Function of Parliament.LEGISLATIVE PROCEDUREThe primary function of Parliament is law making. Historically,it was the function of making laws that made the legislature adistinctly separate department of Government. In spite of allthe additional functions that a Parliament takes up as a result ofthe complexities of modern Government, law making stillremains its most important activity. A Parliament withoutlegislative work ceases to be a Parliament in the real sense,whatever else it might be.A lawgiver has to look to the future, while being rooted in theexperience of the past. He has to take into consideration theconditions and circumstances of the society to which the lawswould be applicable. Modern society is so complex that laws,which govern it, have necessarily to be complex. Naturally, lawmaking too has become a complex process. The processprescribed under the Constitution of India will illustrate this.The first stage of legislation is the introduction of a Billembodying the provisions of the proposed law, accompaniedby the “ Statement of Objects and Reasons” . If a privatemember desires to introduce a Bill, he must give notice of hisintention to the Speaker. Every Bill that is introduced in theHouse has to be published in the Gazette. There is provision,however, for the publication of any Bill with the consent of theSpeaker even before its formal introduction. Usually, at the timeof the introduction of a Bill there is no debate. The person,who is given leave to introduce the Bill, if he so chooses, maymake a short statement indicating broadly its aims and objects.But if the introduction of the Bill is opposed, then the Speakermay allow one of the opposing members to give his reasonstoo, after which he will put the question to vote. If the Houseis in favor of the introduction of the Bill, then It goes to thenext stage. The introduction of the Bill is also called the firstreading of the Bill.There are four alternative courses of action open atthe second stage:The Bill may be taken into consideration; it may be referred to aSelect Committee of the House; it may be referred to a JointCommittee of both the Houses; or it may be circulated for thepurpose of eliciting public opinion on it. In the case of everyproposed legislative measure, which is likely to arouse publiccontroversy and agitate public opinion, resort to the lastalternative is invariably made. But there are many Bills, which areof minor importance or pertain to routine matters, and othersof an emergent nature, which may not therefore permit anylong delay. In their case one or the other of the first threealternatives is adopted.The Select Committee or Joint Committee is expected to giveits report within a specified date. The members of the SelectCommittee are selected generally on the basis of their ability orexpert knowledge on the subject. The usual practice is that themover of the Bill will himself propose the names of membersof the Committee and the House adopts them. Members ofthe Opposition are well represented on the Committee. In the

case of a Joint Committee, the concurrence of the other Houseis taken. Of the total number of members on the JointCommittee, two thirds belong to the Lok Sabha and one-thirdto the Rajya Sabha. The Committee may give a unanimousreport or a majority report. In the latter case, members in aminority have the right to give “ minutes of dissent” . Submissionof the report of the Committee may be taken as thebeginningof the third stage. It is during this stage that members can sendin their amendments to the different provisions of the Bill.After the Committee’s report has been considered and themotion that the Bill as reported by the Committee is taken intoconsideration is adopted, the fourth stage begins when adetailed clause to clause discussion of the Bill begins. TheHouse takes up each clause and amendments are moved,discussed and disposed of. The amendments that are moved inthe House are those which have already been cl1ecked by theSecretariat with a view to seeing that they are within the scope ofthe Bill and relevant to the subject matter and satisfy all theconditions laid down in regard to their admissibility. This is thestage when the Bill undergoes substantial changes, should theybe found necessary. It is also the most time-consuming stage.Once the clause by clause consideration is over and every clauseis voted, the second reading of the Bill is over.The next stage is the third reading stage when the members incharge who has piloted it moves that “ the Bill be passed” . Sucha motion may be moved either immediately after the secondreading or on a subsequent date. Unless there is any greaturgency, the third reading takes place after sufficient time is givento members to study the Bill in the amended form in which itwas passed at the second reading. At the third reading, normallyonly verbal or purely formal amendments are moved anddiscussion is limited and progress is quick. When once all theamendments are disposed of, the Bill is finally passed as awhole. And, when the work in one House is over, the Bill issent to the other House for its action.The sixth stage starts with the consideration of the Bill’ by theother House where it goes through the same procedure and theLESSON 12:FUNCTIONS OF PARLIAM ENT108INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSdifferent stages. The House has three alternatives before it. Itmight finally pass the Bill as sent by the originating House. Itmight amend or altogether reject the Bill. In both these lattercases, the Bill may be returned to the originating House. Or itmay not return it at all within six months after the receipt of theBill, which will mean the same as rejection.At the seventh stage, the House in the light of the amendmentsmade by the other House considers the returned Bill. Ifthe amendments are accepted, it sends a message to the otherHouse to that effect. If they are not accepted then the Bill isreturned to the other House with a message to that effect. If inthis process of sending the Bill up and down, the Houses donot come to an agreement, the only solution is a joint sitting of

