministers does not play any role in this.

Adjournment, Adjournment sine die, Prorogation, and Dissolution

1. Prorogation. It brings a session of the House to an enc. This is done by the President on the advice of the Council of Ministers. This can be done even when the House is adjourned.

2.  Adjournment. This is a short recess within a session of the parliament, called by the presiding officer of the House. Its duration may range from a few minutes to days together.

3.  Adjournment sine die. When the House is adjourned by the presiding officer without fixing any time for its resumption it is known as adjournment sine die.

Note: The adjournment does not bring a session to an end, but merely postpones the proceedings of the House to a future time and date.

4. Dissolution. When the House, i.e. Lok Sabha completes its term it is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. However, the lok sabha can be dissolved even before it completes its tenure.

Difference between Prorogation and Dissolution

Prorogation:

1. Terminates the session only

2. All pending notices lapse and fresh notices have to be given for next session

3. Bills remain unaffected Dissolution:

4. Brings the House to an end

5. All Bills pending in LS and pending in RS lapse

6. Bills pending before RS (that originated there) do not lapse

7. A Bill where the Houses have disagreed and President has notified his intention to call a joint session, do not lapse

Dissolution of the House

Dissolution ends the very life of the House and general elect ions must be held to constitute a new Lok Sabha. It is to be noted that it is the Lok Sabha, which is subject to dissolution. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body, not subject to dissolution. Dissolution ends the very life of the House while prorogation ends a session.

Grounds for disqualification for the membership of Lok Sabha/ Rajya Sabha

Article 102 of the constitution provides for the following grounds on which a member can be disqualified:

1. If he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the government of any state, other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder (Example: as it happened in the case of Jaya Bachhan and others in 2005)

2. If he is of unsound mind so declared by a competent court

3. If he is an un discharged insolvent

4. If he is not a citizen of India

5. If he is so disqualified by the parliament (Example: as it happened in the case 'cash for query' scam in 2005)

6. If he is so disqualified under any law made by parliament

7. If a member is so disqualified under the provisions of Tenth Schedule

Office of Profit Bill Controversy

The founding fathers of the Indian Constitution wanted to ensure country at the Center and States, who are sworn to uphold the would discharge their responsibilities in a fair and impartial r objective, the Constitution mandated that the Members of Parliament Legislatures should not, during their tenure, hold any 'office of so that they would not feel 'obliged' to the Executive. But, it founding fathers that the country should not be deprived of services in certain positions by eminent men and women who h in public service even after their becoming lawmakers. Toward Parliament and the State Legislatures to identify those 'offices exempted from disqualification.

To this end the parliament as well as various state legislatures offices in their respective jurisdiction which will not be affected b' vide Art. 102(1). The parliament enacted The Parliament (Prevention 1959 and subsequently amended the same for enlarging the list the Act. Thus, this power that was expected to be used sparingly, has politicians who unabashedly created for themselves too many saved from constitutional disqualification and rendered it a mockery. Recently, in 2006 it was another attempt by the political fratenity which exempted some posts ostensibly to save various members of par spectrum) from disqualification including the UPA Chairperson* Member of Parliament and was also the Chairperson of National Advisory Council (NAC). 

The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill) , 2006, popularly known as Office of Profit Bill, generated controversy when the then President A P J Kalam returned the Bill to the legislature for reconsideration raising objections on some provisions when the Bill was presented to him for his assent after the Bill was passed by the two houses. This move of the President was considered a loss of face for the government. However the government refused to change any provisions and got the Bill passed by the legislature in its original form. When the Bill was again presented to the President for assent he finally put his signature. And the Bill became an Act.

The amended Act exempts 55 posts including the office of the Chairperson of NAC from the purview of Constitution Art 102 (1), i.e. such offices and posts shall not be considered offices of profit. Therefore, the incumbents to these posts will not be disqualified in case they are also members of legislature.

The term 'office of profit' has nowhere in the constitution been defined. The constitution in Articles 191, 102 (l) (a), 64, 58 and at many other places merely mentions this term in a prohibitive sense. However, the most commonly held view is that any office which similar to a business or which yields additional pecuniary benefits to its incumbent is an office of profit. Since the meaning is not clear and subject to misinterpretation the Supreme Court has laid down the following criteria to examine whether an office is an office of profit:

1. It should be an office under the central or state government exercising control over the appointment, functioning and removal of its incumbent, i.e. if the office is regulated by the executive holding such a post by a member of legislature (MP /MLA) would affect the independence of the legislature.
2. It must result in some profit over and above meeting the expenses involved in discharging the official duties, i.e. if the incumbent is a legislator and is ma serially benefitted by holding the post this is likely to influence his conduct as the legislator.
3. Not drawing salary associated with that office cannot by itself be the basis for exemption from disqualification.
4. The parliament or the legislature of the state has the power to exempt any specific office from disqualification under Art. 102 (1)

Powers and Privileges of the Parliament

The constitution under Art. 105 gives the houses, committee and members of Parliament certain powers, privileges and prerogatives, not enjoyed by other citizens. The objective is to enable them to discharge their functions efficiently and fearlessly. These are available to the members in two forms:

 Individually

These are the prerogatives enjoyed by the members of parliament in their individual capacity.

Freedom of Speech: The extent of the freedom of speech enjoyed by the members of Parliament is far wider than that of an ordinary citizen under Art. 19 (1). Not only does he enjoy absolute immunity from any action in the court of law for anything he says within the House, but even in public speeches if he is so authorized by the Parliament. However, such freedom has two limitations:

1. It must conform to the rules and procedures of the House; and

2. The member cannot discuss the conduct of a Judge of the Supreme Court, or High Courts, except on the resolution for the removal of Judges.

​Freedom from arrest: A Member of Parliament enjoys immunity from arrest 40 days before the commencement and 40 days after the prorogation    of a session of the House. This immunity is only in civil cases and does not extend to criminal proceedings, or contempt of court or preventive detention.

Freedom from jury Service:A Member of Parliament cannot be compelled to give witness in the case pending in the court of law when the Parliament is in session. This is because the Parliamentary business is above all other business.

Collectively

There are certain privileges, which the members of Parliament enjoy as a collective body.

1. Right to prohibit publication of the Parliamentary proceedings including right to punish individuals for publishing such reports.

2. Right to exclude strangers from the house.

3. Right to regulate the internal affairs of the House.

4. Right to decide about its business.

5. Right to punish for contempt of the House.               .

6. Right to punish members and outsiders for breach of its privileges.