Multifaceted Role of Parliament: Powers, Functions, and Responsibilities

• Purpose of Legislation: To make laws for the governance of the country.
•  It has exclusive power to make laws on the subjects enumerated in the Union List and on the residuary subjects.
• With regard to the Concurrent List, Parliament has overriding powers over the law of the state legislature in case of a conflict between the two.
• Approval of Ordinances: All the ordinances issued by the president (during the recess of the Parliament) must be approved by the Parliament within six weeks after its reassembly.
• Delegated  Legislation: Parliament makes laws in a skeleton form and authorises the Executive to make detailed rules and regulations within the framework of the parent law – delegated legislation or subordinate legislation.

Parliament is empowered to make laws on the State List under the following five abnormal circumstances when: –

• Rajya Sabha passed a resolution to that effect.
• Proclamation of National Emergency (Art.352) is in operation.
• Two or more states make a joint request to the Parliament.
• Necessary to give effect to international agreements, treaties and conventions.
• President’s Rule (Art. 356) is in operation in the state.

• Control Over Executives: Given a parliamentary form of government in India, Parliament exercises control over the Executive through question-hour, zero hour, half-an-hour discussion, short duration discussion, calling attention motion, adjournment motion, no-confidence motion, censure motion and other discussions.
• Oversight Function: It also supervises the activities of the Executive with the help of its committees.
• The ministers are collectively responsible to the Parliament in general and to the Lok Sabha in particular.
• Individual Ministerial Responsibility: Each minister is individually responsible for the efficient administration of the ministry under his charge.
• Removal of Council of Ministers: The council of Ministers can be removed from office by the Lok Sabha by passing a no-confidence motion.

The Lok Sabha can express lack of confidence in the government by –

• Not passing a motion of thanks on the President’s inaugural address.
• Rejecting a money bill.
• Passing a censure motion or an adjournment motion.
• Defeating the government on a vital issue.
• Passing a cut motion.

• Authority over Taxation and Expenditure: No tax can be levied or collected and no expenditure can be incurred by the Executive except under the authority and with the approval of Parliament.
• The Parliament also scrutinises government spending and financial performance with the help of its financial committees.

Therefore, the parliamentary control over the Executive in financial matters operates in two stages:

• Budgetary Control: Control before the appropriation of grants through the enactment of the budget.
• Post-budgetary Control: Control after the appropriation of grants through the three financial committees.
• Rule of Lapse: The budget is based on the ‘principle of annuity’ and ‘rule of lapse’ meaning Parliament grants money to the government for one financial year.
• It facilitates effective financial control by the Parliament as no reserve funds can be built without its authorisation.

• Authority to Amend the Constitution: The Parliament is vested with the powers to amend the Constitution (Art.368) by way of addition, variation or repeal of any provision.
• Power to initiate the process of the amendment of the Constitution lies exclusively in the hands of the Parliament and not the state legislature.
• There is only one exception, that is, the state legislature can pass a resolution requesting the Parliament for the creation or abolition of the legislative council in the state.

Parliament can amend the Constitution in three ways: –

• By Simple Majority: Major part of the Constitution
• By Special Majority: Some other provisions of the Constitution
• By special majority but with the consent of half of all the state legislatures: Only a few provisions of the Constitution can be amended by the Parliament (by special majority) and with the consent of at least half of the State Legislatures (by simple majority).
• The constituent power of the Parliament is subject to the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution and not absolute or unlimited – Kesavananda Bharati case (1973)

• It can impeach the President for the violation of the Constitution.
• It can remove the Vice-President from his office.
• It can recommend the removal of judges (including chief justice) of the Supreme Court and the high courts, chief election commissioner, comptroller and auditor general to the president.
• It can punish its members or outsiders for the breach of its privileges or its contempt.

• The Parliament participates in the election of the President and elects the Vice- President.
• The Lok Sabha elects its Speaker and Deputy Speaker, while the Rajya Sabha elects its Deputy Chairman.
• The Parliament is also authorised to make laws to regulate the elections to the offices of President and Vice-President, to both the Houses of Parliament and to both the Houses of state legislature.
• Parliament enacted the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election Act (1952), the Representation of People Act (1950), the Representation of People Act (1951), etc.

• Supreme Deliberative Body: It serves as the highest deliberative body in the country. It discusses various issues of national and international significance.
• Authority to Emergencies: It approves all the three types of emergencies proclaimed by the President.
• Authority over State Legislative Councils: It can create or abolish the state legislative councils (Art.169) on the recommendation of the concerned state legislative assemblies.
• Authority to Modify State Boundaries and Names: It can increase or decrease the area, alter the boundaries and change the names of states of the Indian Union.
• It can regulate the organisation and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and high courts and can establish a common high court for two or more states.

• Ordinary bills.
• Constitutional amendment bills. [UPSC 2020,2013]
• Financial bills involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Election and Impeachment of the President.
• Recommendation to the President for the removal of Chief Justice and judges of Supreme Court and high courts, CEC and CAG.
• Election and removal of the Vice President (RS can alone initiate removal).
• Approval of ordinance issued by president
• Approval for proclamation  of  emergencies.
• Selection of ministers including the Prime Minister.
• Consideration of the reports of the constitutional bodies.
• Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the UPSC.

• Money bills can be introduced only in LS. 
• RS has no power to amend/reject the Money Bill. [UPSC 2015]
• Lok Sabha can either accept or reject all or any of the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha. In both the cases, the money bill is deemed to have been passed by the two Houses.
• Final power to decide whether a particular bill is a Money Bill or not is vested in the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• Financial Bill-I introduced only in LS.
• Speaker presides over joint sitting.
• RS can only discuss the Budget but cannot vote on demand for grants [UPSC 2015]
• Resolution for discontinuance of national emergency passed only by LS
• No Confidence Motion: Can only be initiated in LS. [UPSC 2022,2014]

• • Article 249:   RS   can   authorize parliament to make law on state list subjects.
  • Article 312: RS can authorize parliament to create All India Services common to both center and State.
• Article 67: RS alone can initiate a move for the removal of the vice-president.
• Articles 352, 356 and 360: Proclamation issued by the President for imposing emergency at a time when the Lok Sabha has been dissolved or the dissolution of the Lok Sabha takes place within the period allowed for its approval, then the proclamation can remain effective even if it is approved by the Rajya Sabha alone.