the two Houses called for the purpose by the President. Thedisputed provision is finally adopted or rejected by a simplemajority vote of those who are present and voting.A Bill that is finally passed by both the Houses goes with thesignature of the Speaker, to the President for his assent. This isnormally the last stage. If the President gives his assent, the Billbecomes an Act and is placed on the Statute Book. But even atthis last stage, the Bill can be stopped from becoming an Act.The President, as we have already seen, is empowered, if he sochooses, to refuse assent to a Bill that is placed before him. Hemay send the Bill back to Parliament for reconsideration. Thiswill reopen almost the whole process and if both the Housesagain with or without amendments pass the Bill, it will be sentto the President for a second time. At this stage, the Presidentshall not withhold his assent. Thus, it can be seen how long,detailed and time consuming is the process of modemlegislation and how difficult it is if a Bill has to be passedwithin a short time. The magnitude of the work will be fullyunderstood only if one takes into consideration the number ofBills, which Parliament is called upon to pass every year. Thisalso highlights the importance of drafting, a highly skilledtechnical job, which would facilitate the smooth passage of theBill without unnecessary discussions on matters of minorimportance such as language, sequence of sentences, arrangementof matter, numbering of clauses, punctuation etc. If aBill is properly drafted, when it is introduced, its passage to agreat extent becomes easy and smooth. Successful and expeditiouslaw-making involves also the skilful handling of theprovisions of a Bill on the floor of the House by those who arein charge of piloting it and the maximum measure of supportthey can enlist from members in general and particularly fromthose in opposition.Financial ProcedureHis the unquestioned right of parliament under any responsiblesystem of Government not only to ensure that publicfunds are raised only with its consent but also to exercisecomplete, control over the way in which the nation’s revenuesare spent by the Government. The framers of the Constitutionhad kept in view these basic considerations while laying downthe principles which would guide the operation of publicfinance and the procedure that would regulate the financialtransactions of the Government. The basic principles underlyingthe financial provisions of the Constitution are as follows:(1)There shall be no taxation without a law authorizing it. Ifany levy is to be made upon the people, the sanction mustbe that of law.(2) There shall be no expenditure without the authority ofParliament. Such authority should be embodied in an Act ofParliament and \ not merely expressed by a Resolution(3) As an essential safeguard for’ the sound administration ofthe nation’s finances, Parliament should have unrestrictedpower to superintend, scrutinize, regulate and determinefinancial administration.(4)The executive should alone have the initiative in makingproposals for taxation and expenditure and no such

proposals can be initiated by a private member.(5) The House of the People should have supremacy over theCouncil of States in all financial matters.(6) All revenues received by the Union Government shouldform the “ Consolidated Fund of India” from which alonethe Government shall withdraw money for its expenditureand repayment of debts.(7) To meet unforeseen requirements exceeding the authorizedexpenditure, a reserve fund called the “ Contingency Fund ofIndia” should be placed at the disposal of the Governmentfacilitating advances subject to subsequent regularization.(8) The President shall not withhold his assent from a MoneyBill passed by Parliament. In the matter of finance,Parliament is supreme.On the basis of these principles, tile Constitution proceeds tolay down a detailed financial procedure. In laying down such adetailed procedure the framers were influenced by a set ofestablished principles.These are:(1) Procedures should not obscure fundamental issues.(2) Procedures should ensure that the executive takes no bad orirresponsible decisions.(3) Procedures should make it possible to consider the budgetas a whole and as an integral part of national accountingrather than as a series of unrelated parts.(4) Procedures should ensure a complete and coordinated circuitbetween expenditure and resources.(5) Procedures should leave ample room for long termeconomic planning and development, treating annualallocations and sanctions as effective and strong links of suchplanning and development.With these principles in view one may examine the mechanicsof the financial procedure. Under Article 112, every year “ thePresident shall cause to be laid before both the Houses ofParliament” the annual financial statement, popularly known asthe Budget. The person through whom the President acts inthis respect are the Finance Minister why is the custodian of thenation’s finances. The budget will show the estimated receiptsand expenditure for that financial year. According to custom, itis presented on the last day of February in order that Parliamentwill have sufficient time to discuss the proposals in general andauthorize appropriation before the beginning of the new109INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSfinancial year on the first day of April. There will be no discussionof the budget on the day ‘on which it is presented toParliament; this it to give members time to study the proposalsbefore the discussion of the budget begins.The expenditure embodied in the budget is divided into twoseparate parts: the expenditure charged upon the “ ConsolidatedFund of India” which are “ non-votable” , and the sumsrequired to meet the other expenditure from the ConsolidatedFund, which are “ votable” . The following items belong to thecharged expenditure(a) The salary and allowances of the President;

(b) The salaries and allowances of the Presiding Officers of theHouses of Parliament;(c) Debt charges of the Government of India;(d) The salaries and allowances of the judges of the SupremeCourt and High Courts, the Comptroller, and Auditor-General and pension payable to retired judges of the FederalCourt;(e) Sums required satisfying any Court decree or award and anyother expenditure declared by the Constitution or byParliament to be so charged.Although Parliament does not vote on these items as thesepayments are guaranteed under the Constitution, there is no barto. a discussion on any of them by either of the two Houses.With respect to the second part of expenditure, estimates are tobe submitted in the form of demands for grants by the Houseof the People. The House has the power to assent to, reduce orreject these demands. Every demand for a grant should bemade only with the recommendation of the President.Under the rules of procedure, ordinarily, a separate demand hasto be made in respect of the grant proposed for each Ministryand each demand should contain not only a statement of thetotal grant proposed, but also a detailed estimate under eachgrant divided into items. The discussion on the budget can bedivided into two parts: a general discussion, and a detaileddiscussion which takes place when every time a separate demandis placed before the House. During the general discussion,- theaccent is on general problems connected with the nation’sfinances and the principles involved in the budget proposals. Atthe end of the discussion the Finance Minister has a right toreply.It is during the second stage that members get the opportunityto move cut motions to reduce the amount of demand. Everycut motion to a demand for grants represents disapproval ofsome aspect or other of the governmental policy or administrationinvolved in the demand. The procedure recognizes threedifferent types of cut motions. If the cut motion aims toreduce the demand by one rupee only, the motion will beknown as “ Disapproval of Policy Cut” . The motion in this caserepresents disapproval of the policy underlying the demand. Ifthe reduction demanded is either in the form of a lump sumof omission or reduction of an item in the demand, themotion that embodies such cut, it known as “ Economy cut” .Here the object of the motion is economy in governmentalspending. If the motion seeks to reduce the demand by a cutof, Rs. 100 it aims to ventilate a specific grievance, which iswithin, the sphere of the responsibility of the Government andsuch a motion is known as a “ Token Cut” . The admissibility ofthese cut motions is regulated by rules laying down conditions.The cut motions provide the maximum opportunity formembers to examine every part of the budget and subject it todetailed criticism and offer suggestions for improvement.Voting on demands by itself does not complete the formalitiesconnected with the provision of funds to the Government:There should be legal sanction for the appropriation of sumsfrom the Consolidated Fund. To facilitate this the procedure

