Describe the procedure for making a new law.
Answers
Government
- The laws of India are made by the union government for the whole country and by the state governments for their respective states as well as by local municipal councils and districts. The legislative procedure in India for the union government requires that proposed bills pass through the two legislative houses of the Parliament of India, i.e. the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The legislative procedure for states with bicameral legislatures requires that proposed bills be passed, at least in the state's Lower House or the Vidhan Sabha and not mandatory to be passed in the Upper House or the Vidhan Parishad. For states with unicameral legislatures, laws and bills need to be passed only in the state's Vidhan Sabha, for they don't have a Vidhan Parishad.
The laws of India are made by the union government for the whole country and by the state governments for their respective states as well as by local municipal councils and districts. The legislative procedure in India for the union government requires that proposed bills pass through the two legislative houses of the Parliament of India, i.e. the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The legislative procedure for states with bicameral legislatures requires that proposed bills be passed, at least in the state's Lower House or the Vidhan Sabha and not mandatory to be passed in the Upper House or the Vidhan Parishad. For states with unicameral legislatures, laws and bills need to be passed only in the state's Vidhan Sabha, for they don't have a Vidhan Parishad.
Constituent power of Parliament
- The process of addition, variation or repeal of any part of the Constitution by the Parliament under its constituent powers, is called amendment of the Constitution.
- The procedure is laid out in Article 368. An amendment bill must be passed by each House of the Parliament by a majority of the total membership of that House when at least two-thirds of the members are present and voting. In addition to this, certain amendments which pertain to the federal and judicial aspects of the Constitution must be ratified by a majority of state legislatures. There is no provision for joint sitting of the two houses (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) of the Parliament to pass a constitutional amendment bill.
- The basic structure of the Indian Constitution cannot be altered or destroyed through constitutional amendments under the constituent powers of the Parliament without undergoing judicial review by the Supreme Court. After the 24th Amendment, Parliament in its constituent capacity can not delegate its function of amending the Constitution to another legislature or to itself in its ordinary legislative capacity.
The basic structure of the Indian Constitution cannot be altered or destroyed through constitutional amendments under the constituent powers of the Parliament without undergoing judicial review by the Supreme Court. After the 24th Amendment, Parliament in its constituent capacity can not delegate its function of amending the Constitution to another legislature or to itself in its ordinary legislative capacity.Proclamation of emergency per Article 352 (6) shall be ratified by the Parliament similar to its constituent power. When president's rule is invoked in a state using Article 356 (c) and its proclamation contains such incidental and consequential provisions suspending in whole or in part the operation of any provisions of the Constitution relating to any body or authority in the state for giving effect to the objects of the proclamation, the proclamation needs to be approved by the Parliament under its constituent power (i.e. not by simple majority) after the 24th Amendment.
Answer:
The Process of Lawmaking in India
Sruti Bandyopadhyay
10 August 2010
Governance, Public Administration,
This post is an attempt to explain the process of law making in India. It also explains how citizen groups can participate in the process of lawmaking.
Who makes laws?
In India, at the central level, laws are formulated by the Parliament and at the state level by Legislative Assemblies and Councils.
How is a law made?
The process of enacting a new law can be broadly divided into four steps:
Step 1: The need for a new law, or an amendment to an existing piece of legislation, is identified. This may be done either by the government or by citizen groups who can raise public awareness regarding the need for the law.
Step 2: The concerned ministry drafts a text of the proposed law, which is called a ‘Bill’. The Bill is circulated to other relevant ministries for inputs. Comments from the public on the proposed draft may also be invited. For example recently, the UIDAI has invited public feedback on the Draft National Identification Authority Bill. Following this, the draft is revised to incorporate such inputs and is then whetted by the Law Ministry. It is then presented to the Cabinet for approval.
Step 3: After the Cabinet approves the Bill, it is introduced in Parliament. Under the Indian political system, the Parliament is the central legislative (or law making) body. Every Bill goes through three Readings in both Houses before it becomes an Act.
During the First Reading the Bill is introduced in Parliament. The introduction of a Bill may be opposed and the matter may be put to a vote in the House. In August 2009, the Law Minister withdrew the motion to introduce the Judges (Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities) Bill as many MPs were opposed to the Bill, on grounds that it violated the Constitution.
After a Bill has been introduced, the Presiding Officer of the concerned House (Speaker in case of the Lok Sabha, Chairman in case of Rajya Sabha) may refer the Bill to the concerned Department Related Standing Committee for examination.
The Standing Committee considers the broad objectives and the specific clauses of the Bill referred to it and may invite public comments on a Bill. For example, the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests has invited suggestions on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010.
Bills which come under the ambit of a number of different ministries, may be referred to a Joint Comittee.
The Committee then submits its recommendations in the form of a report to Parliament.
In the Second Reading (Consideration), the Bill is scrutinized thoroughly. Each clause of the Bill is discussed on the floor of the House and may be accepted, amended or rejected.
During the Third Reading (Passing), the House votes on the redrafted Bill.
If the Bill is passed in one House, it is then sent to the other House, where it goes through second and third readings.
During the second reading, the Government, or any MP, may introduce amendments to the Bill, some of which may be based on recommendations of the Standing Committee. However, the Government is not bound to accept the Committee’s recommendations.
Step 4: After both Houses of Parliament pass a Bill, it is presented to the President for assent. She has the right to seek information and clarification about the Bill, and may return it to Parliament for reconsideration. (This may be done only once. If both Houses pass the Bill again, the President has to assent.)
Step 5: After the President gives assent, the Bill is notified as an Act. Subsequently, the Bill is brought into force and rules and regulations to implement the Act are framed by the concerned ministry, and tabled in Parliament.
Do bills get passed even without any discussion in the parliament*?
Parliament passes about 60 Bills every year. It devotes 20-25% of its time on legislative business. The time spent on debating each Bill varies widely.
In total, the Lok Sabha passed 30 non-financial Bills in 2009.
In 2009, 8 Bills were passed in less than 5 minutes (27% of the Bills passed by Lok Sabha in 2009). These included, The Legal Metrology Bill, The Commercial Division of High Courts Bill, and the Trade Marks Amendment Bill.
Only 5 Bills were debated for more than 3 hours.
In 2008, 16 out of 36 Bills (excluding finance and appropriation bills) were passed by Lok Sabha in less than 20 minutes, most of these without any debate.
In 2008, Lok sabha worked for 46 days, the lowest ever in a calendar year.
Things are worse, for Legislative Assemblies. Delhi assembly worked for 20 days in 2007.
Number of Working Days in Legislative Assembly
Year
2006
2007
Delhi
23
20
Mizoram
19
18
Rajasthan
30
25
Chhattisgarh
41
35
Madhya Pradesh
43
29
Kerala
51
56
Karnataka
56
34