Union Legislature –
Part V
Legislative Procedure
Introduction
Bill is a proposal for legislation and it becomes an
act or law when duly enacted
Public bills -introduced by minister, needs 7 days
prior notice and is drafted by govt department in
consultation with law dept
Private bills -introduced by anyone but a minister,
needs a month notice and drafted by the
concerned member
The procedure followed in both houses to pass
bills into act is same.
The bills go through the same stages in both
houses.
Ordinary Bill
First Reading
A minister or a member introduces the bill in
either house of the Parliament
He asks for leave before introducing the bill. He
reads the title and objective of the bill
After the introduction, the bill is published in the
Gazette of India
No discussion on the bill takes place in this stage
Introduction of the bill and its publication in
the Gazette constitute the first reading of
the bill
Second Reading
Stage of General Discussion- Four actions can be
taken by the house on the bill:
I : It may take the bill into consideration
immediately or on some other fixed date or
II: It may refer the bill to a select committee of
the House or
III: It may refer the bill to a joint committee of
the two Houses or
IV: It may circulate the bill to elicit public opinion
Select Committee- Has members of the
house where the bill is introduced
Joint Committee- Has members from both
the houses
Committee Stage
Select Committee examines the bill thoroughly
and in detail, clause by clause
It can also amend its provisions, but without
altering the principles underlying it
After completing the scrutiny and discussion, the
committee reports the bill back to the House
Consideration Stage:
The House, after receiving the bill from the select
committee, considers the provisions of the Bill
clause by clause.
Each clause is discussed ,debated and voted
upon separately
The members can also move amendments and if
accepted, they become part of the bill
Third Reading
Person who introduces the bill brigs in a one line
motion to pass the bill
Acceptance of the Bill (If the majority of members
present and voting accept the bill, the bill is
regarded as passed by the House)
Rejection of the Bill
No amendments to the bill are allowed
A bill is deemed to have been passed by the
Parliament only when both the Houses have
agreed to it, either with or without amendments.
Bill in the Second House
The first three stages are repeated here i.e.:
First Reading
Second Reading
Third Reading
The second house can take one of the four
actions:
It may pass the bill as sent by the first house (ie,
without amendments)
It may pass the bill with amendments and return
it to the first House for reconsideration
It may reject the bill altogether
It may not take any action and thus keep the bill
pending
The bill is deemed to have been passed if both
the houses accept the bill and the amendments
If the second house takes no action for 6 months,
a deadlock appears which is acted upon through
a joint sitting (summoned by President) of both
the houses
Assent of the President
May give his assent to the bill The bill becomes
an act and is placed on statute book
May withhold his assent to the bill The bill ends
and does not become an act
May return the bill for reconsideration The houses
can/cannot make amendments and send it back
to the President after which he has to give assent
President only enjoys ‘Suspensive Veto
Money bill
Money bill is introduced only in Lok Sabha on the
recommendation of President which is a must
The bill, moved on the recommendation of the President
and introduced in the Lok Sabha is termed as a
government bill
After Lok Sabha passes the bill, it is moved to Rajya
Sabha which has only restricted powers. It cannot reject
or amend the bill
Rajya Sabha has to return the bill within 14 days with or
without recommendations of the amendments
If it does not return the bill within the prescribed days,
the bill is deemed to have been passed
Lok Sabha may or may not accept the amendments.
After passing through both the houses, the
President’s assent is required. He can take two
actions:
Give assent
Withhold assent
President can’t return the bill for reconsideration
After President’s assent, the bill becomes
the act and is published in the Indian
Statute Book.
Constitutional Amendment
Bill
It can be introduced in either house of the parliament
Can’t be introduced in the state legislatures
Either by a minister or by a private member
It does not require prior permission of the president
Must be passed in each House by a special majority,
that is, a majority (that is, more than 50 per cent) of
the total membership of the House and a majority of
two-thirds of the members of the House present and
voting
There is no provision for joint sitting in case of
deadlock
If the bill seeks to amend the federal provisions of the
Constitution, it must also be ratified by the
legislatures of half of the states by a simple majority,
that is, a majority of the members of the House
present and voting
He must give his assent
He can’t return the bill
He can’t withhold the bill unlike in the case of ordinary
bills
After President’s assent, the bill becomes a
Constitutional Amendment Act and the
Constitution stands amended in accordance
with the terms of the Act.
How is Budget passed in
Parliament
Annual Financial Statement-Article 112
Statement of Estimated Receipts and Expenditure
of the Government of India
In 2017, a 92-year-old tradition was broken when
the railway budget was merged with the Union
Budget and presented together.
Stages of Budget
In parliament, the budget goes through 5 stages
Presentation of budget with Finance Minister’s
speech
General discussion of the budget. After this, there
is an adjournment of houses so that standing
committees scrutinises the demand for grants for
a month.
Voting on demand for grants in Lok Sabha
Passing of appropriation bills
Passing of Finance bills.
Budget Presentation
The budget is presented to the parliament on the
date fixed by the President
The general budget is presented in the Lok Sabha
by Minister of Finance
Budget speech of finance minister is in two
parts, Part A constitute a general economic
condition of the country while part B relates to
taxation proposals
At the conclusion of the speech of the finance
minister in Lok Sabha, annual financial statement
is laid on the table of Rajya Sabha.
Discussion of Budget
It is done in two stages
In the first stage, broad outlines of the budget,
principle and policies underlying it are to be
discussed in general discussion of the budget
which lasts for about 4-5 days
In second stage discussion is held based on
reports of concerned Departments/Ministries
standing committees, which is usually done after
a month of a general discussion of the budget.
Standing committees submit reports to the
house which are persuasive in nature.
Discussion and Voting on Demand for
Grants
After standing committee reports are presented
to the house, the house proceeds with a Ministry
wise discussion of committee reports and voting
on demand for grants
Voting on Demand for Grants is the exclusive
privilege of the Lok Sabha
Voting is confined to the votable part of the
budget and the expenditure charged on the
Consolidated Fund of India can only be discussed
and not subject to voting
Appropriation Bill
An appropriation bill is intended to give
authority to the Government of India to incur
expenditure from the consolidated fund of India.
After the voting of Demand for grants has been
completed, the government introduces an
appropriation bill.
Appropriation bill includes charged expenditure
and sums granted by voting on demand for grants.
The procedure for passing the appropriation bill is
same as that of the money bills.
Appropriation Bill becomes an Appropriation Act
after the assent of the President
Only after an Appropriation Act has been passed
government can withdraw money from the
Consolidated Fund of India
Passing of Finance Bill
Finance Bill is introduced to give effect to the
financial proposals of the Government of India for
the following year
The parliament has to pass a financial bill within
75 days of its introduction.
Finance Act legalises the income side of the
budget and completes the process of the
enactment of budget