provides for two different pieces of financial legislation. One isthe Appropriation Act and the other is the Finance Act. Theformer fixes the amount, which can be drawn out of theConsolidated Fund for meeting the expenditure against eachgrant. The Constitution does not permit any withdrawal inexcess of the amount provided in the Act. The latter deals withthe legislation, which authorizes the raising of funds throughtaxation, as embodied in the financial proposals of the year.Mention has been made earlier of the constitutional prohibitionagainst funds being withdrawn from the ConsolidatedFund except under appropriations made by law. But it has beenfound, from time to time, that the expenditure voted byParliament for a Department is not enough because ofunforeseen or unexpected reasons. If the expenditure isincurred without Parliamentary authorization, it would beillegal. But if the executive awaits parliamentary sanction beforeincurring the expenditure, the Department concerned will beput to great inconvenience. Besides, the expenditure may beurgently required and the inability of the Government to makeprovision for it may be detrimental to the public interest. Toprovide for such contingencies, Parliament is authorized underArticle 267, to establish a “ Contingency Fund of India intowhich shall be paid, from time to time, such sums as may bedetermined by law” . This Fund is placed at the disposal of thePresident to enable advances to be made by him for thepurpose of meeting unforeseen expenditure pending itsauthorization in accordance with the established financialprocedure. The idea of the Contingency Fund, as most of theother ideas in the financial field, is taken from England. TheContingency Fund stands at Rs. 150 million now. Onceadvances have been made available from the Constingen9YFund for meeting the unforeseen and urgent financial needs ofa Department in excess of the authorized amount, suchadvances have to be regularized. As we have seen, the executivecannot spend funds without the specific authority of Parliament.The situation is met through the device of a“ supplementary budget” . A supplementary budget is one,which includes all those sums, which the Department hasdrawn in excess of the annual grant. It is presented during thecourse of the financial year. The procedure for getting supplementarygrants is similar to that prescribed for the annualbudget.’ When the supplementary demands are passed,advances taken from the Contingency Fund are returned to it inorder to restore the Fund to its original amount.A discussion of the financial procedure is not complete withoutgoing into the respective roles of two Committees of Parliamentwhose activities have an important bearing on the110INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSfinancial affairs of the Government. These are the EstimatesCommittee and the Public Accounts Committee. Mention mustalso be made of the role of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India in this connection. These are dealt withseparately. Taking into consideration the policies, programmesand activities of the Government, one major conclusion

emerges, namely, that the fundamentals, principles that havebeen embodied in the financial provisions of the Constitutionare substantially realized in practice. The fact that the Governmentof the day enjoys the support of a party with even anoverwhelming majority in Parliament has not made theparliamentary control of public finances any the less real.PRIVILEGES AND COM M ITTEESThe provisions of the Constitution dealing with Parliamentaryprivileges and immunities bear a special mark of indebtednessto the centuries-old conventions established and maintained inthis regard by the mother of Parliaments, the British Parliament.In fact, this is the only section where a direct reference tothe House of Commons was originally made in the Constitution.I Article 105 deals with the powers, privileges andimmunities of the Houses of Parliament, their members andCommittees. It guarantees to every member freedom of speechin Parliament and grants immunity from proceedings. in anyCourt of law in respect of anything said or any vote given byhim)n .Parliament or in any of its Committees. A similarimmunity is granted in respect of any publication under theauthority of either House of Parliament of reports, papers,votes or proceedings.So far Parliament has not been able to do much with regard tothe codification of the powers, privileges and immunities of itsmembers, Committees and the Houses. What has been done isincluded in the Rules of Procedure. This deals mainly with twoquestions: Questions of Privilege, and arrest or detention, ofmembers. Any member provided it satisfies the conditions laiddown for its admissibility can raise a question of privilege. Thematter is then referred to the Committee of Privileges if theHouse agrees to that and the House on the basis of therecommendations of the Committee takes appropriate action.The Lok Sabha made history on August 29, 196], by reprimandinga. journalist at the Bar of the House for publishing wordscalculated to bring a Member of the House into odium,contempt and ridicule. Administering the reprimand theSpeaker said: “ the type of explanation y further aggravated thisoffence of yours you chose to submit to the Committee ofPrivileges. In the name of the House, I accordingly reprimandyou for committing a gross breach of privilege and contemptof the House.” The journalist concerned, the Editor of Blitz, aBombay Weekly, had earlier moved the Supreme Court in adesperate bid to challenge the warrant issued against himsummoning him before the Bar of the House on the groundthat it was in violation of a fundamental right guaranteed tohim by the Constitution. The Supreme Court, however, rejectedthe petition and reaffirmed its decision in an earlier case of asimilar nature when it held that the right to freedom of speechwas subject to the right or privilege of the legislature to prohibitthe publication of even a true and faithful report of theproceedings that took place in the House. According to thecourt, the real remedy lies only with the legislature itself bypassing apprehensive law defining and codifying its privileges.Then the citizen will know how far these parliamentaryprivileges restrict his fundamental right to freedom of speech

