MANUAL OF OFFICe-PROCEDURE

PART D: BILL OFFICE

9.68 Responsibilities of Bill Office- The items of work for which this Section is responsible mainly consists of: -

i) Government Bills: Scrutiny before introduction, Introduction, Publication in the Gazette, Consideration at all stages including reference to Select or Joint Committee, Amendments to Bills, Passing, Transmission or return to the other House and preparation of and submission for President’s Assent.

ii) Private Members’ Bills: Scrutinising the Bills as to their format, contents and to see whether they comply with the Rules or require President’s recommendation and seeing the Bills through all the stages in the Rajya Sabha.

iii) Reference of Bills to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees.

iv) Communication of Messages between the Houses.

v) Balloting of Private Members’ Bills.

vi) Circulation of Bills for eliciting Public Opinion thereon under the direction of the House; compilation, printing, circulation and preparation of precis of opinions.

vii) Circulation of Bills to the Members and supply of copies thereof to the Lok Sabha, Ministry of Law and others. .

viii) Ordinances.

ix) Maintenance of Bill Registers.

x) Preparation of lists of pending Bills and Bills passed during the Session and assented to.

9.69 Introduction of Bills-The Ministry of Law and Justice, after the proposal has been approved by the Cabinet, prepares the final draft of the Bill and sends two proof copies (one original and one duplicate) each of the English and Hindi versions, duly authenticated by the legislative counsel, to the Bill Office with an Office Memorandum.

Any Minister desirous of introducing a Government Bill in the Rajya Sabha pertaining to his Ministry can do so by giving a notice of his intention under his signature, to move for leave to introduce a Bill, to the Secretary-General. For giving notice for introduction of a Government Bill, there is no time limit prescribed under the rules.

9.69.1 Assigning of Bill: As soon as the notice for introduction and the proof copies of the Bills are received in the Bill Office, the entire set is diarised in the Central Bill Register for Government Bills and the work related to that Bill is assigned to a particular Assistant. The Register is maintained in the following format:

Sl. No.

Long Title of the Bill

Short Title of the Bill

Name of The Memberin charge

Ministry Conce-rned

Date of

Receipt

File No.

Date of Introduction

Bill No. Allotted to the Bill in the Detail-ed Bill Register

A file number is allotted to that Bill by its name and the details of the Bill are immediately entered in the Central Bill Register meant for Government Bills. The Bill is given a number in Roman numerals which is indicated on the right side just above the title of the Bill as “ Bill No… of (year)”. The number is assigned year-wise in continuation to the Government and the Private Members’ Bills so that no two Bills of same or different categories carry the same number.

9.69.2 Scrutiny of Bill: The Bill is scrutinized as per the standard process sheet (Annexure 9.2) for Government Bills and as given in para 9.69 for Private Members Bills. The scrutiny sheet contains the points outlining the requirement of the Constitution and rules pertaining to Legislation.

The discrepancies, if any, in the Bill are brought to the notice of the Administrative Ministry and the Ministry of Law and Justice who in turn generally set the Bill in order once a Bill is found to be in order, it is placed before the Secretary-General for approval.

9.69.3 Printing of Bill: After the Bill is scrutinized and approved, a docket page, mentioning 'Rajya Sabha', the long title of the Bill and the name of the Minister-in-charge, is attached only to the English version of the approved Bill. Thereafter, the original proof copy of English version alongwith a note is sent to the Printing Section with a request to get printed 500 copies of the English version of the Bill with the superscription “ To be introduced in the Rajya Sabha” and 1000 copies of the same with the superscription “As introduced in the Rajya Sabha on ……..” The request for Hindi version of the Bill is also sent through a different note whereby 150 copies and 500 copies respectively are got printed.

On receipt of the printed copies, two copies of the English version of the Bill are sent to the Ministry of Law and Justice (Printing Section) (Annexure-9.3) and four copies of the Hindi version and one copy of the English version are sent to Official Languages Wing, Ministry of Law and Justice (Annexure-9.4) for scrutinising the Bill. On the basis of the scrutinised copy of the Ministry of Law and Justice, the Errata to the English version of a Bill, if necessary, is prepared by this Section whereas that of the Hindi version is got prepared by sending a note to the Translation Section.

9.69.4 Circulation of Bill before Introduction: On receipt of the copies of the Bill “To be introduced in the Rajya Sabha”, 275 copies of the English version and 75 copies of the Hindi version alongwith the Errata, if any, are sent to the Distribution Section for circulation to the members of the Rajya Sabha. By convention, these copies are circulated two days in advance of the introduction unless the Chairman otherwise directs.

