Group-1 Mains Indian Polity material

How a Bill becomes an Act?

A Bill is the draft of a legislative proposal. It has to pass through three stages and receive the assent of the President before it becomes an Act of Parliament. It will come into effect after it has been notified by the Government. The Bills initiated by Ministers are called Government Bills and those introduced by Members who are not Ministers, are known as Private Members’ Bills.

Depending on their contents, Bills may further be classified broadly into

· Ordinary Bills

· Constitution Amendment Bills

· Money Bills

· Financial Bills A and B.

· Other Bills where the procedure for passing of the Bill may be marginally different- for example, requiring the prior assent of the President (Art.3)

Process of passage of a Bill in each House is as follows.

First Reading

The legislative process starts with the introduction of a Bill in either House of Parliament—Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. A Bill can be introduced either by a Minister or by a private member. In the former case it is known as a Government Bill and in the later case it is known as a Private Member’s Bill.

It is necessary for a member-in-charge of the Bill to ask for leave to introduce the Bill A Minister has to give notice of days and a private member 30 days for seeking leave of the House for introduction. If leave is granted by the House, the Bill is introduced. This stage is known as the First Reading of the Bill.

If the motion for leave to introduce a Bill is opposed, the Speaker/Chairman may, in his discretion, allow brief explanatory statements to be made by the member who opposes the motion and the member-in-charge who moved the motion. Where a motion for leave to introduce a Bill is opposed on the ground that the Bill initiates legislation outside the legislative competence of the House, the Speaker/Chairman may permit a full discussion. Thereafter the question is put to the vote of the House. However, the motion for leave to introduce a Finance Bill or an Appropriation Bill is forthwith put to the vote of the House.

Publication in Gazette

After a Bill has been introduced, it is published in the Official Gazette. Even before introduction, a Bill may, with the permission of the Presiding Officer, be published in the Gazette. In such cases, leave to introduce the Bill in the House is no asked for and the Bill is straightaway introduced.

Reference of Bill to Standing Committee

After a Bill has been, introduced, Presiding Officer of the concerned House can refer the Bill to concerned Standing Committee for examination and make report. If a Bill is referred to Committee, the Committee shall consider the general principles and clauses of the Bill referred to them and make report. The Committee can also take expert opinion or the public opinion who are interested

in the measure) After the 131 has thus been considered, the Committee submits its report to the House: The report of the Committee has persuasive value.

Second Reading or Consideration

The Second Reading consists of consideration of the Bill which is in two stages.

First Stage: The first stage consists of general discussion on the Bill as a whole when the principle underlying the Bill is discussed. At this stage it is open to the house to

· refer the Bill to a Select Committee of the House or a Joint Committee of the two Houses or

· to circulate it for the purpose of eliciting opinion or

· to straightaway take it into consideration.

If a Bill is referred to a Select/Joint Committee, the Committee considers the Bill clause-by-clause just as the House does. Amendments can be moved to the various clauses by members of the Committee. The Committee can also take evidence of associations, public bodies or experts who are interested in the measure. After the Bill has thus been considered, the Committee submits its

report to the House which considers the Bill again as reported by the Committee. If a Bill is circulated for the purpose of eliciting public opinion thereon, such opinions are obtained through the Governments of the States and Union Territories. Opinions so received are laid on the Table of the House and the next motion in regard to the Bill must be for its reference to a Select/Joint Committee. It is not ordinarily permissible at this stage to move motion for

consideration of the Bill.

Second Stage: The second stage of the Second Reading consists of clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill as introduced or as reported by Select/Joint Committee. Discussions take place on each clause of the Bill and amendments to clauses can be moved at this stage.

Third Reading or voting

Thereafter, the member-in-charge can move that the Bill be passed. This stage is known as the Third Reading of the Bill or voting. At this stage debate is confined to arguments either in support or rejection of the Bill without referring to the details thereof further than that are absolutely necessary. Only formal, verbal or consequential amendments are allowed to be moved at this stage.

In passing an ordinary Bill, a simple-majority of members present and voting is necessary. But in the case of a Bill to amend the Constitution, called special majority is necessary.

Bill in the other House

After the Bill is passed by one House it is sent to the other House for concurrence with a message to that effect.

Consideration of the Bill at a Joint Sitting (Art.108)

If a Bill passed by one House is

· rejected by the other House, or

· the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the Bill, or

· more than six months elapse from the date of the receipt of the Bill by the other house without the Bill being passed by it.

The President may call a joint sitting of the two houses to resolve the deadlock. If, at the joint sitting of the Houses, the Bill is passed by a majority of the total number of members of both the Houses present and voting, with the amendments, if any, accepted by them, the Bill is deemed to have been passed by both the Houses.