P. D. T. Achary LOKSABHASECRETAR~T NEW DELHI SPEAKER RULES SPEAKER RULES
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
P. D. T. Achary LOKSABHASECRETAR~T NEW DELHI SPEAKER RULES SPEAKER RULES P. D. T. ACHARY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT Published by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi-I 10 001, (India). First Published, 2001 Price: Rs. 600/- ©2007 Lok Sabha Secretariat Published under Rule 382 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha (Eleventh Edition). Printed by: J ainco Art India, New Delhi-lIO 005, (India). TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Nos. FOREWORD ..................................................................................... (iii) PREFACE ••.........................................•..............................•••..........•• (v) CHAPTERS 1. Adjournment of Debate on a Bill ................................... 1 2. Adjournment Motion ..................................................... 5 3. Allegation ....................................................................... 20 4. Arrest of a Member ........................................................ 25 5. Bills ................................................................................ 30 6. Budget ............................... .......... ................................... 44 7. Calling Attention. ............. ........... ........... .......... ........... ... 59 8. Censure Motion against Ministers ......... ........................ 67 9. Consideration of Demands for Grants by Departmentally- related Standing Committees (DRSCs) ......................... 72 10. Custody of Papers of the House ..................................... 74 11. Cut Motions ........... ....... ...... .......... ................. ............. ... 79 12. Election Commission ..................................................... 91 13. Expunction ..................................................................... 93 14. List of Business .............................................................. 98 15. Money Bills and Financial Bills ................................... 102 16. Motions .......................................................................... 116 17. Motions of No-confidence in the Council of Ministers. 128 18. Motion of Thanks .... ......... ........... ... ......... ............ ........... 132 19. OathlAffinnation............................................................ 136 20. Papers Laid on the Table ..... ........... ......... ... ............ ........ 139 21. Points of Order ... ................ ........ ......... ... ......... ............... 165 22. Power of Deputy Speaker or other Member Presiding .. 174 (ii) PAGE Nos. 23. Powers of the Speaker .................................................... 178 24. Precincts of the House ................................................... 179 25. Privilege ......................................................................... 186 26. Public Accounts Committee .......... ............ ... ....... ........... 214 27. Questions........................................................................ 219 28. Raising a Dispute on the Citizenship of a Member ....... 229 29. Removal of the SpeakerlDeputy Speaker from the Office .............................................................................. 233 30. Resolutions ..................................................................... 240 31. Right of a Member of the other House to sit in the House during voting ........... ............. ........................ ....... 245 32. Right of a Member who has become a Minister/ Chief Minister of a State to vote in the House.............. 246 33. Statement by Minister .................................................... 248 34. Statement by a Member who has Resigned as Minister .... 254 35. Sub judice ....................................................................... 261 36. Suspension of Rules ....................................................... 279 37. Vote on Account ............................................................. 289 ANNEXURE. ........... ....................................................................•.... 301 INDEX ............................................................................................. 303 FOREWORD The success of parliamentary democracy is reflected in the vibrancy of its supreme representative institution, namely, Parliament. To strengthen Parliament and for maintaining the vigour of the democratic process, the need for a well-established set of rules cannot be overemphasized. Rules help not only in securing consistency but also effectiveness in parliamentary debates and discussions. In this sense, it is imperative that the rules are constantly monitored and interpreted to accommodate the needs of the time and to cope with the emerging realities. During the deliberations in the House, the Speaker as Presiding Officer tries to ensure that all sections of the House are heard. Whenever the situation demands or a clarification is sought on a point of order, the Speaker is required to interpret the rules, study past precedents and decisions, give directions and pronounce rulings. And he does so, only after taking into consideration the provisions of the Constitution, the established parliamentary practices, customs, conventions and precedent. Many a time he has to use his discretionary powers. The Speaker's ruling reflects the sense of the House, prevailing at that point of time. In fact, he is the sole judge of all situations in the House; he does not merely interpret the rules, he makes them as well. On his interpretation of rules depends the efficacy of parliamentary proceedings. The rulings given by the Presiding Officers, at different points of time, constitute precedents and become the guiding principles for successive Houses. This compilation of select rulings from the Chair on various subjects is an important publication from the point of view of the parliamentary processes and procedure. In this light, the present effort to present the rulings, in a systematic and coherent manner, is indeed commendable. I appreciate the initiative of Shri P.D.T. Achary, Secretary-General, Lok Sabha for having brought out the first edition of this book in 2001 and now, for the second edition, which is more comprehensive and (iii) (iv) contains all-important rulings on various subjects. I am sure this publication would be of immense use to the Presiding Officers and parliamentarians alike. I also congratulate all those who have helped in bringing out this voluminous compilation. NEW DELHI SOMNATH CHATTERJEE June 2007 Speaker, Lok Sabha PREFACE The rules of procedure provide the framework for the smooth functioning of the Parliament. Rulings from the Chair clarify these Rules or supplement them. Thus rulings play a very important role in understanding the paragon of the Rules or their scope. A compilation of selected rulings, which have great precedence value, right from the days of the Central Legislative Assembly, through the Constituent Assembly and the Provisional Parliament till the present Lok Sabha, was felt necessary. Hence this publication. This is the second revised edition of the book, which was first published in 2001. While the first edition contained the synopses of relevant rules, the highlights in the rulings and the text of the rulings, the present edition has attempted to give the synopses of constitutional provisions and relevant Directions as well, besides mentioning the background or the circumstances in brief that had actually led to the ruling in question, by the Presiding Officer. The purpose is to help the members have a better appreciation of the rulings so given. Five new chapters covering the subjects like expunctions of unparliamentary words or expressions from the proceedings, the powers of the Speaker, the power of the Deputy Speaker or other member while presiding over a sitting of the House, the ruling given on the working of the Departmentally-related Standing Committees (DRSCs) and also the ruling on the most recent case, i.e. the case of citizenship of a member have been added. Apart from these, an exhaustive subject index has been given at the end of the book to facilitate reference and consultation. I am deeply beholden to the Hon 'ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri Sornnath Chatterjee for his encouragement and for being a source of inspiration all through. I am also grateful to him for contributing an illuminating 'Foreword' to the Book, whjch has indeed enhanced the worth of the publication. I would also like to mention here that but for the support of a dedicated team of officers and staff, the project could not be completed. (v) (vi) In this context, I would like to particularly acknowledge the hard work put in by Shri N.K. Sapra and Shri R.C. Ahuja, Joint Secretaries, Shri Ravindra Garimella, Deputy Secretary-I, Km. Samita Bhowmick, Joint Director-II and Smt. Musarrat Naushad, Deputy Director. Thanks are also due to Shri Radhey Shyam, Director, Printing and Publication Service. I would also like to thank Jainco Art India for their cooperation in printing the book. We hope that the work will be a valuable reference manual and a helpful guide to the parliamentarians, academics, researchers and scholars and all others interested in the functioning of parliamentary institutions, especially the working of rules, procedures and practices. NEW DELHI P.D.T. ACHARY May 2007 Secretary General LokSabha 1 ADJOURNMENT OF DEBATE ON A BILL SYNOPSIS OF RULE 109 • A motion to adjourn the debate on a Bill which is under discussion may be moved by a member. • The motion may be moved at any stage of the Bill. • The motion may be moved only with consent of