UPSChub

States (Six) with Bicameral Legislatures
1	Andhra Pradesh
2	Telangana
3	Bihar
4	Karnataka
5	Maharashtra
6	Uttar Pradesh

The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council was abolished by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

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• The Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) is the upper house (second chamber or house of elders).
• The Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) is the lower house (first chamber or popular house).

• Parliament can abolish a Legislative Council (where it already exists) or create it (where it does not exist), if the legislative assembly of the concerned state passes a resolution by a Special Majority to that effect.
• This Act of Parliament is not to be deemed as an amendment of the Constitution for the purposes of Art. 368 and is passed like an ordinary piece of legislation (by Simple Majority).
• Such resolution needs special majority in the Legislative Assembly and simple majority in PARLIAMENT.

• The legislative assembly consists of representatives directly elected by the people on the basis of universal adult franchise.
• Minimum and maximum strength of the State legislative assembly are 60 and 500 respectively.

Minimum strength fixed for:
Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Goa	30 members
Mizoram	40
Nagaland	46

Some members of the legislative assemblies in Sikkim and Nagaland are also elected indirectly.

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Nominated Member

The Governor nominates one member from the Anglo-Indian community, if the community is not adequately represented in the assembly.

Reservation of Seats

The Constitution provided for the reservation of seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the assembly of each state on the basis of population ratios.

• The Demarcation of Constituencies is done in such a manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it is the same throughout the state.
• The Constitution ensures that there is uniformity of Representation between different constituencies in the state.

After each census, a readjustment is to be made in the –

• Total number of seats in the assembly of each state
• The division of each state into territorial constituencies.

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• The Parliament is empowered to determine the authority and the manner in which it is to be made.
• Accordingly, Parliament has enacted the Delimitation Commission Acts in 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002 for this purpose.
• 42nd Amendment Act of (1976): had frozen the total number of seats in the assembly of each state and the division of such states into territorial constituencies till the year 2000 at the 1971 level.
• 84th Amendment Act of 2001: ban on readjustment has been extended for another year (upto year 2026) with the objective of encouraging population limiting measures.
• 87th Amendment Act of 2003: provided for the delimitation of constituencies on the basis of 2001 census

• Strength of the legislative council is minimum of 40 to maximum of one third that of the legislative assembly.
• This arrangement ensures the predominance of the directly elected House (assembly) in the legislative affairs of the state.
• The constitution has fixed the maximum and minimum limits but actual strength is fixed by Parliament.

Of the total number of members of a legislative council –
Members are elected by legislative assembly members	1/3
Members elected from local bodies	1/3
Members elected by graduates of three years standing and residing in state	1/12
Members elected by teachers of three years standing and not lower in standard than secondary school	1/12
Members nominated by governor	1/6

5/6 of the total number of members of a legislative council are indirectly elected and 1/6 are nominated by the governor.

This scheme of composition of a legislative council as laid down in the Constitution is tentative and not final. The Parliament is authorised to modify or replace the same.

• The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by the 52nd Amendment Act.
• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.
• The decision on question as to disqualification on ground of defection is referred to the Chairman or the Speaker of such House, and his decision is final.
• The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

Article 164(3) states that before a Minister enters upon his office, the GOVERNOR shall administer to him the oaths of office and of secrecy according to the forms set out in the Third Schedule.

Members of a state legislature are entitled to receive such salaries and allowances as may from time to time be determined by the state legislature.

Each House of state legislature has its own presiding officer.

PRESIDING OFFICERS
Legislative Assembly	Speaker Deputy Speaker
Legislative Council	Chairperson Deputy Chairman

• The Speaker and a Deputy Speaker are presiding officers for the Legislative Assembly.
• The Speaker is elected by the assembly itself from amongst its members.
• Remains in office during the life of the assembly.

Speaker Vacates Seat If
1	He ceases to be a member of the assembly;
2	He reigns by writing to the deputy speaker;
3	He is removed by a resolution passed (with a 14 days advance notice) by a majority of all the then members of the assembly.

• The speaker does not take part in the debate and usually does not vote, except in case of tie.
• He maintains order and decorum in the assembly for conducting its business and regulating its proceedings.
• Speaker can exercise a casting vote in the case of a tie.
• He may adjourn or suspend the sitting of the House if a quorum is not there, or to restore discipline.
• He may even suspend or expel members of the House for unruly behaviour.
• He decides the questions of disqualification of a member of the assembly, arising on the ground of defection under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule
• He appoints the chairpersons of all the committees of the assembly and supervises their functioning.

• Power of the speaker under Schedule 10 should be withdrawn and endow Election commission with the same.
• Ideally he should resign from his party after his appointment as Speaker – Following British practice
• The speaker should be given a second tenure and his constituency should go uncontested.
• No appointment of speakers to political positions after retirement.
• Political parties must not consider speakers’ posts as a gift they can offer indiscriminately to any senior party leader.