and expression.It is true that, under a system of parliamentary government, theprivileges of the legislature, its members and committees are anessential guarantee of its efficient working. The concept ofparliamentary privileges, however, rests mainly on parliamentaryprivileges in England. There, these have been evolved for thepurpose of maintaining the independence and dignity of theHouse and its members. In the words of Erskine May, “ thedistinctive mark of a privilege is its ancillary character. They areenjoyed by individual members because the House cannotperform its functions without unimpeded use of the service ofit members, and by each House for the protection of itsmembers, and the vindication of its own authority anddignity.” By the very nature of these privileges, they do notaccrue by reason of any exalted position of the House or itsmembers, but because they are absolutely necessary for theproper and effective discharge of the functions of a legislativebody. But the manner in which issues on privilege are raisedagain and again on the floor of the Houses of Parliament andthe State Legislatures gives one the impression that theparliamentarians in India are too sensitive to criticism fromoutside. This is not a trend meriting encouragement from anyquarter. After all, Parliament and their members and committeesare neither infallible nor embodiments of all wisdom.Being the representatives of the people they must always beprepared to face public criticism and should never considerthemselves to be above such criticism.The Indian Parliament, it should be pointed out, is verydifferent in at least one important respect from the BritishParliament. While the latter has sovereign powers at least intheory, the Indian Parliament has only limited powers. Parliamentarysupremacy is inconsistent with the writtenConstitution of India, which has imposed prohibitions OnParliament to pass certain kinds of legislation such a Parliamentcannot pretend, under the cover of Article 105 (3), to haveunlimited powers and privileges.When a member is arrested or detained on a criminal charge orsentenced to imprisonment by a Court, the authority concernedshould immediately inform the Speaker or the Chairman, as thecase may be, indicating the reasons for the arrest, detention orimprisonment. Similarly, when a member is released fromdetention, such fact also should be communicated to theSpeaker. The Speaker will inform the House of the contents ofsuch communications as early as possible. No member can bearrested within the premises of Parliament without thepermission of the Speaker. Similarly, no legal process, civil orcriminal, can be served on members within the precincts of theHouses without obtaining the Speaker’s or the Chairman’spermission.Under Article 106, members are entitled to receive such salariesand allowances as may from time to time be determined by lawmade by Parliament.111INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSAt present a Member of Parliament gets a salary of Rs. 12,000

per month. In addition, he gets a daily allowance of Rs.5oo, aconstituency allowance of Rs. 10,000 per month and allowancefor office expenses-Rs. 14,000 per month. He is entitled for travelling allowance atthe rate of Rs. 8 per km, free electricity to a maximum of 50,000units and free water to a total quantity of 4000 kiloliters. He isalso entitled to make 120,000 free local telephone calls. There areseveral other additional benefits such as subsidized residencefree air tickets, railway tickets and several others.Parliamentary CommitteesUnder a Parliamentary system of government, Committees ofParliament are a necessary adjunct of the work of Parliament.They make parliamentary work smooth, efficient and expeditious.They provide a certain expertise to the deliberations ofParliament. They enable Parliament to feel the, pulse of thepublic on proposals of legislation that are introduced for itsconsideration. They help to realize better and more constructiveco-operation from the opposition for various measuresinitiated by the Government.According to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in theLok Sabha, there, are twelve Committees of Parliament. Thefollowing is a brief survey of the work of these Committees,which should give one a general perspective of the work ofParliament itself:(1) The Business Advisory CommitteeThis Committee is constituted at the commencement of theHouse with a view mainly to regulating the timetable of thework of the House and has fifteen members. The Speakerhimself is its Chairman. .(2) The Committee on Private Members’ Bills andResolutionsThis again is a Committee of fifteen whose main function isto examine all private members’ Bills from different pointsof view before recommending them to be placed before theHouse for its consideration.(3) Select Committees on Bills, The occasion for theappointment of a Select committee on any Bill arises as andwhen a motion that the Bill be referred to a SelectCommittee is made. The House appoints members of aSelect Committee. A Select Committee’ may hear, expertevidence and representatives of special interests affected bythe measure before them, and submit its report to theHouse(4) The Committee on PetitionsThe Speaker at the commencement of the House nominatesthe Committee and it has strength of fifteen members(5) The Estimates CommitteeThe financial business of Parliament, as we have already seen,is so complex that, constituted as it is, Parliament is unableto devote to it the time and energy required for dischargingsatisfactorily its responsibilities for financial control. Hencetwo Committees have been set up to enable Parliament todischarge its functions in this connection more efficiently,viz., the Estimates Committee and the Public AccountsCommittee.

The Estimates Committee is charged with the detailedexamination of the budget estimates and, therefore, is in apowerful position to influence the activities of the‘Government not only in the financial field but also in otherfields. There are four specific functions allotted, to theCommittee:(1) To report what economies, improvements in organisation,efficiency or administrative reform, consistent with the policyunderlying the estimates may be effected;(2) To suggest alternative policies in order to bring aboutefficiency and economy in administration;(3) To examine whether the money is well laid out within thelimits of the policy implied in the estimates; and (4) tosuggest the form in which the estimates shall be presentedto Parliament.The Committee has thirty members who are elected inaccordance with the system of proportional representationfrom among the members of the Lok Sabha for a period ofone year. One special feature of the work of the Committeeis that its work is not over with the final passage of thebudget even though it is mainly concerned with estimates. Itgoes on working all the year round, selecting to its ownchoice, any department or agency of the Government for thepurpose of its scrutiny. ,(6) The Public Accounts CommitteeThe Public Accounts Committee is the twin-sister of theEstimates Committee. If the latter is concerned with theexamination of estimates, the former is concerned with themanner and results of spending public funds. The PublicAccounts Committee-is not new to India. As early as 1923, aPublic Accounts Committee was set by the CentralLegislative Assembly. Consequently, the Committee todayhas behind it a set of well-established traditions.The Committee consists of twenty-two members of whomseven are from the Rajya Sabha. The members are elected bythe system of proportional representation. No Minister canbe a member of the Committee. The term of office of themembers is not to exceed one year.The function of the Committee is the examination ofaccounts of the Government in all its financial transactions.In this respect it is its duty to scrutinize the appropriationaccounts and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India. The Committee should satisfy itself:(a) That the moneys shown in the accounts as having beendisbursed were legally available for, and applicable, to theservice or purpose to which they have been applied orcharged;(b) That the expenditure conforms to the authority whichgoverns it; and(c) That every reappropriation has been made in accordance withthe provisions made in this behalf under rules framed bycompetent authority. It is also the duty of the Committee toexamine the statements of accounts showing the income and112INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS

