CLASS 10 - HISTORY

CHAPTER 1 - THE LEGISLATURE IN INDIA – NOTES

The Parliament of India (Bhārat ki Sansad) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a
bicameral legislature composed of the President of India and the two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of
States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President in his role as head of legislature has full
powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha. The president can
exercise these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister and his Union Council of Ministers.
Those elected or nominated (by the President) to either house of Parliament are referred to as Members
of Parliament (MP). The Members of Parliament, Lok Sabha are directly elected by the Indian public voting
in Single-member districts and the Members of Parliament, Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of all
State Legislative Assembly by proportional representation. The Parliament has a sanctioned strength of
543 in Lok Sabha and 245 in Rajya Sabha including the 12 nominees from the expertise of different fields of
science, culture, art and history. The Parliament meets at Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi.
Parliament
The Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House) is located in New Delhi. It was designed by Edwin Lutyens and
Herbert Baker, who were responsible for planning and construction of New Delhi by British government.
The construction of buildings took six years and the opening ceremony was performed on 18 January 1927
by the then Viceroy and Governor-General of India, Lord Irwin.
COMPOSITION
President of India
The President of India, the head of state, is a component of Parliament. Under Article 60 and Article 111,
the President's responsibility is to ensure that laws passed by the Parliament are in accordance with the
constitutional mandate and that the stipulated procedure is followed before according his/her approval to
the bills. The President of India is elected by the elected members of Parliament of India consists of two
houses called the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha with the President of India acting as their head. and the
state legislatures and serves for a term of 5 years.
Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha (House of the People) or the lower house has 543 members. 543 members are directly elected
by citizens of India on the basis of universal adult franchise representing Parliamentary constituencies
across the country. Between 1952 and 2020, 2 additional members of the Anglo-Indian community were
also nominated by the President of India on the advice of Government of India, which was abolished in
January 2020 by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019.[11] Every citizen of India who is over 18
years of age, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, or race and is otherwise not disqualified, is eligible to
vote for the Lok Sabha. The Constitution provides that the maximum strength of the House be 552
members. It has a term of five years. To be eligible for membership in the Lok Sabha, a person must be a
citizen of India and must be 25 years of age or older, mentally sound, should not be bankrupt, and should
not be criminally convicted. The total elective membership is distributed among the states in such a way
that the ratio between the number of seats allotted to each state and the population of the state is, so far
as practicable, the same for all states.[12]
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
The Speaker is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha. He has been vested with several powers to maintain
discipline in the House and ensure its dignity. It is his duty to see that the meeting is properly conducted
and the rights and privileges of the members protected. The various functions of the Speaker are stated
below.
1. Presides over Meetings:
The Speaker presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha. He adjourns the House. He has power to
suspend its meeting in the absence of quo (The quorum is one-tenth of the members of the House.)
The Speaker presides over the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. (In case of disagreement
between the two Houses of the Parliament on non-Money Bills, a joint sitting of the two Houses is
convened.)
2. Maintains Discipline:
It is the duty of the Speaker to maintain order and discipline in the Lok Sabha. He would not allow any
member to behave with indignity or to use unparliamentarily language. He can reprimand any member for
using unparliamentarily or defamatory language. He can order for expunging such language from the
proceedings of the House.
If any member defies the order of the Speaker, the latter can order him to withdraw from the House. He
can also suspend the indiscipline member from the remaining part of the session of the House.
3. Determines Agenda:
The order of business is prepared by the Speaker in consultation with the leader of the House. He allots
time for debates and selects members to take part in debates. The members are asked to express their
views within time limit, fixed by the Speaker.
It is within the power of the Speaker to admit or not to admit questions, resolutions and motions. Any
question or motion can be disallowed by him.
4. Certifies a Money Bill:
He has power to certify that a bill is a Money Bill or it is not a Money Bill. This authority of the Speaker to
certify a Money Bill cannot be questioned anywhere.
5. Interprets Rules:
He interprets the Rules of Procedure of the House and gives his rulings. His ruling is final.
6. Determines a Defect
According to the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985, the Speaker will determine whether a
member of the Lok Sabha is to be disqualified on the ground of defection.
7. Heads Parliamentary Committees:
The Speaker is the head of several parliamentary committees. He appoints the Chairman of several
committees. He himself is also the ex-officio Chairman of several committees of Lok Sabha like the
Business Advisory Committee, Rules Committee and the General Purpose Committee. He may issue
instructions and directions to these committees for their guidance.
8. Protects Rights of Members
It is the duty of the Speaker to protect the rights and privileges of the members of the House.
As the Speaker is the custodian of the rights and privileges of its members, he would punish any members
of the House or outsiders for the breach of these privileges.
9. Represents the Lok Sabha:
He is the spokesman of the Lok Sabha and he represents it in all ceremonial functions.
10. Communication Link:
The Speaker is the main channel of communication between the President and the Lok Sabha.
11. Casting Vote:
Normally, the Speaker does not take part in voting in the House. But in case of a tie, he exercises his right
of casting vote. His casting vote would decide the issue. In such a case his vote would normally go in favour
of the party to which he belongs. Further, when a resolution for the removal of the Speaker is put to vote
in the House, he has the right to cast his vote.
12. Miscellaneous Functions:
(a) The Speaker keeps control over the Secretariat the Lok Sabha. (b) It is his duty to execute the decisions
of the Lok Sabha and exercise other powers which may be given to him subject to dissolution. One third of
the members retire every second year, and are replaced by newly elected members. Each member is
elected for a term of six years.[13] Its members are indirectly elected by members of legislative bodies of
the states. The Rajya Sabha can have a maximum of 250 members. It currently has a sanctioned strength of
245 members, of which 233 are elected from States and Union Territories and 12 are nominated by the
President. The number of members from a state depends on its population. The minimum age for a person
to become a member of Rajya Sabha is 30 years.
Session of Parliament
The period during which the House meets to conduct its business is called a session. The Constitution
empowers the President to summon each House at such intervals that there should not be more than a
six-month gap between the two sessions. Hence the Parliament must meet at least twice a year. In India,
the Parliament conducts three sessions each year:
• Budget session: February to May
• Monsoon session: July to September
• Winter session: November to December
Lawmaking procedure
Legislative proposals are brought before either house of the Parliament in the form of a bill. A bill is the
draft of a legislative proposal, which, when passed by both houses of Parliament and assented to by the
President, becomes an Act of Parliament. Money bills must originate in the Lok Sabha. The Council of
States can only make recommendations over the bills to the House, within a period of fourteen days.
Parliamentary committees
Parliamentary committees are formed to deliberate specific matters at length. The public is directly or
indirectly associated and studies are conducted to help committees arrive at the conclusions.
Parliamentary committees are of two kinds: Ad hoc committees and the Standing committees.
Standing committees are permanent committees constituted from time to time in pursuance of the
provisions of an act of Parliament or rules of procedure and conduct of business in Parliament. The work of
these committees is of a continuing nature. Ad hoc committees are appointed for a specific purpose and
they cease to exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submits a report.
P.S. Please refer to the prescribed text of the Chapter for detailed notes and explanations while
answering the questions.
 SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. India has a ‘Dual Polity’. What does the term mean?