9.69.5 Listing of Motion for Introduction: Once the above formalities are complete, Bill Office gives clearance for inclusion of the Bill in the List of Business. A Motion for leave to introduce the Bill is enlisted by the Table Office. In respect of Government Bills, this is done in consultation with the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, which indicate the dates and order in which the Bills are listed, through a U.O. note, to the Table Office.

9.69.6 Publication and Circulation of Bill after Introduction: The Bill, after having been introduced in the Rajya Sabha, is published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary Part-II, Section 2, under a letter from Under Secretary to the General Manager, Government of India Press, on the same day. (Annexure 9.5).

While preparing a copy of the Bill for publication in the Gazette:-

(a) The Superscription “TO BE INTRODUCED IN THE RAJYA SABHA” is deleted.

(b) Before the title of the Bill the following superscription is written:-

“RAJYA SABHA”

The following Bill (or Bills) has (have) been introduced in the Rajya Sabha on the______(date):-

(d) Line numbering in the body of the Bill is deleted.

(e) Docket page, arrangement of clauses and Annexure to the Bill, if any, are deleted, retaining the Statement of Objects and Reasons, Financial Memorandum and Memorandum regarding Delegated Legislation.

(f) If more than one Bill is introduced on a day, every one of them is separated by a Roman numeral written above the number allotted to the Bill.

(g) The short title of the Bill is deleted.

(h) The name of the Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha is written at the end followed by the end mark as –

“Printed by the Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha under rule 68 of

the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha.”

The copies of the Bill, as introduced in the Rajya Sabha, are also sent to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Supreme Court etc. as per standard mailing list maintained in the Section, after the date of its introduction has been stamped on each Bill. A copy is also sent to Committee Section-I of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

9.70 Reference of Bills to Parliamentary Committees-

9.70.1 Reference to Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee: Once a Bill has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha, action is initiated to refer the Bill to the concerned Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee of Parliament. For this, a brief note highlighting the purpose of the Bill is placed before the Hon’ble Chairman. Although there is no rule yet, generally, all the Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha are referred with the approval of the Chairman to the Standing Committees, barring Bills replacing ordinances and time barred Bills etc. of urgent nature. Rule 273 governs the procedure to be followed in this respect, and the following method is adopted for processing of the cases:-

(a) Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha and referred to a Standing Committee of the Rajya Sabha: After obtaining the orders of the Hon’ble Chairman, the Chairman of the Standing Committee is informed through a letter by the Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha indicating the date by which the report is expected. A para (Annexure-9.6) is published in the Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II for information of the Members and others.

(b) Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha and referred to a Standing Committee of the Lok Sabha: In case a Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha is referred to the Standing Committee falling under the jurisdiction of the Lok Sabha, after obtaining the orders of the Hon’ble Chairman that the Speaker, Lok Sabha may be requested to refer the bill to the Standing Committee of the Lok Sabha, a letter (Annexure-9.6A) from the Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha is sent to the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha for referring the Bill to the Standing Committee mentioning the date by which the Report is expected. After the concurrence of the Speaker is obtained by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, it is conveyed to Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha and information to that effect is published in the Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II (Annexure-9.6-B) for information of the Members and others

(c) Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha and referred to a Standing Committee of the Rajya Sabha: .On receipt of a letter from Secretary-General, Lok Sabha communicating the desire of the Hon’ble Speaker for referring the Bill to a Standing Committee, the proposal is placed for the Hon’ble Chairman’s consideration. After the Hon’ble Chairman concurs to the proposal:-

i) the decision of the Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha is conveyed to the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha by the Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha (Annexure-9.7)

ii) the Chairman of the concerned Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee is informed of such reference by a letter from the Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha.

iii) A para (Annexure-9.8) regarding reference of the Bill is published in the Parliamentary Bulletin Part II for the information of the Members and others.

9.70.2 Reference to a Select Committee: A Bill, either introduced in the Rajya Sabha or pending therein, as passed by the Lok Sabha may be referred to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha under Rule 69-71. For this purpose the Minister-in-charge of the Bill may give a notice for reference of the Bill to a Select Committee. When a notice to this effect is received, it is processed and an approved item (Annexure-9.9) showing the manner in which the Motion is to be moved is sent to the Table Office for inclusion in the List of Business.

On adoption of the Motion for reference to a Select Committee, the work relating to that Committee is allotted, under orders of the Secretary-General, to one of the Committee Sections in rotation as per roster maintained in the Bill Office. The file pertaining to that Bill is also sent to that Committee Section alongwith adequate number of copies of the Bill for further necessary action on that Bill. The file is returned to Bill Office once the basic formalities of formation of the Select Committee are over.