expenditure of State-Corporations, and manufacturingconcerns, autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies,together with their balance sheets and profit and lossaccounts. If any money has been spent on any service duringa financial year in excess of the amount granted by the Housefor that purpose, the Committee shall examine withreference to the facts of each case the circumstances leading tosuch an excess and make such recommendation as it deemsfit.Unlike the Estimates Committee, the Public AccountsCommittee has at its disposal the expert advice of theComptroller and Auditor General based upon a thoroughstudy and detailed examination of the Government’saccounts.(7) The Committee of PrivilegesThe Speaker nominates this Committee at thecommencement of the House and it consists of fifteenmembers. It is concerned with the examination of questionsof privilege and the determination of any breach of privilegein the cases, which are referred to it.(8) The Committee on Subordinate LegislationThe main function of this Committee is to scrutinise andreport to the House whether the powers to makeregulations, rules, subrules, bylaws, etc., conferred by theConstitution or delegated by Parliament are being properlyexercised within the limits of such delegation. It will have amaximum membership of fifteen who will hold office for ayear. The Speaker nominates the members. Membership ofthis Committee is not open to Ministers.(9) The Committee on Government AssurancesIt is the function of this Committee to scrutinize the variousassurances, promises, undertakings, etc., given by Ministers,from time to time, on the floor of the House and to reporton the extent to which such assurances have beenimplemented.(10) The Committee on Absence of Members from theSittings of the H ouseThis also is a fifteen-member Committee whose membersare nominated by the Speaker for a year. The Committeeconsiders all applications from members for leave of absencefrom the sittings of the House and will examine every casewhere a member has been absent for a period of sixty daysor more, without permission, from the sittings of theHouse and will report whether the absence should becondoned or the seat of the member be declared vacant.(11) The Rules CommitteeThe main function of the Rules Committee is to considermatters of procedure and conduct of business in the Houseand to recommend any amendments or’ additions to theserules that may be deemed necessary. The Committee isnominated by the Speaker, has fifteen members, and theSpeaker himself is its ex officio Chairman.(12) The Committee on Public UndertakingsThe Lok Sabha, in November 1963, adopted a motion to setup a Committee on Public Undertakings consisting of ten

members of the Lok Sabha and five of the Rajya Sabha. TheCommittee will examine (a) the reports and the accounts ofthe Public Undertakings, (b) the reports, if any, of theComptroller and Auditor-General on the PublicUndertakings, and (c) in the context of the autonomy andefficiency of the Public Undertakings whether their affairs arebeing managed in accordance with sound business principlesand prudent commercial practices. It will also examine suchfunctions at present vested in the Public, AccountsCommittee and the Estimates Committee in relation toPublic undertakings as may be allotted to that Committee bythe Speaker from time to time. This Committee will notexamine matters of major Government policy as distinctfrom business or commercial functions, matters of day today administration, and matter for the consideration ofwhich machinery is established by any special status.One-fifth of the Committee shall retire every year by rotationand members to retire by rotation every year shall be thosewho have been longest in office since their last election. ThePublic Undertakings over which the Committee will havejurisdiction are the Damodar, Valley Corporation, IndustrialFinance Corporation, Indian Airlines Corporation, Air-IndiaInternational, Oil and Natural Gas Commission and allGovernment companies.A lthough the decision to constitute the Committee was takenin 1963, it ‘came into being only in 1964.Parliament and the Party SystemThe essence of parliamentary democracy is party government.And a party government cannot succeed without an organisedparty system. To maintain the democratic character of a partygovernment, there should be continuous and responsiblecriticism both within the legislature and elsewhere. In theabsence of such criticism, the Government would soon becomean autocracy and later, a tyranny. But criticism cannot be effectiveif it is only sporadic, and it becomes even useless when, it isonly casual. To make it sustained and effective, it should beorganized. Hence the necessity for deliberately organizedpolitical parties whose business it is to oppose the Government,to expose its defects and depose it when the time is ripe.It is true that the Constitution does not give expression toparties except in an oblique manner. The only provision, whichhas anything directly to do with this, is Article 75(3) whichensures the collective responsibility of the Council of Ministersto the House of the People. But the spirit that underlies thefundamentals of the Constitution envisages a party system,which implies all the above principles. To a great extent, theElection Commission of India has given even legal sanction tothem, officially recognizing political parties in India on an all-India or regional basis for the purposes of conducting elections.The Commission had in 1962 given recognition of an all-Indiastatus to five parties, the Indian National Congress, the PrajaSocialist Party, the Communist Party, the Swatantra Party andthe All India Jan Sangh. In 1977 by the time the Sixth GeneralElections took place, the number of recognized all-India partiescame down to four because of the emergence of the Janata