• The Deputy Speaker is also elected by the assembly itself from amongst its members.
• He is elected after the election of the Speaker has taken place.
• The Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker’s office when it is vacant or absent from the sitting of assembly.
• In both cases, he has all the powers of the Speaker.

Deputy Speaker vacates seat if
1	He ceases to be a member of the assembly;
2	He reigns by writing to the deputy speaker;
3	He is removed by a resolution passed (with a 14 days advance notice) by a majority of all the then members of the assembly.

The Speaker nominates from amongst the members a panel of chairman. Any one of them can preside over the assembly in the absence of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker.

• Chairman and a Deputy Chairman are presiding officers for the Legislative Council.
• The Chairman is elected by the council itself from amongst its members.
• The business of the legislative council is conducted by the Chairman.
• He presides over the meetings and maintains discipline and order in the House.
• As a presiding officer, the powers and functions of the Chairman in the council are similar to those of the Speaker in the assembly.

• The Deputy Chairman is also elected by the council itself from amongst its members.

Deputy Chairperson vacates seat if
1	He ceases to be a member of the assembly;
2	He resigns by writing to the deputy speaker;
3	He is removed by a resolution passed (with a 14 days advance notice) by a majority of all the then members of the assembly.

• The Deputy Chairman performs the duties of the Chairman’s office when it is vacant or absent. In both the cases, he has all the powers of the Chairman.
• The Chairman nominates from amongst the members a panel of vice-chairman.
• Any one of them can preside over the council in the absence of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman.
• He has the same powers as the chairman when presiding.
• He holds office until a new panel of vice-chairman is nominated.

Lapsing of Bills on Dissolution

The position with respect to lapsing of bills on the dissolution of the assembly is mentioned below:

1	Bill pending in the assembly lapses (whether originating in the assembly or transmitted to it by the council).
2	A Bill passed by the assembly but pending in the council lapses.
3	A Bill pending in the council but not passed by the assembly does not lapse.
4	A Bill passed by both houses but pending assent of the Governor or the President does not lapse.
5	A Bill passed by both houses but returned by the President for reconsideration does not lapse.

• Until the Legislature of the State by law otherwise provides, the quorum to constitute a meeting of a House of the Legislature of a State shall be ten members or one-tenth of the total number of members of the House, whichever is greater.
• The Presiding officer adjourns or suspends the meeting until there is a quorum.

• The Constitution has declared the official language(s) of the state, Hindi or English, to be the languages for transacting business in the state legislature.
• However, the presiding officer can permit a member to address the House in his mother-tongue.
• The state legislature is authorised to decide whether to continue or discontinue English as a floor language after the completion of fifteen years from the commencement of the Constitution (i.e., from 1965).
• In the case of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura, this time limit is twenty-five years and that of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Mizoram, it is forty years

• Every minister and the Advocate General of the State have the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of either House or any of its committees of which he is named a member, without being entitled to vote.
• A minister can participate in the proceedings of a House, of which he is not a member.
• A minister, who is not a member of either House, can participate in the proceedings of both the Houses

• All matters at any sitting of either House are decided by a majority of votes of the members present and voting excluding the presiding officer.
• Matters which are specifically mentioned in the Constitution like removal of the Speaker or removal of the Chairman require special majority, not ordinary majority.
• The Speaker exercises a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.

ORDINARY BILL

1. BILL IN THE ORIGINATING HOUSE

• A bill follows the same legislative procedure as in the Centre
• Can be introduced by a minister or any other member in the Legislative Assembly in case of the unicameral legislature or either house in case of a bicameral legislature.
• In case of the bicameral legislature-Transfer to the other house after being passed by the house in which the bill originated.

2. BILL IN THE SECOND HOUSE

• The Legislative Assembly can pass the bill with or without recommendations suggested by the legislative procedure council.
• The legislative council can reject the bill or keep the bill for three months without taking any action.
• But if the Legislative Assembly passes the bill again and transfers it to the Council, the council can keep the bill for one month again, not passing it, rejecting it or passing it with amendments not acceptable or acceptable to the Legislative Assembly.
• In all of the cases mentioned above, the Legislative Assembly will pass the bill after the expiry of one month.

• Assent of the President in case a bill is reserved by the Governor.
• The President may assent, withhold his assent or return the bill for reconsideration.
• When a bill is returned, the House or Houses have to reconsider it within a period of six months.
• The bill is presented again to the presidential assent after it is passed by the House or Houses with or without amendments.
• It is not mentioned in the Constitution whether it is obligatory on the part of the president to give his assent to such a bill or not.

