POWERS & FUNCTIONS OF PARLIAMENT

Introduction
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. Parliament
is composed of two Houses, known as Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and House of the
People (Lok Sabha). The President plays his role as the head of the legislature and is vested
with all powers to summon and prorogue either House of Parliament and also to dissolve the
House of the People. The President can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the
Prime Minister and his Union Council of Ministers. Each House has to meet within six
months of its previous sitting. A joint sitting of two Houses can be held in certain cases.
Article 79- Constitution of Parliament
According to Article 79 of the Constitution of India, the Parliament consists of President of
India and the two Houses of Parliament known as Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and House
of the People (Lok Sabha).
Article 80 - Composition of the Council of States
The Council of States consists of two classes of members
i. Representatives of the States)
ii. The President’s nominees
The maximum representatives of the States are fixed at 238. The Fourth Schedule to the
Constitution enlists the details concerning the allotment of seats among the States. The
representatives are elected by the members of the legislative assembly of the State in
accordance with the system of proportional representation. The mode of election shall be by
means of single transferable vote.
The Parliament shall prescribe the necessary laws to elect the representatives of the Union
Territories.
The President shall nominate twelve members to the Council of States. They shall be persons
having special knowledge and expertise in the field of literature, science, art and social
service.
The Council of States isa permanent body with one-third of its members retiring every second
year. The Vice-President is the ex-officio chairman of the Council of States.
Article 81: Composition of the House of the People
Article 81 describes the composition of the House of the People. The House consists of
 Not more than 530 members who are directly elected by the voters or the States;
 Not more than 20 members representing the Union Territories who shall be chosen in
such manner as Parliament may by law provide;
 Not more than 2 members belonging to the Anglo-Indian community appointed by the
President under Article 331.
 The Representation in the House of the People is based on population and is allotted to
the States.
 The population of States shall be taken to be the same as ascertained at the last census.
The seats shall be allotted to each State shall be in the ratio between number of seats and
the population of the State. For the purpose of election, the States shall be divided into
territorial constituencies.
Power and Functions of Parliament
Legislative Functions
1. The Parliament legislates on all matters mentioned in the Union List and the Concurrent
List.
2. In the case of the Concurrent List, the union law will prevail over the states unless the
state law had received the earlier presidential assent.
3. The Parliament can also pass laws on items in the State List under the following
circumstances:
 If Emergency is in operation, or any state is placed under President’s Rule (Article
356), the Parliament can enact laws on items in the State List as well.
 As per Article 249, the Parliament can make laws on items in the State List if the
Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by ⅔ majority of its members present and voting, that
it is necessary for the Parliament to make laws on any item enumerated in the State
List, in the national interest.
 As per Article 253, it can pass laws on the State List items if it is required for the
implementation of international agreements or treaties with foreign powers.
 According to Article 252, if the legislatures of two or more states pass a resolution to
the effect that it is desirable to have a parliamentary law on any item listed in the State
List, the Parliament can make laws for those states.
Executive Functions
In the parliamentary form of government, the executive is responsible to the Legislature.
1. Buy a vote of no confidence the parliament can remove the cabinet out of power. It can
reject a budget proposal or any other bill brought by the Cabinet.
2. Adjournment motion – Allowed only in Lok Sabha the chief objective of the adjournment
motion is to draw attention of the parliament to any recent issue of urgent public interest.
3. Censure motion: A censure Motion is moved by the opposition party members in the
house to strongly disapprove any policy of the government. Can be moved only in Lok
Sabha. Immediately after a censure Motion is passed the government has to seek the
confidence of the house.
4. Cut motion: a cut to motion is used to oppose any demand in the financial bill brought by
the government.
5. The parliament appoints a Committee on Ministerial Assurances that sees whether the
promises made by the ministers to the parliament are fulfilled or not.
Financial Functions
• The Union Budget prepared by the Cabinet is submitted for approval by the Parliament. All
proposals to impose taxes should also be approved by the Parliament.
• There are two standing committees (Public Accounts Committee and Estimates Committee)
of the Parliament to keep a check on how the executive spends the money granted to it by the
legislature.
Electoral Functions
The Parliament takes part in the election of the President and the Vice President. The
President can be removed by a resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha agreed to by the Lok
Sabha.
Amending Powers
The Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution of India. Both Houses of the
Parliament have equal powers as far as amending the Constitution is concerned. Amendments
will have to be passed in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for them to be effective.
Judicial Functions
A privilege motion is moved by a member when he feels that a minister or any member has
committed a breach of privilege of the House
Other judicial functions of the Parliament include the power to impeach the President, the
Vice President, the judges of the Supreme Court, High Courts, Auditor-General, etc.
The Parliament has the power to alter, decrease or increase the boundaries of states/UTs.
Article 83: Duration of Houses of Parliament
The Council of States is a permanent body. One-third of its members shall retire every second
year. The term of House of the People shall be for five years unless it is sooner dissolved by
the President. Only in case of proclaimed emergency the term of the House of the People can
be extended by the Parliament. The maximum prolonging of the term may be by a year at a
time. A Parliament whose life has been extended cannot continue beyond a period of six
months after the ceasing of the operation of the proclamation of emergency.
Article 84 - Qualification for membership of Parliament
Article 84 prescribes qualifications for a person who desires to be a candidate at an election.
The qualifications for a Member of Parliament are that he should -Be a citizen of India
-Make and subscribe an oath or affirmation expressing his true faith and allegiance to the
Constitution and for upholding the sovereignty and integrity of India
-Be not less than 30 years of age in the case of the Council of States and not less than 25
years of age in the case of the House of the People
-Be possessing such other qualifications as may be laid down by the Parliament