Party consisting of the Socialist Party, the Jan Sangh, the B.L.D.and the Old Congress. The four all-India parties so recognized113INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSwere Indian National Congress, Janata Party, and CommunistParty of India and Communist Party (Marxist).With the elections to the Seventh Lok Sabha in 1980 the partypicture had again undergone considerable change mainly becauseof the split in the Janata Party. In the 1989 General Elections,according to the Election Commission of India, 117 politicalparties participated. Of these, eight were National Parties,twenty were. State Parties and 89 unrecognized registeredparties. The same position continued to exist in1991 when the country went to polls in a mid-term election toelect the tenth Lok Sabha and at the end of the GeneralElections of 1996 which elected the eleventh Lok Sabha, Theleading national parties at the Tenth Lok Sabha Elections were:Indian National Congress, Janata Dal, Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist PartyMarxist (CPM).THE UNION JUDICIARY - THE SUPREM E COURTWhy a Supreme CourtThe essence of a federal Constitution is the division ofgovernmental power between a Central Government and StateGovernments and this division is expressed in written words.Since language is apt to be ambiguous, and its meaning maynot be taken as the same by all at all times, it is certain that inany federation there will be disputes between the Centre ‘ andthe units about the terms of the division of powers and therespective areas of their authority. All such disputes are to besettled with reference to the Constitution which is the supremelaw and which embodies the manner in which powers aredivided between the Centre and the units. Justice demands, atthe same time, that an independent and impartial authorityshould settle such conflicts. A Supreme Court under a federalConstitution is one such and is, therefore, an essential part of afederal system. It is at once the highest interpreter of theConstitution and a tribunal for the final determination ofdisputes between the Union and its constituent units. This isone of the most important functions of the Supreme Court ofIndia under the federal system established by the Constitution.The Supreme Court of India, however, is more than a federalSupreme Court. For, as we have already seen, under Article 32,the Court is made the protector of all the Fundamental Rightsembodied in the Constitution and it has to guard these rightsjealously against every infringement at the hands of either theUnion Government or the State Governments. By declaring thesignificance and operation of these rights, from time to time, itprotects the citizens from unconstitutional laws passed by thelegislature and arbitrary acts done by the administrative authorities.The Supreme Court is also an all-India supreme appellate courthaving both criminal and civil jurisdictions, The Constitutioninvests the Court with extensive powers of reviewing thedecisions of the courts below it in criminal as well as civil cases.In the process, it gets an opportunity to interpret not only the

Constitution and the laws enacted by Parliament but also thelaws passed by the various State legislatures.Further, the Supreme Court of India plays a unique role bygiving its advice, from time to time, to the President of Indiaon questions of law or fact which are of such a nature and ofsuch public importance that the President refers them to theCourt for its consideration and opinion. It is doubtful whetherthere is any other court of law to, which has been assigned somuch power under any Constitution.A Single Judicial SystemUnlike many countries with federal Constitutions, India has asingle judicial system. This, however, is not an altogether novelfeature that has come in with the present Constitution. It wasthere, in a limited sense, under the Constitution Act of 1935with the Federal Court as the highest Court within India in allconstitutionalmatters. But the Federal Court was not theultimate judicial authority, as appeals could go to the JudicialCommittee of the Privy Council in London even from theFederal Court. There are no such limiting factors in the SupremeCourt filling the role. The Court stands at the apex of India’sjudicial hierarchy, with effective power to supervise and controlthe working of the entire system and to ensure the realizationof the high judicial standards that it might set as an integral partof the democratic system of Government sought to beestablished by the Constitution.The single hierarchical system of judiciary has brought aboutnot only jurisdictional unity, but also the establishment of asingle judicial cadre, as it were, for the whole country. Althoughthere is nothing that prevents a direct appointment to theSupreme Court from the Bar, there has been very few-so far,and almost all the appointments to the Supreme Court weremade from the High Courts. Similarly, a good many appointmentsto High Courts are made from among the judges of thelower courts, particularly the District and Sessions judges.Further, there is also a provision for the transfer of judges fromone High Court to another in any part of the country. TheIndian judiciary, thus, with the Supreme Court at its apex, is afully integrated system in every sense of the term. The writ ofthe Supreme Court runs not only all over the country, Central,State and local areas, but also within all fields of law, constitutionalcivil and criminal.An Independent Court (Art. 124)The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice and 25 otherjudges. In 1950, when the Court was inaugurated with the newConstitution, it had only 8 judges. But a parliamentary enactmentin 1960 increased the strength to 11 and subsequentenactment in 1968, raised it to 14. That was the position until1978 when an amendment further raised the authorizedstrength of the judges from 14 to 18. The latest amendmentmakes the total 26 including the Chief Justice.The Constitution envisages an independent Court. Thefollowing provisions ensure the independence of the judges:(1) AppointmentEvery judge of the Supreme Court is appointed by thePresident of India after consultation with such of the judges

