{"id":279,"date":"2020-05-21T20:16:16","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T20:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/?p=279"},"modified":"2020-05-21T20:16:16","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T20:16:16","slug":"constitution-of-india-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/2020\/05\/21\/constitution-of-india-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Constitution Of India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Union Legislature\u2014Parliament <\/strong>
Conduct Of Business<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each House has a Roll of Members which is to be\nsigned by every member before taking his seat. Every member should also make\nand subscribe to an oath of affirmation in order to formally assume his seat.\nWith the Speaker or any other presiding officer in the chair and in the\npresence of at least one-tenth of its total membership which is the quorum, the\nHouse can begin its business. If at any time during a meeting of the House there\nis no quorum, the presiding officer will either adjourn or suspend the work of\nthe House. Normally, all questions are decided by a majority of the votes\nof members present and voting. The presiding officer may vote only when the\nHouse is equally divided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first hour of each sitting is devoted to\nparliamentary questions and interpretations and therefore known as Question\nHour. Normally, this is the time when the House is most lively. The main\npurpose of questions is to seek information and draw attention to grievances of\npublic importance. There are elaborate Rules of Procedure to determine the\nadmissibility of questions. The Speaker\u2019s decision in this respect is final.\nUsually, every question is sent days in advance of the session so that all\nrelevant information is collected in the department concerned and transmitted\nto the House. There is, however, a provision for asking short notice questions\nunder certain conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Question Hour, the House takes up,\nitem by item, the business that is allotted for the day. The business takes\ndifferent forms and for each of these a separate procedure is prescribed. More\nimportant of these which deserve special mention are adjournment motions,\nresolutions, no-confidence motions, other motions for discussion, legislative\nbusiness and financial business. There are also other types of business such as\nstatements on policy made by Ministers from time to time and laying of papers\nand documents on the Table of the House. In the latter case, the Minister\nconcerned will rise in his seat and make a formal statement drawing the\nattention of the House to the document that is placed on the Table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adjournment motions <\/strong>are\nan unusual feature. A motion for adjournment is meant to draw the attention of\nthe House to a matter of public importance which has arisen suddenly and which\ndeserves immediate attention. It should deal with a specific matter of recent\noccurrence and of urgent public importance. Such a motion is intended to focus\nthe attention of the House to a particular action or inaction of the\nGovernment. It also compels the Government to act in a manner that is\nappropriate to the situation on the penalty of otherwise losing the confidence\nof the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resolution <\/strong>is a device\nby which the House is made to declare an opinion on a particular matter. A\nresolution should deal with only one issue and should be worded clearly and\nprecisely. It should not contain arguments, imputations or defamatory\nstatements nor refer to the conduct and character of persons except in their official\nor public capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No-confidence<\/strong> or Censure\nmotions<\/strong> are a rare feature. A censure motion is an expression of want of\nconfidence in the Ministry. Permission to move such a motion will be given only\nif at least fifty members in the House rise in support of it. If leave is\ngranted to move the motion, a date is fixed for discussion and the Speaker may\nallot one or more days for the purpose. Resort to a no-confidence motion is not\nusually made unless the Opposition has a reasonable chance of defeating the\nMinistry. But sometimes it is also made use of as a political weapon to\ndiscredit a Ministry or highlight its various failures in the public eye with a\nview to bringing down its prestige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the Rules of Procedure, a member can, with\nthe consent of the Speaker, move a motion for the discussion of a matter of\ngeneral public interest. If admitted, the Speaker will allot a day or more for\nits discussion. The possibility of such discussion depends upon the\navailability of time during a particular session. Sometimes, the Government\nitself may bring forward such motions in view of the importance of the matter\ninvolved. This provision is, in a way, one that enables members as well as the\nGovernment to bring to the floor of the House any matter of public importance\nwhich is not covered by legislative \nproposals and other parliamentary business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a provision to cut short the\ndiscussion on any matter by moving what is known as a \u201cclosure motion\u201d. Any\nmember can move such a motion and if the House adopts it, discussion is stopped\nforthwith and the matter before the House is voted upon. Sometimes when the\ntime set for a particular measure is already over, despite the fact that the\ndiscussion on all its parts has not been completed, a vote is taken on the\nmotion before the House. Then the rest of the measure is put to vote without\ndiscussion. This procedure is described as the \u201cguillotine\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are at present 389 rules which regulate\nthe procedure in the House covering every aspect of its activities. These are\nsupplemented by \u201cDirections by the Speaker\u201d. There are 123 such directions by\nthe Speaker which are codified for the use of members and others concerned.