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Summoning and Sessions
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- Article 85 of the Constitution: The President from time to time summons each House of Parliament to meet.
- Parliament should meet at least twice a year. Maximum gap between two sessions of Parliament cannot be more than six months.
- There are usually three sessions in a year –
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- Budget Session (February to May) – longest of all sessions
- Monsoon Session (July to September)
- Winter Session (November to December)
- Session of Parliament: The Period spanning between the first sitting of a House and its prorogation or dissolution in the case of the Lok Sabha.
- Recess of Parliament: The Period spanning between the prorogation of a House and its reassembly in a new session.
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Adjournment Procedures in the Indian Parliament
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- An adjournment suspends the work in a sitting for a specified time, which may be hours, days or weeks.
- Presiding officer of the House has the power of adjournment of the house.
- Each meeting of a day consists of two sittings – morning sitting and post-lunch sitting.
- A sitting of Parliament can be terminated by adjournment or adjournment sine die or prorogation or dissolution (in the case of the Lok Sabha).
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Adjournment Sine Die in the Indian Parliament
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- When the House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly, it is called adjournment sine die (terminating a sitting for an indefinite period).
- Presiding officer of the House has the power of adjournment sine die.
- He can also call a sitting of the House before the date or time to which it has been adjourned or at any time after the House has been adjourned sine die.
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Prorogation in the Indian Parliament: Process and Implications
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In Britain, prorogation brings to an end all bills or any other business pending before the House.
- Presiding officer declares the House adjourned sine die, when the business of a session is completed.
- Within the next few days, the President issues a notification for prorogation of the session.
- However, the President can also prorogate the House while in session.
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Dissolution in the Indian Parliament: Implications and Procedures
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- Rajya Sabha is a permanent House and is not subject to dissolution.
- Only the Lok Sabha is subject to dissolution.
- Dissolution (Unlike a prorogation) ends the very life of the existing House, and a new House is constituted after general elections are held.
- The dissolution of the Lok Sabha may take place in either of two ways
- Automatic dissolution on the expiry of its tenure of five years
- If the President decides to dissolve the House
- The dissolution of the Lok Sabha is irrevocable.
- On dissolution of Lok Sabha, all business, including bills, motions, resolutions, notices, petitions and so on pending before it or its committees lapse.
- However, some pending bills and all pending assurances that are to be examined by the Committee on Government Assurances do not lapse on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
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