Chapter IV

36 Practice and Procedure of Parliament

CHAPTER IV

Relations Between the Houses

There are several occasions when the two Houses of Parliament have tocommunicate with each other. The usual mode of communication is by means of awritten message sent from one House to the other1. The other modes of communicationare: meetings of Joint Committees of the Houses and joint sittings of the Houses.

Communication between the Houses

Communication by means of a written message is resorted to not only fortransmitting Bills from one House to the other but also for the transmission of motions2

and resolutions, passed by one House, which have to be sent to the other House forinformation or concurrence. However, the principal object of a message is to transmitBills from one House to the other since it is mostly in connection with Bills that theneed for communication between two Houses arises3.

A message sent by either House is conveyed by the Secretary-General of oneHouse to the Secretary-General of the other. The Secretary-General of the House towhich the message is sent, reports the message to the House, when it is in Session,at the first convenient opportunity, and, in urgent cases, immediately. If the House isnot in Session, members are informed of the message through a paragraph in theBulletin of that House.

Bill originating in and passed by Lok Sabha—If a Bill, other than a MoneyBill, originates in Lok Sabha, and is passed by it, Rajya Sabha is informed of itthrough a message along with a copy of the Bill, as passed; and the copy of the Billalso carries an endorsement signed by the Secretary-General that the Bill has beenpassed by Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha may pass the Bill in the form received, andcommunicate about it to Lok Sabha or may pass it with amendment(s) and return itto Lok Sabha with a message to that effect requesting that concurrence of Lok Sabhain the said amendment(s) be communicated to Rajya Sabha. If the amendments proposedare not agreed to by Lok Sabha, or, if Lok Sabha proposes alternative amendments,

1. See The Houses of Parliament (Joint Sittings and Communications) Rules—Rules 9 and 10.

2. On 6 August 1987, Lok Sabha adopted a motion regarding appointment of a Joint Committee toenquire into issues arising from the Report of the Swedish National Audit Bureau on the BoforsContract. A message asking Rajya Sabha to concur in the said motion and communicate the namesof members to serve on the Committee was sent to Rajya Sabha the same day.

Similarly, on 6 August 1992, Lok Sabha adopted a motion regarding appointment of aJoint Committee to go into the irregularities and fraudulent manipulations relating to securities,shares, bonds and other financial instruments. A message asking Rajya Sabha to concur in the saidmotion and communicate the names of members to serve on the Committee was sent to RajyaSabha the same day.

3. Since the inception of a bicameral Legislature at the Centre in 1921 under the Montague-ChelmsfordReforms, Bills passed by the Assembly were transmitted to the Council of State with a message.Messages between one Chamber and the other were conveyed by the Secretary of one Chamberto the Secretary of the other. See The Indian Legislative Rules, Rule 41.

Relations Between the Houses 37

the Bill, or the Bill as further amended, is returned to Rajya Sabha with a message.The Bill also carries an endorsement signed by the Secretary-General in such a case.

If a Bill, other than a Money Bill, as passed by Lok Sabha, is returned by RajyaSabha with amendments and Lok Sabha accepts the amendments made by RajyaSabha, the Bill is deemed to have been finally passed by both the Houses, andmessage is sent to Rajya Sabha. If Lok Sabha disagrees with the amendment(s) madein the Bill by Rajya Sabha or proposes further amendment or an alternative amendment,the Bill, or the Bill as further amended, is returned to Rajya Sabha with a message.

Bills originating in and passed by Rajya Sabha—If a Bill originating in andpassed by Rajya Sabha is passed by Lok Sabha without any amendment, a messageis sent to Rajya Sabha and further action regarding obtaining of President’s assent onthe Bill is taken by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

If, however, Lok Sabha passes the Bill with amendment or amendments, theBill is returned to Rajya Sabha along with a message for concurrence by that Housein the amendment or amendments. The Bill so returned carries an endorsement signedby the Secretary-General.

If Rajya Sabha disagrees with all the amendments made by Lok Sabha or anyof them or agrees to any of the amendments made by Lok Sabha with furtheramendments, or proposes further amendments in place of the amendments made byLok Sabha, the Bill, as further amended, will again be returned to Lok Sabha with amessage4.