\nTaken together, these form the foundation of parliamentary procedure in India,\nwhich facilitate the orderly transaction of business in the Parliament. But the\npicture is not complete with these alone. One must add to it the numerous\nrulings of the presiding officers, precedents and conventions, all of which, in\na substantial measure, serve the successful working of Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legislative\nProcedure<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary function of the Parliament is\nlaw-making. Historically, it was the function of making laws that made the\nlegislature a distinctly separate department of the Government. In spite of all\nthe additional functions that the Parliament takes up as a result of the\ncomplexities of modern Government, law-making still remains its most important\nactivity. A Parliament without legislative work ceases to be a Parliament in\nthe real sense, whatever  else it might\nbe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A law-giver has to look to the future, while\nbeing rooted in the experience of the past. He has to take into consideration\nthe conditions and circumstances of the society to which the laws would be\napplicable. Modern society is so complex that laws which govern it have\nnecessarily to be complex. Naturally, law-making too has become a complex\nprocess. This will be illustrated by the procedure prescribed under the\nConstitution of India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first stage of legislation is the\nintroduction of a Bill embodying the provision of the proposed law, accompanied\nby the \u201cStatement of Objects and Reasons\u201d. If a private member desires to\nintroduce a Bill, he must give notice of his intention to the Speaker. Every\nBill that is introduced in the House has to be published in the Gazette. There\nis provision, however, for the publication of any bill with the consent of the\nSpeaker even before its formal introduction. Usually, at the time of the\nintroduction of a Bill, there  is no\ndebate. The person who is given leave to introduce a Bill, if he so chooses,\nmay make a short statement indicating broadly its aims and objectives. But if\nthe introduction of the Bill is opposed, then the Speaker may allow one of the\nopposing members to give his reasons too, after which he will put the question\nto vote. If the House is in favour of the introduction of the Bill, then it\ngoes to the next stage. The introduction of the Bill is also called the first\nreading of the Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are four alternative courses of action\nopen at the second stage : The Bill may be taken into consideration; it may be\nreferred to a select committee of the House; it may be referred to a joint\ncommittee of both the Houses; or it may be circulated for the purpose of\neliciting public opinion on it. In the case of every proposed legislative\nmeasure, which is likely to arouse public controversy and agitate public\nopinion, resort to the last alternative is invariably made. But there are many\nBills which are of minor importance or pertain to routine matters, and others\nof an emergent nature, which may not, therefore, permit any long delay. In\nthese cases one of the first three alternatives is adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the committee\u2019s report has been considered\nand the motion that the Bill as reported by the committee be taken into\nconsideration is adopted, the fourth stage begins when a detailed clause-by\nclause-discussion of the Bill starts. Each clause is taken up by the House and amendments\nare moved, discussed and disposed of. The amendments that are moved in the\nHouse are those which have already been checked by the Secretariat with a view\nto seeing that they are within the scope of the Bill and relevant to the\nsubject matter and satisfy all the conditions laid down in regard to their\nadmissibility. This is the stage when the Bill undergoes substantial changes,\nshould some parts be found necessary. It is also the most time-consuming stage.\nOnce clause-by-clause consideration is over and every amendment is voted, the\nsecond reading of the Bill is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next stage is when the member in charge, who\nhas piloted it, moves that \u201cthe Bill be passed\u201d. Such a motion may be moved\neither immediately after the second reading or on a subsequent date. Unless\nthere is any great urgency, the third reading takes place after sufficient time\nis given to members to study the Bill in the amended form in which it was\npassed at the second reading. At the third reading, normally only verbal or\npurely formal amendments are moved and discussion is limited and progress is\nquick. Once all the amendments are disposed of, the Bill is finally passed as a\nwhole. And, when the work in one House is over, the Bill is sent to the other\nHouse for its action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sixth stage starts with the consideration of\nthe Bill by the other House where it goes through the same procedure and the\ndifferent stages. The House has three alternatives before it.
