PARLIAMENT SESSIONS

INTRODUCTION

The Parliament of India, known as the “BhartiyaSansad”, is the supreme authority of India. It consists of the Lok Sabha (Council of States), Rajya Sabha (House of People), and the President, who holds powers to summon or prorogue either of the two houses. Having the authority to legislate the country, the Parliament meets in certain periods of time in order to regulate the country, which is called the sessions of the Parliament. According to Article 85 of the Indian Constitution, there cannot be a difference of more than six months between the two sessions of the parliament. There are usually three sessions of the Parliament, and the calling of Parliament done by the President is called summoning the Parliament. 

1. Budget Session (February-May)

2. Monsoon Session (July-September)

3. Winter Session (November-December)

TYPES OF PARLIAMENT SESSIONS

1. Budget Session (February- March)- In this session, the members discuss various provisions relating to the budget allocation of the country, including taxes. The Finance Minister presents the budget to the houses. The budget is present on the first day of February, after which it is discussed in both houses. It is seen as one of the most important sessions as it tries to pass as many bills as possible and reform the agenda. It starts with the presentation of the Railway Budget, and then the General Budget is presented. It is often seen that the budget session is split into two periods with a gap of one month in between. This time frame is usually referred as the recess period wherein the ministers of various other standing committees present their demands and grants, and during this intervening period debates and discussion over these grants and demands is carried on.

2. Monsoon Session (July-September)- The Monsoon Session of the Parliament goes on from the month of July to September. It starts after a two-month break from the budget session and is solely dedicated to matters of public importance. It is the session where members put forward various demands regarding the welfare of the public and get a legislature to be passed as a bill. The government can move a resolution or a motion to get approval or opinion of the House on policy-related issues and matters of grave concern. All-important bills and legislative proposals are discussed by both houses for it to take a form of a proper bill so that it can help the growth and development of the country. 

3. Winter Session (November-December)- The winter session of the Parliament is held from mid-November to mid-December every year. It is a relatively shorter session wherein the matters which could not be referred or considered earlier are discussed. It further makes up for the absence of legislative business during the second session of the Parliament. This session acts as a filler session wherein the legislations or bills that were not discussed  in the previous sessions can be discussed and passed. However, because of Covid-19 the winter session of 2020 was combined with the budget session in 2021. There have only been three previous instances wherein the winter session was canceled, i.e. 1975, 1979, and 1984. Since India does not have a fixed parliamentary calendar, the parliament meets three times in a year by convention, and under Article 85 of the Constitution, the central Legislature has to meet at least once a year, and not more than twelve months can lapse between two sessions. 

4. Joint Session- Under Article 108 of the Constitution of India, the President can summon a joint session of the Parliament. A joint session of the two houses, Lok Sabha and RajyaSabha is called when there is a situation of deadlock between them. It is presided over by the speaker of LokSabha, and in his or her absence, the session is presided over by the deputy speaker, and if both of them are not present then the Chairman of Rajya Sabha. However, the session can also be presided over by any member of Parliament, with the consensus of members of both the houses, if none of the three are present. A joint session is called when a bill is rejected by one house, or the houses disagree on the amendments made or if six months have passed since the passing of the bill by one house and it has been received by the other house without passing it. However, a joint session cannot be called in case of, firstly, Money Bill under which the upper house has 14 days to pass the bill or else it will be deemed to be passed by lapse of 14 days and, secondly, under Article 368, the Constitution can be amended by both the houses with 2/3rd majority, but in case of a disagreement there is no provision for joint session.  

In the case, Smt Indira Nehru Gandhi v Raj Narayan, the validity of the Constitution (39th Amendment), 1975, was challenged on the ground that the constitution of the House which passed the Amendment was illegal. It was held that since a number of people in the session were detained under the Preventive Detention laws and therefore they were deprived of attending and participating in the proceedings of those houses. The Supreme Court held that the contention that the sitting of the two houses were not valid essentially relates to the validity of proceedings of both the houses. These are matters which are not justifiable and pertain to the internal domain of both the houses. 

NEED OF PARLIAMENT SESSIONS

The sessions of the Parliament are important because during these sessions, the lawmaking, scrutiny of the government’s functioning, and enacting of ordinances take place wherein it helps in enforcement of accountability. The functions are imperative to the effective functioning of democracies. Additionally, the work of Parliament is centred, theoretically at least, around transparency and openness – this gives the public insight into governance and critical decision-making. This is another element to consider when thinking about the importance of Parliament. However, a sitting Parliament can be terminated by adjournment, adjournment sine die, dissolution or propagation. The period between the prorogation of the house and the next session is called a recess. It is essential for the Parliament to conduct the sessions as they not only constitute a regular meeting of houses wherein they can conduct business of the Parliament and deliberate on various legislations and ordinances but it also helps to keep an accountability in the functioning of the Government.

1975 Supp SC 1