The rationale for having a Second Chamber for a Parliament and its status and role in the body polity, has been one of the vexed questions in the history of democratic governance. Views and opinion, for and against the Second Chamber, have been aplenty – mostly sharply divided. While the protagonists of the bicameral system have emphasized the need for having a Second Chamber as a safeguard against the possible tyranny of a unicameral Legislature, the critics have dismissed its existence as being inherently undemocratic and subversive of the will of the people expressed through the directly elected Lower House. The merits and demerits of the Second Chamber notwithstanding, the fact remains that about one-third of the Parliaments of the world today have Second Chamber, for one reason or the other.
Justification for Second Chamber:
A Second Chamber facilitates a second look at legislations that may sometimes be the result of purely political compulsions of the ruling majority in the popular House. Also, a two-house legislative body allows scope for more talent and expertise and, therefore, wider scrutiny of legislative proposals. In other words, the Second Chamber acts as a check on hasty and ill-conceived legislationsLegislatures, the world over, are grappling with increasing demand to legislate on newer areas. The Second Chambers have, therefore, become much more useful in sharing the burden of the Lower ChambersA Second Chamber provides more opportunities for scrutiny and creates an enabling atmosphere for securing greater executive accountability. It complements the First Chamber in more ways than one.A Second Chamber can hold debates on matters of wide ranging public issues which otherwise may not be held in a single chamber. It also has the advantage of having some people who have excelled in different areas of life and who may not like to face the rough and tumble of the electoral politics. Such Members participate in the debates with an amount of authority and learningIn a federation, a Second Chamber can give representation to the component units. It can legitimately hold itself as the guardians of the state-interests in a federal polity.Bicameralism in India and History:
In a federation, a Second Chamber can give representation to the component units. It can legitimately hold itself as the guardians of the state-interests in a federal polity.
In India, a Second Chamber was envisaged for the first time under the Montague Chelmsford Reforms proposals. The Government of India Act, 1919, accordingly, provided that the Indian Legislature shall consist of the Governor-General and the two chambers, namely the Council of State and the House of Assembly. The term of the Council was fixed at five years.Under the Government of India Act, 1935; however, the Council of State was made a continuous body, not subject to dissolution. The members were to hold their seats for nine years and one-third of them retiring at the end of every three years. But the scheme envisaged for the Second Chamber under the Government of India Act, 1935, never materialized because the provisions pertaining to the federal structure under the Act were never put into operation. As a result, the Second Chamber set up under the Government of India Act, 1919 continued to function till 1947.