LEGISLATION

 

 

LEGISLATION

INTRODUCTION AND PUBLICATION OF BILLS

Notice for leave to introduce Government Bills

19A. (1) A Minister desiring to move for leave to introduce a Bill shall give notice in writing of his intention to do so.

(2) The period of notice of a motion for leave to introduce a Bill under this direction shall be seven days unless the Speaker allows the motion to be made at shorter notice.

Prior circulation of Bills for introduction

19B. No Bill shall be included for introduction in the list of business for a day until after copies thereof have been made available for the use of members for at least two days before the day on which the Bill is proposed to be introduced:

Provided that Appropriation Bills, Finance Bills and such Secret Bills as are not put down in the list of business may be introduced without prior circulation of copies to members:

Provided further that in other cases, where the Minister desires that the Bill may be introduced earlier than two days after the circulation of copies or even without prior circulation, he shall give full reasons in a memorandum for the consideration of the Speaker explaining as to why the Bill is sought to be introduced without making available to members copies thereof in advance, and if the Speaker gives permission, the Bill shall be included in the list of business for the day on which the Bill is proposed to be introduced

OPINION ON BILLS.

Circulation of Bills for eliciting opinion

20. (1) Where a motion that a Bill be circulated for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon is carried, the Bill shall be circulated to the State Governments who shall be asked to forward in duplicate--

(a) their opinion on the provisions of the Bill;

(b) the opinions of members of State Legislatures and of such public bodies, selected officers and any other persons as the State Governments may think fit to consult;

as soon as possible but not later than the expiry of the date for circulation of the Bill specified in the motion.

(2) The State Governments shall also be asked to consult High Courts in case the Government of India consider it necessary to do so in this regard.

(3) The State Governments shall also be asked to publish the Bill in their Gazettes, and to make it clear therein that opinions by persons or public bodies shall be sent only through the State Governments and not direct to the Secretary-General or any Ministry of the Government of India.

Time limit for eliciting opinion

21. Where a date for circulation of the Bill for eliciting opinions has not been specified in the motion, the State Governments shall be asked to send opinions within three months of the adoption of the said motion.

Printing of opinions as Papers to Bills

22. After opinions have been received, they shall be edited and printed in convenient batches as Papers to the Bill. These Papers shall bear consecutive serial numbers.

Treatment of opinions in languages other than English and Hindi

23. Opinions received in languages other than English and Hindi shall be treated as representations on the Bill and shall be kept in the Parliament Library after showing them to the Government of India. Members shall be informed about such representations through a notification in Bulletin-Part II.

Laying of Papers to Bills

24. (1) As soon as opinions on a Bill are received they shall be laid on the Table by the member in charge:

Provided that in the case of a private member's Bill, in the absence of the member in charge, the opinions may be laid on the Table by the Minister concerned with the Bill.

(2) All opinions laid on the Table shall be printed and copies thereof shall be made available to members:

Provided that when the House is not in session, the Speaker may direct that the opinions may be circulated to the members before they are laid on the Table. In that case the opinion shall be laid on the Table as soon as possible thereafter.

Mode of laying Papers to Bills

25. The member in charge of the Bill while laying a Paper on the Table shall confine himself to a statement in the following form:-- 'Sir, I beg to lay on the Table Paper No. 1 to the Bill..... (stating long title of the Bill) which was circulated for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon by the direction of the House on....... 19 .

Precis of opinions

26. After the Bill, which has been circulated for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon by the direction of the House, has been referred to a Select/Joint Committee under sub-rule (3) of rule 75, copies of precis of opinions on the Bill laid on the Table shall be made available to members of the Select/Joint Committee on the Bill.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BILLS

Classification and allocation of time

27. As soon as possible after introduction of a private member's Bill, the Bill shall be placed before the Committee on Private Members' Bills and Resolutions for classification and allocation of time under clauses (b) and (c) of rule 294(1). The member in charge of the Bill and the representative of the Ministry concerned with the Bill may be invited to appear before the Committee to present their views. The Committee shall classify the Bill and allot time to it after giving due weight to the considerations urged by the member in charge and the representative of the Ministry.

Clubbing of names in case of notices of identical Bills

28. (1) The names of all members who have given separate notices of an identical Bill shall be shown together in the list of business against the motion for leave to introduce the Bill.