At this stage, Lok Sabha may either agree to the Bill as originally passed byRajya Sabha or as further amended by that House or it may insist on an amendmentor amendments to which Rajya Sabha has disagreed. In the latter case, the Bill willagain be returned to Rajya Sabha with a message.

If there is no agreement in terms of Article 108(l)5 over the amendments betweenthe two Houses in case of a Bill originating in either House, a joint sitting of the twoHouses may be convened by the President.

Money Bills—In the case of a Money Bill, while transmitting a copy of the Bill,as passed to Rajya Sabha, in addition to the usual message and endorsement of theSecretary-General, a certificate signed by the Speaker, certifying that the Bill is aMoney Bill, is also superscribed at the end of the Bill6.

4. There has been no such instance so far.

5. For details, see Chapter XXII—‘Legislation’, under Money Bills.

6. In case of urgency, when a message regarding a Money Bill passed by Lok Sabha could not betransmitted to Rajya Sabha immediately as Speaker was out of Delhi, the Secretary-General,Rajya Sabha, was advised informally that the Bill had been passed by Lok Sabha and that messagesigned by Secretary-General together with the Money Bill certified by the Speaker would betransmitted to Rajya Sabha Secretariat later. Copy of the Bill, as passed by Lok Sabha, wasmeanwhile supplied to Rajya Sabha Secretariat on the same day.


Any amendment(s) recommended by Rajya Sabha may or may not be acceptedby Lok Sabha. In either case, a message is sent to Rajya Sabha to that effect7.

Joint Committee of the Houses8

Messages are also sent by one House to the other in the following cases:—

(i) After a motion has been adopted by Lok Sabha, referring a Bill (other thana Money Bill) to a Joint Committee, a message is sent to Rajya Sabhaasking it to concur with the said motion and to communicate the names ofmembers of Rajya Sabha to serve on the Committee. Rajya Sabha, afteragreeing to the motion, sends a message to that effect to Lok Sabhamentioning also the names of members appointed by Rajya Sabha on theJoint Committee.

The process is the same whenever any other Joint Parliamentary Committeeis appointed.

(ii) Where it has not been possible for the Joint Committee to present itsreport in the specified time, a message is sent to Rajya Sabha communicatingthat the time for the presentation of the Report has been extended by amotion adopted by Lok Sabha.

(iii) Where vacancies have occurred in the Joint Committee either by death orretirement or resignation of certain members of Rajya Sabha, a motion isadopted by Lok Sabha, requesting Rajya Sabha to appoint new membersin their place and the motion is communicated by means of a message.However, if vacancies are thus caused in the ranks of members of theappointing House, in this case Lok Sabha, on the adoption of the motionappointing new members to fill in the vacancies, Rajya Sabha is informedof this fact through a letter and not by means of a message.

(iv) Where a Bill is referred to a Joint Committee by Rajya Sabha andLok Sabha is asked to concur with the motion for reference, a message issent to Rajya Sabha after Lok Sabha agrees to the motion mentioning thenames of members of Lok Sabha appointed to the Committee. Lok Sabha,while agreeing to their main motion, may vary or modify the terms of themotion and make a recommendation to Rajya Sabha to that effect.

(v) Parliament has the inherent power to recommend modifications to thestatutory rules and orders laid on the Table, even if the statute under whichthey were framed does not provide for modification. When an amendmentto any rules is passed by Lok Sabha, it is transmitted to Rajya Sabha forits concurrence along with a message. If Rajya Sabha agrees to the

7. Amendments recommended by Rajya Sabha in the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 1977 and theFinance Bill, 1978 were considered and rejected by Lok Sabha.

Amendments recommended by Rajya Sabha in the Appropriation Bill, 1985 and the Appropriation(No. 2) Bill, 1985 were considered and accepted by Lok Sabha.

8. For details regarding the formation, etc. of Joint Committees, see Chapter XXX—‘Parliamentary Committees.’


amendment made by Lok Sabha or proposes further or alternativeamendments, it sends a message to that effect. In the case of finaldisagreement between the two Houses, further proceedings regarding theamendment are dropped9.

(vi) Messages are also exchanged between the two Houses if either Houseadopts a resolution to amend a “President’s Act” or when a Bill passed byone House is sought to be withdrawn while pending in the other on amotion to that effect adopted by it.

