Comparision of procedure in parliament and State Legislature | Indian Constitution Download PDF
The provisions as regards Bills other than Money Bills may now be summarised :
(a) Parliament. If a Bill (other than a Money Bill) is passed by one House and (i) the other House rejects it or does not return it within six Comparison of months, or
(ii) the two Houses disagree as to procedure in amendment, the President may convene a joint sitting of the Houses, for the purpose of finally deliberating and voting on the Bill. At such joint sitting, the vote of the majority of both Houses present and voting shall prevail and the Bill shall be
deemed to have been passed by both Houses with such amendments as are agreed to by such majority; and the Bill shall then be presented for his assent [Art. 108]
(b) State Legislature, (i) If a Bill (other than a Money Bill) is passed by the Legislative Assembly and the Council (a) rejects the Bill, or (b) passes it with such amendments as are not agreeable to the Assembly, or
(c) does not pass the Bill within 3 months from the time when it is laid before the Council—the Legislative Assembly may again pass the Bill with or without further amendments, and transmit the Bill to the Council again [Art. 197].
If on this second occasion, the Council—
(a) again rejects the Bill, or
(b) proposes amendments, or
(c) does not pass it within one month of the date on which it is laid before the Council, the Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by both Houses, and then presented to the Governor for his assent [Art. 197(2)].
In short, in the State Legislature, a Bill as regards which the Council does not agree with the Assembly, shall have two journeys from the Assembly to the Council. In the first journey, the Council shall not have the power to withhold the Bill for more than three months and in the second
journey, not more than one month, and at the end of this period, the Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by both the Houses, even though the Council remains altogether inert [Art. 197],
(ii) The foregoing provision of the Constitution is applicable only as regards Bills originating in the Assembly. There is no corresponding provision
for Bills originating in the Council. If, therefore, a Bill passed by the Council is transmitted to the Assembly and rejected by the latter, there is an end to the Bill.
The relative positions of the two Houses of the Union Parliament and of a State Legislature may be graphically shown as follows:
On the other hand, if the Upper House does not return the Money Bill transmitted to it by the Lower House, within a period of 14 days from the date of its receipt in the Upper House, the Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by the Legislature, at the expiry of the period of 14 days, and then presented to the President or the Governor, as the case may be, even though the Upper House has not either given its assent or made any recommendations.
(a) There is no provision for resolving any deadlock as between the two Houses, as regards Money Bills, because no deadlock can possibly arise. Whether in Parliament or in a State Legislature, the will of the lower House (House of the People or the Legislative Assembly) shall prevail, in case the Upper House does not agree to the Bill as passed by the lower House.
II. As regards Bills other than Money Bills:
|
Parliament |
State Legislature |
| (a) Such Bills may be introduced in either House of Parliament. | (a) Such Bills may be introduced in either House of a State Legislature. |
| (b) A Bill is deemed to have been passed by Parliament only if both Houses have agreed to the Bill in its original form or with amendments agreed to by both Houses. In case of disagreement between the two Houses in any of the following manner, the deadlock may be solved only by a joint sitting of the two Houses, if summoned by the President. | (b) The Legislative Council has no co-ordinate power, and in a case of disagreement between the two Houses, the will of the Legislative Assembly shall ultimately prevail. Hence, there is no provision for a joint sitting for resolving a deadlock between the two Houses. |
| (c) The disagreement may take place if a House, on receipt of a Bill passed by the other House—
(i)rejects the Bill; or (ii)proposes amendments as are not agreeable to the other House; or (iii) does not pass the Bill within six months of its receipt of the Bill. |
(c) A disagreement between the two Houses may take place if the Legislative Council, on receipt of a Bill passed by the Assembly
(i) rejects the Bill; or (ii) makes amendments to the Bill, which are not agreed to by the originating House; or (iii) does not pass the Bill within three months from the date of its receipt from the originating House. While the period for passing a Bill received from the lower House is six months in the case of the Council of States, it is three months only in the case of the Legislative Council. |
| (d) In a case of disagreement, a passing of the bill bye the House of the People, a second time, cannot over-ride the Council of States. The only means of resolving the dead lock is a joint sitting of the two Houses. But if the President , in his discretion, does not summon a joint sitting , there is an end of the Bill and thus, the Council of States has effective power, subject to a joint sitting, of preventing the passing a bill. | (d) In case of such disagreement , a passing of the Bill by the Assembly for a second time is sufficient passing of the Bill by the Legislature, and if the Bill is so deadlock is a Joint sitting of die two passed and transmitted to the Legislative Council again, the only thing that the Council may do is withhold it for a period of one month from the date of its receipt of the Bill on its second journey. If the Council either rejects the Bill passing of a Bill again, or proposes amendments not agreeable to the Assembly or allows one month to elapse without passing the Bill, the Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by the State Legislature in the form in which it is passed by the Assembly for the second time, with such amendments, if any, as have been made by the Council and as are agreed to by the Assembly. |
| (e) The foregoing procedure applies only in the case of disagreement relating to a Bill originating in the Legislative Assembly.
In the case of a Bill originating in the Legislative Council and transmitted to the Assembly, after its passage in the Council, if the Legislative Assembly either rejects the Bill or makes amendments which are not agreed to by the Council, there is an immediate end of the Bill, and no question of its passage by the Assembly would arise. |
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