\nIt might finally pass the Bill as sent by the originating House. It might amend\nor altogether reject the Bill. In both these latter cases, the Bill may be\nreturned to the originating House. Or it may not return the Bill at all within\nsix months after its receipt which will mean the same as rejection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the seventh stage, the returned Bill is\nconsidered by the House in the light of the amendments made by the other House.\nIf the amendments are accepted, it sends a message to the other House to that\neffect. If they are not accepted then the Bill is returned to the other House\nwith a message to that effect. If in this process of sending the Bill up and\ndown, the Houses do not come to an agreement, the only solution is a joint\nsitting of the two Houses (under Article 108<\/strong>) called for the purpose by\nthe President. The disputed provision is finally adopted or rejected by a\nsimple majority vote of those who are present and voting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Bill that is finally passed by both the\nHouses, goes, with the signature of the Speaker, to the President for his\nassent. This is normally the last stage. If the President gives his assent, the\nBill becomes an Act and is placed on the Statute Book. But even at this last\nstage, the Bill can be stopped from becoming an Act. The President is\nempowered, if he so chooses, to refuse assent to a Bill that is placed before\nhim. He may send the Bill back to Parliament for reconsideration. This will\nreopen almost the whole process and if the Bill is passed by both the Houses\nagain with or without amendments, it will be sent to the President for a second\ntime. At this stage, the President shall not withhold his assent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, it can be seen how long, detailed and\ntime-consuming is the process of law-making and how difficult it is if a Bill\nhas to be passed within a short time. The magnitude of the work will be fully\nunderstood only if one takes into consideration the number of Bills which\nParliament is called upon to pass every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial\nProcedure<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the unquestioned right of Parliament under\nany responsible system of Government not only to ensure that public funds are\nraised only with its consent but also to exercise complete control over the way\nin which the nation\u2019s revenues are spent by the Government. The framers of the\nConstitution had kept in view these basic considerations while laying down the\nprinciples which would guide the operation of public finance and the procedure that would regulate  the financial transactions of the Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The basic principles underlying the financial\nprovisions of the Constitution are as follows :<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) There shall be no taxation without a law\nauthorising it. If any levy is to be imposed upon the people, the sanction must\nbe that of law (Article 265)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) There shall be no expenditure without the\nauthority of the Parliament. Such authority should be embodied in an Act of\nParliament and not merely expressed by a Resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3) As an essential safeguard for the sound\nadministration of the nation\u2019s finances, Parliament should have unrestricted\npower to superintend, scrutinise, regulate and determine financial\nadministration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(4) The executive should alone have the\ninitiative in making proposals for taxation and expenditure and no such\nproposals can be initiated by a private member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(5) The House of the People should have\nsupremacy over the Council of States in all financial matters. A Money Bill\nshall not be introduced in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(6) All revenues received by the Union\nGovernment should form the \u201cConsolidated Fund of India\u201d from which alone the\nGovernment shall withdraw money for its expenditure and repayment of debts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(7) To meet unforeseen requirements exceeding\nthe authorised expenditure, a reserve fund, called the \u201cContingency
\nFund of India\u201d, should be placed at the disposal of the Government facilitating\nadvances subject to subsequent regularisation (Article 267)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(8) The President shall not\nwithhold his assent for a Money Bill passed by the Parliament. In the matter of\nfinance, the Parliament is supreme (Article 111)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Union Legislature\u2014Parliament Conduct Of Business Each House has a Roll of Members which is to be signed by every member before taking his seat. Every member should also make and subscribe to an oath of affirmation in order to formally assume his seat. With the Speaker or any other presiding officer in the chair […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":281,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions\/281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}