• No money bill can be introduced without the governor’s recommendation.
• Such a bill is a government bill and can be introduced only by a minister.
• It can be introduced only in legislative assembly.
• The bill if passed goes to the legislative council, the council can only discuss it and make recommendations.
• It has to return the bill with or without recommendations within 14 days.
• The assembly may reject or accept such recommendations.
• The bill is then given to the Governor for assent. The Governor may give or withhold it or send it for the President’s consideration.
• President too may give or withhold assent.
• But neither the Governor nor President can return the bill for reconsideration.

• The Constitution (126th Amendment) Bill passed by the Parliament effectively does away with reservation for Anglo-Indian members in Lok Sabha, Assemblies.
• Anglo-Indians were provided two nominated seats in the Lok Sabha and one nominated seat in the State Legislative Assemblies to ensure adequate representation.
• Anglo-Indians constitute a religious, social, as well as a linguistic minority. Being numerically an extremely small community, and being interspersed all over India, they were provided reservations.
• The reservation for the Anglo-Indian community was extended till the year 2020 through the 95thAmendment, 2009. Originally, this provision was to operate till 1960.

• The Odisha government is expected to introduce a Bill in the Odisha Assembly for the creation of a Vidhan Parishad or Legislative Council (LC).
• The State Cabinet has approved a 49-member Legislative Council, accepting the report of a committee set up in 2015.
• The committee recommended that Members of the Legislative Council’s (MLC) salary should be the same as the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).
• Like MLAs, the MLCs too should be entitled to Local Area Development (LAD) funds and be given the opportunity to become ministers.
• Currently, six states have Legislative Councils: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh.
• Proposals to create Councils in Rajasthan and Assam are pending in Parliament.
• The parliamentary committee that looked into these Bills cleared the proposals but struck a cautionary note, wanting a national policy on having an Upper House.
• It also favoured a review of the provision for Councils to have seats for graduates and teachers.

• Every Political Party has its own whip, who is appointed by the party to serve as an assistant floor leader.
• He has the responsibility of ensuring the attendance of his party members and securing their support in favour of or against a particular issue.
• He communicates the decision of the party leader to the members and the opinion of the party members to the party leader.
• The members are supposed to follow the directives given by the Whip. Failing to do so can invite disciplinary actions like disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law.

• Recently, 20 MLAs in Delhi were disqualified by the President for holding Office of profit.
• In 2015, Delhi government appointed some of its legislators as Parliamentary secretaries.
• It was followed by amendments to Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997, with retrospective effect to exempt the post.
• However, Lt. Governor’s assent to the amendment bill was not given, requiring the disqualification of the MLAs.

Articles 102(1) a and 191 (1) a mention disqualifications on the basis of Office of Profit but it is neither defined in the constitution nor under Representation of People’s Act.

Supreme Court in Pradyut Bordoloi vs Swapan Roy (2001), outlined the following questions for the test:
1	Whether the government makes the appointment;
2	Whether the government has the right to remove or dismiss the holder;
3	Whether the government pays the remuneration;
4	What are the functions of the holder and does he perform them for the government;
5	Does the government exercise any control over the performance of those functions

• He/She is a member of the parliament who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.
• They often hold the rank of Minister of State and have the same entitlements and are assigned to a government department.
• Manipur, HP, Mizoram, Assam, Rajasthan, Punjab, Goa are some of the states where MLAs have been appointed Parliament Secretaries.
• However, various petitions in the High Court have challenged the appointment of Parliament Secretary.
• In June 2015, Calcutta HC quashed appointment of 24 Parliamentary Secretaries in West Bengal.
• Similar actions were taken by the Bombay High Court, Himachal Pradesh High Court, Delhi High Court etc.

The Delhi government has decided to give another push to its demand for full statehood to Delhi with a public campaign.

• The 69th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1991 provided a special status to the Union Territory of Delhi, and re-designated it as the National Capital Territory of Delhi and designated the administrator as the Lieutenant governor (LG).
• It created a legislative assembly and a council of ministers for Delhi.
• The strength of the assembly is fixed at 70 members, directly elected by the people.
• The strength of the council of ministers is fixed at ten per cent of the total strength of the assembly (i.e. seven)

• The chief minister is appointed by the President (not by the LG). The other ministers are appointed by the president on the advice of the chief minister.
• The ministers hold office during the pleasure of the President.
• The Assembly can make laws on all the matters of the state list and concurrent list except three matters of the state list – public order, police and land. But laws of Parliament prevail over those made by the assembly.
• In case of difference of opinion between the LG and the ministers, LG needs to refer the matter to the President for decision and act according to the President’s direction.

• Only Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir have a legislative assembly and council of ministers headed by a Chief Minister.
• Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir are the only Union Territories with their own High Courts.