of the Supreme Court and the High Courts of the States asthe President may deem necessary for the purpose. But in theappointment of a judge, other than the Chief justice,consultation of the Chief Justice of India by the President isobligatory.114INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICS(2) QualificationsThe elimination of politics in the appointment of judges isfurther achieved by prescribing high minimum qualifications inthe Constitution itself. This is also intended to enhance thecompetence of those appointed as the judges of the highestcourt in the land. The qualifications are: the person concernedmust be a citizen of India and (a) has been a judge of a HighCourt at least for five years; or (b) has been for at least ten yearsan advocate of a High Court; or (c) is in the opinion of thePresident a distinguished jurist. The inclusion of the lastprovision which would enable the President to appoint adistinguished jurist on the Supreme Court, even if he did notqualify by a specified number or years of practice at the Bar, wasintended to open a wider field of choice. Under this provision,for instance, a distinguished Jurist who holds a chair In aUniversity will be qualified for appointment to the SupremeCourt.(3) TenureAlthough the Constitution does not provide for life tenure,the existing provision in effect amounts to nearly the same,as judges once appointed, hold office until they complete theage of 65 years. A retiring age of 65 is by Indian standards,very high, considering the average expectation of life in Indiaand the average fitness of persons for work in old age.(4) Prohibition of Practice after RetirementA retired judge of the Supreme Court is prohibited frompracticing law before any Court or authority within theterritory of India. But there is no constitutional prohibitionagainst a retired judge being appointed for a specialized formof work by the Government.(5) RemovalA judge of the Supreme Court can be removed from hisposition only on the ground of proved misbehavior orincapacity. Parliament is empowered to regulate the procedurefor the investigation and proof of such misbehavior orincapacity. But whatever be the procedure, each House, inorder to remove the judge, will have to pass a resolutionsupported by two-thirds of the members present and votingand a majority of the total membership of the House. Sucha resolution will be addressed to the President who will thenpass the order of removal of the judge.(6) RemunerationA very important element that determines the independenceof any functionary is the remuneration that he receives aswell as its dependence or otherwise on the will of somebodyelse with respect of the judges of the Supreme Court, theConstitution has taken good care of this. Unlike many otherConstitutions which leave the fixation of the salary to the

legislature, it has prescribed that a salary of Rs. 9,000 permonth should be paid to every judge except the ChiefJustice who should receive a salary of Rs. 10,000 per month.In addition, each judge is also entitled to a free house andcertain other allowances and privileges.Neither the salary, allowances and privileges, nor his rights inrespect of leave of absence or pension (to which he isentitled after retirement) can be’ varied to his disadvantageafter his appointment. There is, however, one exception tothis almost absolute rule. A law of Parliament during a gravefinancial emergency proclaimed by the President may reducethe salaries of the judges.(7) EstablishmentThe framers were not content with this alone. They went astep further and authorized the Supreme Court to have itsown establishment and to have complete control over it. Inthe absence of such a provision they thought that theCourt’s independence might become illusory. If theestablishment looks for preferment or for promotion toother quarters, it is likely to sap the independence of thejudiciary. Hence all appointments of officers and servants ofthe Supreme Court are to be made by the Chief Justice orany other judge or officer whom he may direct for thepurpose. The Court also determines the conditions ofservice of such officers and servants. Further, alladministrative expenses, salaries, etc., connected with theseofficials and servants as well as the other maintenance chargesof the Court’s establishment as a whole, are charged on theConsolidated Fund of India.(8) I mmunitiesFinally, the independence of the Court is further safeguardedby making all the actions and decisions of the judges in theirofficial capacity immune from criticism. This does not meanthat no one may subject a decision of the Court or anopinion of a judge to a critical academic analysis. All that isprohibited is the imputation of motives on the part of thejudges in arriving at decisions and taking action. EvenParliament may not discuss the conduct of a judge exceptwhen a resolution for his removal is before it. In order tomaintain the dignity of the Court and to protect it frommalicious and tendentious criticism, it has the power ofinitiating contempt proceedings against any alleged offenderand take appropriate action.As Ambedkar said in the Assembly, it was the intention of theframers to create a judiciary and to give it ample independenceso that is could act without fear or favor of the executive oranybody else. There was no intention, however, to create animperium in imperio which would have created unwanted rivalriesbetween the’ judiciary and the executive resulting in unexpectedconflicts The last five decades of the work of the Court havevindicated the expectations of the framers of the Constitution.The Court’s JurisdictionA survey of Constitutions would show that the SupremeCourt of India has wider jurisdiction than any other superiorcourt in any part of the world. The jurisdiction of the Court can

be divided into three categories, original, appellate and advisory.Original Jurisdiction (Art. 131)The Supreme Court has origina1 exclusive jurisdiction in anydispute (a) between the Government of India and one or moreStates; or (b) between the Government of India and any Stateor States on one side and one or more other States on theother; or (c) between two or more States. It is also providedthat the dispute should involve a question, whether of law or115INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSfact, on which depends the existence or the extent of a legalright, which the Court is called upon to determine.Appellate Jurisdiction (Arts. 132 to 136)The appellate jurisdiction of the Court can be divided into fourmain parts, constitutional, civil, criminal and special Article132(1) provides, that “ an appeal shall lie -to the Supreme Courtfrom any judgement, decree or final order of a High Court inthe territory of India, whether in a civil, criminal or otherproceeding, if the High Court certifies that the case involves asubstantial question of law as to the interpretation of theConstitution” . Even if the High Court refuses to give such acertificate, the Supreme Court can grant special leave to appeal ifthe Court is satisfied that. the case involves a substantialquestion of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution,When once such a certificate is given or such leave is granted, anyparty to the case may raise before the Supreme Court any matterwhich in its opinion has been wrongly decided by the HighCourt in that particular case. Thus, in every matter, whichinvolves an interpretation of the Constitution, whether it arisesunder civil, criminal or any other proceeding, the Supreme Courthas been made the final authority to expound the meaning andintent of the Constitution. This is what makes the Court theultimate interpreter and guardian of the ConstitutionThe Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction in civil cases is of arestricted character. According to this, a party to a civil suit ispermitted to appeal to the Supreme Court if the High Courtcertifies that the value of the subject matter of the dispute isnot less than Rs, 200,000 or that the case is fit for appeal to theSupreme Court. Further, when once the Court is seized of theappeal, it is open to any party to challenge a decision of theHigh Court in that case as invalid so far as it dealt with theinterpretation of the Constitution. The appellate jurisdiction ofthe Court in civil cases can be enlarged if Parliament passes a lawto that effect.There are three circumstances under which criminal appeals tothe Supreme Court will be’ permitted: that is, if a High Court(1) Has on appeal reversed an order of acquittal of an accusedperson and sentenced him to death; or(2) Has withdrawn for trial before itself any case from any courtsubordinate to its authority and has in such trial convictedthe accused person and sentenced him to death; or(3) Certifies that the case is a fit one for appeal to the SupremeCourt,Parliament is empowered, in this connection also to enlarge theCourt’s jurisdiction. These provisions, according to Ambedkar,