(2) The names of such members shall be appended to the Bill in the order in which the notices have been received in point of time.

(3) The member whose name appears first shall move the motion for leave to introduce the Bill :

Provided that in case the first member is absent the next member present may make the motion for leave to introduce his Bill.

Giving of authority for introduction of Bill

29. A member who has given notice of his intention to move for leave to introduce a Bill, may authorise any other member to make the motion on his behalf:

Provided that the authority shall be in writing and shall specifically state that all subsequent motions in respect of the further stages of the Bill shall be in charge of the member so authorised:

Provided further that before the Bill is published in the Gazette, the Statement of Objects and Reasons accompanying the Bill shall be signed by the member who has actually introduced it.

Giving of authority to pilot Bill after introduction

30. The Speaker may, on being satisfied on an application made to him in this behalf by the member in charge of a Bill that such member for reasons which the Speaker considers adequate is unable to pilot himself any or all stages of a Bill subsequent to its introduction, permit the member in charge of the Bill to nominate another member to pilot the stage or stages of the Bill in respect of which a request has been made to him.

AMENDMENTS TO BILLS

Insertion of new clause

31. When an amendment for the insertion of a new clause in a Bill is adopted by the House, the Speaker shall put the question thus:

'The question is:

That clause (quoting the number of the new clause) be added to the Bill.

CORRECTIONS IN BILLS

Procedure for corrections in Bills

32. No alteration shall be made in a Bill as introduced or in a Bill as reported by a Select/Joint Committee except by way of an amendment adopted in the House:

Provided that the Speaker shall correct any obvious printing or clerical error at any stage of the Bill by issue of a corrigendum to the Bill:

Provided further that in the case of a secret Bill printed by the Ministry concerned before introduction, such a correction in the Bill, as introduced, shall not relate to an error affecting taxation.

INDICATION IN DEBATES REGARDING CORRECTION OF PATENT ERRORS IN BILLS

Incorporation of corrections in Debates

33. (1) Where an amendment to a clause has been moved and adopted by the House and subsequently the Official Draftsman, while scrutinizing the Bill, as passed, has suggested any correction which has been accepted by the Speaker as a patent error, such a correction shall be incorporated in the body of the amendment itself without any foot-note in the printed debate.

(2) Where the Speaker has accepted a correction suggested by the Official Draftsman relating to a clause and not to an amendment to a clause which has been adopted by the House, such a correction shall be indicated with an appropriate foot-note, in the printed debates as indicated below:--

"In views of the amendment to clause....... part ( ) of sub-clause ( ) of clause........ (as the case may be) adopted by the House the words '.......' occurring in clause......./part () of sub-clause ( ) of clause..... (as the case may be) were omitted or inserted as patent errors under the direction of the Speaker".

BILLS AS PASSED

Scrutiny,change of year and authentication

34. (1) Where a Bill, as passed by the Houses, is in possession of the Lok Sabha, a copy thereof shall be sent to the Draftsman, Ministry of Law for scrutiny before it is presented to the President under rule 128.

(2) If in the opinion of the Draftsman the Bill is not likely to be assented to in the same year in which the Bill is passed and he makes a suggestion that the year in the title clause be changed, the Speaker may accept the suggestion and make the consequential change in clause 1 and other clauses of the Bill wherever necessary.

(3) In such a case the Bill shall be authenticated in the same year in which it is likely to be assented to.

Laying of Bills after assent

35. Every Bill passed by the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President under article 111 of the Constitution shall be laid by the Secretary-General on the Table:

Provided that in the case of a Bill on which assent is obtained by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, the Bill, as assented to by the President, shall be duly authenticated by the Secretary-General of Rajya Sabha before being laid on the Table.

WITHDRAWAL AND REMOVAL OF BILLS

Advance circulations of reasons for withdrawal of Government Bills

36. When a Bill pending in Lok Sabha is sought to be withdrawn by Government, a Statement containing the reasons for which the Bill is being withdrawn shall be circulated to members by the Ministry concerned sufficiently in advance of the date on which the motion for withdrawal is sought to be made.

Removal of pending Bill from Register of Bills

37. Where a pending Bill seeks to amend an Act which is subsequently repealed, it shall be removed from the Register of Bills pending in the House.