2. State two features which demonstrate the unitary bias of the Indian Constitution.
3. What is the composition of the Indian Parliament?
4. What is mean by the ‘Residuary Powers’ of the Parliament?
5. Explain the term ‘Quorum’. What is the Quorum of the Lok Sabha?
6. Who administers the Oath of Affirmation to Members of Parliament?
7. What is the procedure for election of the Lok Sabha members?
8. How are members of the Rajya Sabha elected?
9. State any one subject wherein the LS and the RS enjoy co-equal powers in the legislation of laws.
10. Mention any two judicial powers of the Union Parliament.
11. State two ways by which the Parliament exercises control over the Executive.
12. What is the objective of an Adjournment Motion?
13. Who has the sole right to impeach the President and on what grounds?
14. Mention two circumstances when a Member of Parliament can be disqualified.
15. Why have seats been reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the Lok Sabha?
16. State one exclusive power of the Rajya Sabha.
17. Mention one special feature of the Office of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
18. Is there any provision for a joint sitting of both Houses in case of Money Bills? If not, why?

STRUCTURED QUESTION

Question 1.
The Indian Parliament is composed of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and the President.
In this context, answer the following:
(a) What is the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha provided by the Constitution?
(b) How Many members does the President nominate to the Lok Sabha?
(c) How are members of the Lok Sabha elected?
(d) The two Houses of the Parliament enjoy co-equal powers in many spheres.
(e) Explain it by giving any three examples.
(f) State four functions of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Question 2.
Keeping in view the powers of the Union Parliament, answer the following questions:
(a) Mention three ways by which the Union parliament exercises control over the Executive.
(b) Mention three Judicial powers of Parliament.
(c) Give reasons to justify why the Lok Sabha is considered to be more powerful than the Rajya Sabha.