UNION INTERPARLEMENTAIRE / / INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION

Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments

CONTRIBUTION

from

DR V.K. AGNIHOTRI

Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha of India

To the general debate on

EVENTS AND TASKS AT THE END OF A PARLIAMENT

AND OF PARLIAMENTARY SESSIONS

Panama Session

April 2011

1

Introduction

Parliamentperformsa multitude of functions in deference to the public mandate.It makes legislations; it deliberates on public policies and issues of public importance; it oversees the administration, secures executive accountability and ventilates people's grievances.Through the proceedings in Parliamentduring sessions,these paramount responsibilities are discharged.While the life of Parliament signifies a period normally not exceeding fixed years – beginning with the election and ending with the dissolution, a session is the period of time between the meeting of a Parliament and its prorogation.In a sense, a session is a dynamic part of Parliament that captures the essence of Parliament in its myriad hues.Therefore, events and tasks at the end of a Parliament and of Parliament sessions are important to understand varied facets of the functioning of Parliament, both procedural and substantive.This paper seeks to present an outline of the processes involved in the dissolution of Parliament highlighting the tasks required to be accomplished as well as the tasks and events at the end of the regular sessions during the life of a Parliament.An attempt has also been made to underscore the unique feature of the Parliament of India which is embodied in the constitutional provision pertaining to Rajya Sabha as a Chamber of legislative continuity.Since the Rajya Sabha is a continuous body not subject to dissolution, its sessions are numbered consecutively and continuously since its inception.

  1. As per the constitutional scheme, the Parliament of India consists of the President and the two Houses, known respectively as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).While the Rajya Sabha is the Upper House comprising the representatives of the States and UnionTerritories elected by the elected Members of the State Legislative Assemblies in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, the Lok Sabha comprises directly elected representatives.The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution.However, one-third of its Members retire biennially.But each Lok Sabha is formed for a five year term and continues as such unless sooner dissolved or extended by a Proclamation of Emergency, which may extend the term for a period of oneyear at a time.

Events and tasks at the end of a Parliament

  1. The end of life of the Lok Sabha either on the expiration of the period of five years from the date appointed for its first meeting or by an order made by the President is termed as ‘dissolution of the House’.When dissolved, Lok Sabha cannot again assemble until after the General Elections.Under section 14 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a General Election to Lok Sabha can be held six months in advance of the expiration of the life of the existing House, although the new House is constituted only after dissolution of the existing House.On the expiry of the term of the House, it stands dissolved by virtue of the provision of the Constitution itself and the President is bound to issue the order of dissolution on the date of expiry of the term of the House.
  2. Apart from this, under the Cabinet system of Government followed in India, the Council of Ministers, through the Prime Minister, has the right to seek a dissolution of the House even before the expiry of its term on the ground that it has lost its majority in the House and that the House does no longer represent the will of the electorate.
  3. After dissolution of the Lok Sabha, elections are held to constitute a new House.Section 73 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 provides that upon the issue of a notification by the Election Commission in the Official Gazette of the names of the Members elected for the various constituencies, Lok Sabha shall be deemed to be duly constituted.Once the Lok Sabha is duly constituted, it is also subjected to dissolution.

Procedure for dissolution

  1. The procedure in regard to the normal dissolution of Lok Sabha is that the Secretary-General, a few days before the termination of the last session of Lok Sabha, makes an enquiry from the Prime Minister through the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs (and through the Leader of the House, if the Prime Minister is not the Leader of the House), or the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs (or the Leader of the House, as the case may be) himself sends a communication about the date suggested by the Prime Minister.

The proposal of the Prime Minister, as agreed to by the Speaker, is submitted by the Secretary-General to the President.A draft order is also sent along with the note indicating the date on which it is proposed to dissolve the House.The order is signed by the President on the date on which Lok Sabha is to be dissolved.After the President has made the order, it is notified in the Gazette Extraordinary of the day on which the order is received in the Lok Sabha Secretariat.Simultaneously, the Lok Sabha Secretariat issues a press communiqué for wide publicity of the order.A paragraph is also issued in the Bulletin informing the Members of the dissolution of Lok Sabha.

In case the Prime Minister decides to recommend to the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha before the end of its normal term, the Prime Minister submits the proposal to the President and communicates the President’s order of dissolution to the Speaker who asks the Secretary-General to notify it in the Gazette and inform the Members through the Bulletin, press and other news media.