Joint Sitting of the Houses

When a Bill other than a Money Bill or a Constitution Amendment Bill, passedby one House is rejected by the other House or the Houses have finally disagreed asto the amendments made in the Bill or more than six months lapse from the date ofthe receipt of the Bill by the other House without the Bill being passed by it, thePresident may, unless the Bill has lapsed by reason of dissolution of Lok Sabha,notify to the Houses by message, if they are sitting, or by public notification, if theyare not sitting, his intention to summon them to meet in a joint sitting10.

This provision is only an enabling one, empowering the President to take a stepfor resolving a deadlock between the two Houses. It is not obligatory upon him tosummon the Houses to meet in a joint sitting. Moreover, this provision does notdisable the receiving House from passing the Bill after the lapse of six months,provided the Bill has not lapsed by reason of dissolution or the President has notalready notified his intention to convene a joint sitting11.

9. Rule 238, see also Chapter XXIV—‘Subordinate Legislation.’

10. Art. 108(1). A similar provision also existed in the Government of India Act. See S. 67(3) as setout in the Ninth Schedule to the Government of India Act, 1935 and Rules 38 and 39 of theIndian Legislative Rules framed thereunder.

11. For instance, the Architects (Amendment) Bill, 1980 passed by Rajya Sabha on 3 December 1980,laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on 8 December, 1980, passed by Lok Sabha with amendments on29 April 1982 (after a lapse of more than six months) and amendments made by Lok Sabha agreedto by Rajya Sabha on 3 May 1982; the Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service)Amendment Bill, 1980 passed by Rajya Sabha on 11 December 1980, laid on the Table ofLok Sabha on 15 December 1980, passed by Lok Sabha with amendments on 16 October 1982(after a lapse of more than six months) and amendments made by Lok Sabha agreed to byRajya Sabha on 2 November 1982; the Repealing and Amending Bill, 1986, passed byRajya Sabha on 28 July 1986, laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on 29 July 1986, passed byLok Sabha with amendments on 23 February 1988 (after a lapse of more than six months) andamendments made by Lok Sabha agreed to by Rajya Sabha on 8 March 1988; the Coal Mines(Nationalization) Amendment Bill, 1992, passed by Rajya Sabha on 21 July 1992, laid on theTable of Lok Sabha on 27 July 1992, passed by Lok Sabha with amendments on 19 April 1993(after a lapse of more than six months) and amendments made by Lok Sabha agreed to byRajya Sabha on 10 May 1993; the Legal Services Authorities (Amendment) Bill, 1991, passed byRajya Sabha on 3 March 1992, laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on 5 March 1992, passed byLok Sabha with amendments on 4 August 1994 (after a lapse of more than six months) andamendments made by Lok Sabha agreed to by Rajya Sabha on 11 August 1994; the Payment ofWages (Amendment) Bill, 2005, as passed by Rajya Sabha on 2 December 2004, laid on theTable of the Lok Sabha on 3 December 2004 was passed by Lok Sabha with amendments on17 August 2005 (after a lapse of more than six months) and amendments made by Lok Sabha wereagreed to by Rajya Sabha on 24 August 2008.


When the President has notified his intention of summoning the Houses to meetin a joint sitting, neither House shall proceed further with the Bill and the Presidentmay thereafter issue an order summoning the Houses to meet in a joint sitting for thepurpose of deliberating and voting on the Bill on a date which is suggested bythe Prime Minister or the Prime Minister in consultation with the Cabinet, and agreedto by the Speaker, and if he does so, the Houses shall meet accordingly12. TheSecretary-General, Lok Sabha, issues summons to each member of Lok Sabha andRajya Sabha, specifying the time and place fixed by the President for the joint sitting13.Once the President has notified his intention to summon the Houses for a joint sitting,dissolution of Lok Sabha shall not stand in the way of proceeding with the Bill at ajoint sitting14.

Procedure at Joint Sitting—At a joint sitting, the Speaker presides15 and theSecretary-General, Lok Sabha acts as Secretary-General of the joint sitting16. TheRules of Procedure of Lok Sabha apply with such modification and variations as theSpeaker may consider necessary or appropriate17. The hour upon which a joint sittingshall adjourn and the day and hour or the part of the same day to which it shall beadjourned is determined by the Speaker18.