“ ought to be made, having regard to the enlightened conscienceof the modern world and of the Indian People.”One might wonder why the Constitution makes separate setsof provisions dealing with questions of constitutional law andthose, which do not arise such questions. The reason why thisseparation is made between the two sets of appeals is to bemade clear. Under Article 132, whenever an appeal comes beforethe Supreme Court and if it involves questions of constitutionallaw, the minimum number of the judges who would sitto hear such a case shall be five, while in other cases of appeal,the matter is left to the Supreme Court to determine thenumber of judges. According to the practice established by theCourt, in constitutional matters, often five or more than fivejudges sit to hear the case. But in civil and criminal appeals theBench will consist of three or even two judges only.As it is, with twenty-six judges on the Court, there could beone ConstitutionalBench and seven Benches for civil or criminal appeal cases at thesame time.Special AppealFrom a jurisdictional point of view Article 136 is of utmostimportance. It enacts: “ Notwithstanding anything in thisChapter, the Supreme Court may,. in its discretion, grant specialleave to appeal from any judgement, decree, determination,sentence or order in any cause or matter passed or made by anyCourt or tribunal in the territory of India.” The only exceptionto this all-embracing power of judicial superintendence is thedecisions of any Courts constituted under any law relating tothe Armed Forces. Explaining the comprehensive nature of theArticle and the plenitude of jurisdiction that it confers on theSupreme Court, Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar said: “ The jurisdictionof the Supreme Court extends over every order in everycause 9r matter passed by any Court, or tribunal in the territoryof India. Secondly, the Supreme Court is tree to develop itsown rules- and conventions in the exercise of its jurisdiction.For example, there is nothing to prevent the Court frominterfering even in a criminal case where there is miscarriage ofjustice, where a Court has misdirected itself or where there isserious error of law. The Supreme Court is able to develop itsown jurisdiction according to its own light, suited to theconditions of the country in such a way that it could docomplete justice in every kind of case or matter.”Although the Court’s intervention under this jurisdiction isoften sought, it has been reluctant to make frequent use of it.“ On a careful examination of Article 136 along with thepreceding Article,” the Court held in one case, “ it seems clearthat the wide discretionary power with which the SupremeCourt is invested under it is to be exercised sparingly and inexceptional cases only; and as far as possible a more or lessuniform standard should be adopted in granting special leave inthe wide range of matters which can come up before it underthis Article.” In another case the Court held: “ It is not possibleto define with any precision the limitations on the exercise ofdiscretionary jurisdiction vested in the Supreme Court by theconstitutional provision made under Article 136. The limitations,

whatever, they be, are implicit in the nature and characterof the power itself. It being an exceptional and overridingpower, naturally it has to be exercised sparingly, and withcaution and only in special and extraordinary situations. Beyondthat, it is not possible to fetter the exercise of this power by anyset formula or rule. All that can be said is that the Constitutionhaving trusted the wisdom and good sense of the judges ofthe Supreme Court in this matter, that itself is a sufficientsafeguard and guarantee that the power will only beused to advance the principles which govern theexercise of overriding constitutional powers.”116INDIAN GOVERNM ENT AND POLITICSThe special appellate power has become a handy weapon in thehands of the Court to review the decision of Election, Labourand Industrial Tribunals. In the Calcutta Tramways Company’scase the Court said that “ wide and undefinable with exactitudeas the powers of the Supreme Court are, it is now well settledthat generally the necessary prerequisites for the Court’sinterference to set right decisions arrived at by Tribunals onquestions of fact are final. These can be classified under thefollowing categories, namely: (i) where the Tribunal acts in excessof the jurisdiction conferred upon it under the statute orregulation; (ii) where there is an apparent error on the face ofthe decision; and (iii) where the Tribunal has erroneouslyapplied well-accepted principles of jurisdiction. It is only whereerrors of this nature exist that interference is called for” . .The Court, however, held that “ it is not the practice of theSupreme Court in special leave cases and in exercise of itsoverriding powers to interfere with a matter which vests in thediscretion of the High Court except in very exceptional cases.”Similarly the Court held on another occasion that it wouldnormally be slow to interfere, in appeal, with an order passed byvirtue of such wide powers as are vested in the Custodian-General under the Administration of the Evacuee Property Actof 1950. Nevertheless, the reach of Article 136 is indeedformidable. It has become a convenient instrument at thedisposal of the Court to check arbitrary acts and unjustdecisions of the ever-increasing number of administrativetribunals, which the Union and the States are setting up almostdaily in the process of realizing the objectives of a socialistpattern of society.ReviewAs a measure of abundant caution the framers have investedthe Court with the power of reviewing its own decisions andorders. It has been said that while a Lower Court is concernedwith facts and a High Court with error (of judgement of theLower Court), a Supreme Court is concerned with wisdom. Buteven a Supreme Court may go wrong and there must be aprovision by which such wrongs can be rectified. This has beenensured under Article 137which empower the Court to reviewits own judgements or orders. So far, there have been very fewoccasions for the Court to exercise its powers under thisprovision..

Assignments1. Compare the American Judicial System with the IndianJudiciary.2. Visit a district court and write on the daily proceedings andmake a report on your experience.

References-

1. Public Policy and politics in India By Kuldeep Mathur

2. Indian Political Trials By A.C. Noorani.

3. Basu, Durga Das. The Laws of the Press in India(1962) Asia Publishing House, Bombay