Effects of Dissolution

  1. Dissolution marks the end of the life of a House and is followed by the constitution of a new House.Once the House has been dissolved, the dissolution is irrevocable.There is no power vested in the President to cancel his order of dissolution and revive the previous House.The consequences of dissolution are absolute and irrevocable.

Effects of Dissolution of the Lok Sabha on different categories of business pending before both the Houses

  1. All business pending before the Lok Sabha or any of its Committees lapses on dissolution. No part of the records of the dissolved House can be carried over and transcribed into the records of the new House, thus drawing the final curtain upon the existing House.The Bills which have been passed or pending in the House on the date of dissolution of Lok Sabha lapse.However, the assurances given by the Ministers on the floor of the House, which are pending implementation by the Government and a report has been made thereof by the Committee on Government Assurances, are deemed not to lapse on dissolution of Lok Sabha.

9.A motion given in pursuance of Section 3(1) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 for presenting an address to the President praying for removal of a judge, if admitted, will not lapse on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. For instance, on 28 February 1991, the Speaker,Lok Sabha (Ninth) received a notice of motion dated 27 February 1991, signed by Prof. Madhu Dandavate and 107 members of the Lok Sabha calling for the removal of Justice V. Ramaswami, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, on charges relating to the grossabuse of his financial and administrative powers as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and to criminal misappropriation of property. The Speaker, Lok Sabha, admitted the motion on 12 March 1991, just before the dissolution of the Ninth Lok Sabha. As mandated by the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, the Speaker constituted a Committee for making an investigation into the charges.Before the Committee could submit its report, the Ninth Lok Sabha was dissolved by the President on 13 March 1991.The question whether the motion lapsed or remained alive on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha was raised in a petition filed before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that neitherthe doctrine that dissolution of a House passes a sponge over parliamentary slate nor the specific provisions contained in any rule or rules framed under Article 118 of the Constitution determine the effect of dissolution on the motion for removal of Judge under Article 124.Accordingly, the notice of motion remained alive.Thereafter, the Tenth Lok Sabha was constituted on 20 June, 1991. The Justice Sawant Committee submitted its report to the Speaker of the Tenth Lok Sabha in July 1992.

10.Dissolution of the Lok Sabha seriously affects the legislative business pending before the Rajya Sabha in numerous ways.A Bill, which is originated in the Rajya Sabha and is still pending there or Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha and passed by the House but not transmitted to the Lok Sabha, will not lapse on account of dissolution. The rest of the Bills and notices will lapse on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.A Bill returned by the President to the Rajya Sabha for reconsideration by both the Houses does not lapse, if the dissolution of the Lok Sabha takes place without the Houses having reconsidered the Bill.

11.The dissolution of the Lok Sabha has an impact on the Parliamentary Committees also.Parliamentary Committees act as mini legislatures in the Indian parliamentary system.Dissolution of the Lok Sabha puts a brake on the functioning of these Committees too. All business pending before the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees (DRSCs) (which are joint committees of the two Houses) and Parliamentary Committees of the Lok Sabha lapses upon dissolution of the Lok Sabha as the Committees themselves stand dissolved.Rule 285 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha states:

A Committee which is unable to complete its work before the expiration of its term or before the dissolution of the House may report to the House that the Committee has not been able to complete its work. Any preliminary report, memorandum or note that the Committee may have prepared or any evidence that the Committee may have taken, shall be made available to the new Committee.[1]

12.The impact of dissolution of the Lok Sabha on various Parliamentary Committees is that the Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha and referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees, which are under the administrative control of the Rajya Sabha, do not lapse even though the Committees become defunct on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.Therefore, on reconstitution of these Committees, Bills that are pending before such Committees need not be referred again and are taken up suo motu by them.

13.Bills introduced in the Lok Sabha and referred to the DRSCs, which are under the administrative control of the Rajya Sabha lapse when the Lok Sabha dissolves. The Bills introduced in the Lok Sabha and referred to the DRSCs, which are under the administrative control of the Lok Sabha, will lapse on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, even if the Committee has presented its Report to the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be, before the dissolution. Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha and referred to the DRSCs, which are under the administrative control of the Lok Sabha, need to be referred again to those Committees on their reconstitution after formation of the new Lok Sabha.