During the absence of the Speaker from any joint sitting, the Deputy Speakerof Lok Sabha or if he is also absent, the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha or if hetoo is absent, such other person as may be determined by the members present at thesitting, presides19. The quorum to constitute a joint sitting is one-tenth of the totalnumber of members of the two Houses20.

If at a joint sitting of the House, the Bill referred to it, with such amendments,if any, as are agreed to in joint sitting, is passed by a majority of the total numberof members of both Houses present and voting, it is deemed, for the purposes of theConstitution, to have been passed by both Houses. At a joint sitting no amendmentcan be proposed to the Bill, other than such amendments, if any, as become necessaryby the delay in the passage of the Bill and such other amendments as relate to matterswith respect to which the Houses have not agreed. The decision of the person presidingas to the admissibility of amendments is final21.

At a joint sitting, the Speaker, or the person acting as such, shall not vote in thefirst instance, but shall have and exercise a casting vote in the case of equality ofvotes22.

12. Art. 108(3).

13. The Houses of Parliament (Joint Sittings and Communications) Rules, Rule 3.

14. Art. 108(5).

15. See art. 118(4).

16. The Houses of Parliament (Joint Sittings and Communications) Rules, Rule 2.

17. Ibid., Rule 7.

18. Ibid., Rule 4.

19. Ibid., Rule 5. During the Joint sitting of the House of Parliament on 26 March 2002, theDeputy Speaker presided over the sitting due to a vacancy in the Office of Speaker,G.M.C. Balayogi.

20. Ibid., Rule 6.

21. See art. 108(4).

22. Art. 100(1).


So far, joint sittings of the Houses under article 108 have taken place on threeoccasions :–

The first occasion arose following a disagreement between the twoHouses over certain amendments to the Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1959. ThePresident, by a message addressed to the Speaker through the Minister ofParliamentary Affairs, on 18 April 1961, notified his intention to summonthe two Houses to meet in a joint sitting for the purpose of deliberating andvoting on the Bill. The message was read out to Lok Sabha by the Speakeron 19 April 1961 and on the same day, the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, conveyedthe message to that House23. The Speaker, having agreed to the suggestionthat the joint sitting might be held on 6 May 1961, an Order summoning thetwo Houses to meet in a joint sitting on that day was made by the Presidenton 22 April 1961. Summons were issued by the Secretary to each memberof Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on 27 April 1961, specifying the time andplace for the joint sitting. The joint sitting was accordingly held in theCentral Hall of Parliament House on 6 May 1961, followed by anothersitting on 9 May 1961 when the Bill, as amended, was finally passed24.

The second occasion arose following rejection by Rajya Sabha of theBanking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill, 1977 seeking to replace theBanking Service Commission (Repeal) Ordinance, 1977 promulgated on19 September 1977. The Bill passed by Lok Sabha and transmitted toRajya Sabha on 5 December 1977, was rejected by Rajya Sabha on8 December 1977, the motion for consideration of the Bill having beennegatived. On 9 December 1977 Rajya Sabha sent a message to Lok Sabhato that effect. The joint sitting of the Houses was held on 16 May l978 inthe Central Hall of Parliament House for the purpose of deliberating andvoting on the Bill and the Bill was finally passed25.

The third joint sitting was held on 26 March 2002 when the motion toconsider the Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002, seeking to replace thePrevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) as passed by the Lok Sabha wasrejected by the Rajya Sabha. This sitting was held for the purpose ofdeliberating and voting on the Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002 and theBill was finally passed26.

23. L.S. Deb., 19-4-1961, c. 12428; R.S. Deb., 19-4-1961, c. 49.

24. Joint Sitting of Houses of Parliament Deb., 6-5-1961 & 9-5-1961, Vol. 1, No. 1; The Bill waspublished as Act No. 28 of 1961 in Gaz. Ex. (11-i) 22-5-1961.

25. Joint Sitting of Houses of Parliament Deb., 16-5-1978, cc. 147-50; Gaz. Ex. (pt. 1 – Sec. 1)11-5-1978.

26. Joint Sitting of Houses of Parliament Deb., 26-3-2002, Vol. 1, No. 1; Gaz. Ex. (pt. 1 – Sec. 1).23-3-2002.

Documents

Chapter IV