The Legislative Council or the Vidhan
Parishad is the Upper Chamber of the State Legislature. Union Parliament has
the power’ to create or abolish the Legislative Council in various states on
the basis of resolutions adopted by special majority in the Assemblies.
Article
169 states: Abolition or creation of Legislative
Councils in States
(1) Notwithstanding anything in
Article 168, Parliament may by law provide for the abolition of the Legislative
Council of a State having such a Council or for the creation of such a Council
in a State having no such Council, if the Legislative Assembly of the State
passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the
Assembly and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of the
Assembly present and voting
(2) Any law referred to in clause ( 1
) shall contain such provisions for the amendment of this Constitution as may
be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the law and may also contain
such supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions as Parliament may
deem necessary
(3) No such law as aforesaid shall be
deemed to be an amendment of this Constitution for the purposes of Article 368
As mentioned in the constitution the
total membership of the Legislative Council shall not be less than forty and
more than one third of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly
of the concerned state.
All the members of the Legislative
Council are either indirectly elected or nominated by the Governor. Let us take
a look at the way the Legislative Council is constituted.
a) One-third of the members of this
House are elected by the Legislative Assembly from amongst persons who are not
its members.
b) One-third of its members “are
elected by the local bodies like Municipalities or District Boards or any
other local authority as specified by the law of the Parliament.
c) One-twelfth of the members are
elected by graduates of at least three years standing.
d) One-twelfth of the members are
elected by teachers of secondary schools having at least three years
experience.
e) About one-sixth of the members are
nominated by the Governor from among persons possessing. Special knowledge and
experience in the field of art, science, literature, social service and
cooperative movement.
Very simple qualifications are
prescribed for membership in the Vidhan Parishad. Any Indian citizen who is 30
years of age or more having such other qualifications as prescribed by the
Parliament can become a member of the Vidhan Parishad. Of course a person
cannot simultaneously be a Member of Parliament and State Legislature. The
Legislative Council like the Council of States is a permanent chamber, not
subject to dissolution. The members are elected for a period of six years and
like Rajya Sabha one-third of members retire every second year. The Legislative
Council elects its Chairman and Deputy Chairman from amongst its members.
LUCKNOW-INDIA-VIDHAN_16508fTheoretically
the powers of the Legislative Council are coequal with the Assembly. But in
reality the Council is a weak partner of the Legislative Assembly. Ordinary
bills can originate in any chamber of the legislature. A bill in order to
become an Act must be approved by both the chambers and receive the assent of
the Governor. The Governor may give his assent or return the bill back to”
legislature with his observations. The legislature while reconsidering the bill
may or may not take note of the views of the Governor on the bill. The Governor
is bound to give his assent to the bill when it is presented to him for the
second time. If the Legislative Council disagrees with a bill passed by the
Legislative Assembly, then the bill must have a second journey, from the
Assembly to the Council.
But ultimately the views of the
Assembly shall prevail. The Council has no powers to advise a bill passed in
the Assembly. It can only delay the passage of the bill for 3 months in the
first instance and for one month in the second. There is no provision of joint
sitting as in case of disagreement in Parliament over ordinary bills. In the
ultimate analysis the Legislative Council is a dilatory chamber so far as
ordinary legislation is concerned. It can delay the passage of the bill maximum
for a period of four months.
In the domain of finance it has almost
no powers. Like the Council of States, it enjoys a subordinate position in
financial matters. Money Bills originate only in Assembly. After they are
passed in the Assembly it is sent to the Council. The Council can keep it
maximum for a period of 14 days. If it does not pass it within that period, it
is deemed to have received the approval of that House.
The Council can control the executive
by way of putting questions to ministers, by raising debates and adjournment motions
to highlight the lapses of the government but it cannot throw a government out
of power. The Legislative Assembly in addition, to the powers discussed above
enjoys the power to move vote of no confidence which can force the government
to resign. In case of controlling the executive the final say lies with the
Legislative Assembly.
The makers of the Constitution have
deliberately given a secondary position to the Council of States so that both
the chambers in the state do not compete with each other for supremacy. The
purpose was to accommodate various professional interests in the Legislative
Council, who through their experience can act as the friend, philosopher and
guide of the Legislative Assembly.
As of today, Seven (out of
twenty-eight) states have a Legislative Council: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu
and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. Union Cabinet has
cleared State of Assam to formed ‘Legislative Council’ in December 2013. In
2010 the Parliament of India passed an Act to re-establish a Legislative
Council for a seventh state, Tamil Nadu, but implementation of the Act has been
put on hold pending legal action; the state government has also expressed its
opposition to the council’s revival.
Rajani Kant Indra
Dept. of Law, Lucknow University, Lucknow
June 24, 2015
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