14.On dissolution of the Lok Sabha, the Joint Committees set up by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Bills introduced therein will also dissolve and as such the Members of the Rajya Sabha serving on such Committees will also cease to be the Members of the Joint Committee and the Joint Committees will also become defunct.However, a Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha and referred to the Joint Committee set up by the Rajya Sabha will not lapse on the date of the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. An ad hoc Joint Committee of Parliament also becomes defunct on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.

15.When the President has notified his intention to summon a joint sitting of the Houses to consider a Bill upon which the two Houses have disagreed, such a Bill does not lapse on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha if the summons are issued by the President prior to the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.A Bill, which has been passed by both the Houses of Parliament and has been sent for obtaining the President’s assent, does not lapse on dissolution of the Lok Sabha. However, on this point there is no express provision in the Constitution.It has, however, been held that such a Bill does not lapse on dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Further, if such a Bill is returned by the President for reconsideration, the successor House can reconsider it and if it is passed by the successor House (with or without amendments), it will be deemed to have been passed again.

Events and tasks at the end of Parliament sessions

16.A session comprises the period commencing from the date and time mentioned in the order of the President summoning each House of Parliament and ending with the day the President prorogues each House or dissolves the Lok Sabha.It is not necessary for the President to summon both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and prorogue both the Houses simultaneously.Sessions of the two Houses are, however, generally held simultaneously.Besides, the President addresses Members of both Houses assembled together at the commencement of the first session of every year, and the first session after constitution of the Lok Sabha.

Prorogation of the House

17.Termination of a session of the House by an order made by the President under article 85(2) is called ‘prorogation’.The President in exercising the power to prorogue the House acts on the advice of the Prime Minister.The Prime Minister may consult the Cabinet before the advice is submitted to the President.After obtaining the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs to prorogue the House, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs conveys the Government’s decision to the Secretary-General. On the basis of this communication, a note signed by the Secretary-General is sent to the Secretary to the President together with a Prorogation Order for approval and signature of the President.

18.On receipt of the Order as signed by the President, the same is published in the form of a notification in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, under the signature of the Secretary-General the same day. Members are informed about the prorogation through a paragraph in the Bulletin, the general public through a press communiqué and media and Ministries of Government of India, etc. by a circular.

19.Usually, prorogation follows the adjournment of the sitting of the House sine die.The time-lag between the adjournment of a House sine die and its prorogation is generally two to four days, although there are instances when a House was prorogued on the same day on which it was adjourned sine die. It is not necessary that both the Houses should be prorogued simultaneously.

Effects of prorogation on different categories of business pending before the House

20.Article 107(3) of the Constitution of India expressly provides that a Bill pending in Parliament shall not lapse by reason of the prorogation of the House.This also covers Bills pending before a Select or Joint Committee of the House(s). Notices of intention to move for leave to introduce Bills also do not lapse on prorogation and no fresh notice is necessary in the next session for that purpose except where any sanction or recommendation granted under the Constitution in respect of a Bill has ceased to be operative.On the prorogation, all pending notices of Motions and Resolutions except those relating to introduction of Bills as mentioned above, lapse and fresh notices must be given for the next session.

21.The Rules of Procedure specifically provide that any business pending before a committee shall not lapse by reason only of the prorogation of the House and the committee shall continue to function notwithstanding such prorogation.On prorogation of either House of Parliament, the President has the powerto issue Ordinances under article 123. If an Ordinance is issued and notified before the order of prorogation, the Ordinance would be void.

22.The Committee on Subordinate Legislation constituted by the Speaker/Chairman scrutinizes all rules, etc. laid on the Table of the concerned House.The report containing the recommendations of the Committee is submitted to the House by the Chairman of the Committee. After the termination of each session, the concerned Government Department examines the rules, etc. laid on the Table of each House to see whether the prescribed period for which they were to be laid has been completed.If not, an intimation stating the date (which should be, as far as possible, the first day of the following session allotted to the Department concerned) for relaying should be furnished to the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha Secretariat at least 3 clear days before the date on which it is to be relaid.Such rules, etc. when re-laid, need not be accompanied by authenticated or spare copies, unless there has been a change in the incumbency of the Minister who had laid it in the House earlier. In the case of the dissolution of Lok Sabha before the expiry of its full term, the concerned Rule, etc. will be laid afresh in the new Lok Sabha.