9.70.3 Reference to Joint Committee: After the introduction of a Bill, the Minister-in-charge may give notice under Rule 69-71 for reference of the Bill to a Joint Committee (of both Houses) and an item (Annexure-9.10) for inclusion in the List of Business is got approved and sent to the Table Office.

On adoption of the Motion for reference to the Joint Committee, a message to the effect is sent (Annexure-9.11) to the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha conveying the Motion adopted in the Rajya Sabha and recommending the Lok Sabha to join in the said Committee by adopting a Motion in order to constitute the Committee. After the concurrence of the Lok Sabha is conveyed to the Rajya Sabha through a message from Secretary-General, Lok Sabha, the Table Office brings it to the notice of the Secretary-General and it is reported to the House. The Committee is, thereafter, formally constituted and the work relating to that Committee is allotted to one of the Committee Sections in the same manner as in the case of a Select Committee.

When a Bill, originating in the Lok Sabha, is proposed to be referred to a Joint Committee of the Houses, a Motion to that effect, adopted in the Lok Sabha, is conveyed to the Rajya Sabha by the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha, Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha reports the message to the House. Thereafter, a notice is received from the Minister concerned for concurring in the Motion adopted in the Lok Sabha. A draft item (Annexure- 9.12) is sent to the Table Office for inclusion in the List of Business for concurring in the Motion. Upon its adoption, it is conveyed to the Lok Sabha through a message (Annexure-9.13). The Committee is, thereafter, formally constituted in the Lok Sabha.

9.71 Consideration and Passing/Return of Bills-

9.71.1 Bills Introduced in the Rajya Sabha: After a Bill has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister concerned gives a notice for consideration and passing of the Bill which is again diarised in the Section Diary Register maintained in the following format:

SECTION DIARY

S. N.

No. & Date of Document Received

From Whom

Brief Subject

Classification

Assistant to Whom marked

File

No.

Date of final Dis-posal

Remarks

Number

Date

10.

The case is assigned to the same assistant who dealt with the introduction of that Bill.

After diarising, the case is put up for approval of the Secretary –General for enlisting the Bill for consideration and passing. The following points are checked at this stage:-

a) If an Ordinance has been promulgated on a Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha, whether statement giving reasons for immediate legislation through Ordinance has been laid on the Table of the House at the commencement of the Session (Rule 66(2).

b) Whether the Bill has been circulated to the Members of the Rajya Sabha two days in advance (proviso to Rule 69).

c) Whether the report of the Standing/Select/Joint Committee on the Bill has been presented or laid, as the case may be.

d) Whether the recommendation of the President under article 117(3) of the Constitution is required and if so, whether it has been received.

e) Whether any amendment has been received or is required on the Bill and has been circulated. In particular, need for formal amendments relating to the year of the Bill needs to be checked.

If all the above-mentioned formalities are complete, the Bill is cleared for being enlisted in the List of Business for consideration by the Rajya Sabha.

After the Bill has been accepted for listing for consideration and passing, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is informed which communicates the date on which the Bill is to be listed for consideration and passing. The Minister in charge of the Bill also gives notice of his intention to move for the consideration and passing of the Bill, as required under Rule 69 and Rule 109 respectively. A copy of the Bill, in anticipation of its passing by the Rajya Sabha, is sent to the Ministry of Law and Justice for scrutiny in advance. While preparing as passed by Rajya Sabha version of the Bill, the following changes are carried out:-

a) superscription “As introduced in Rajya Sabha” is replaced by “As passed by the Rajya Sabha on the ……20…”

b) alphabet C is inserted after the Bill Number.

c) the amendments proposed by the Government are incorporated. Other corrections already suggested by the Ministry of Law and Justice are also incorporated.

d) statement of Objects and Reasons, Financial Memorandum, Memorandum regarding Delegated Legislation, Annexure etc. are deleted.

e) bottom line of docket page is replaced by “As passed by the Rajya Sabha.”

When the Bill is passed, a message to the effect is sent to the Lok Sabha as per rule 111, (Annexure -9.14) enclosing therewith a copy of the Bill as passed by the Rajya Sabha.

The following points are taken care of while preparing a copy of the Bill, as passed by the Rajya Sabha, with the message:-

a) The superscription “As introduced in the Rajya Sabha” is deleted.

b) A certificate is given by the Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha, above the title of the Bill as:-

“This Bill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha at its sitting held on the ……..”

New Delhi

Dated the ……

Secretary-General

c) The words “As passed by the Rajya Sabha” are written in bracket below the title of the Bill.

d) Corrections, if any, pointed out in the copy of the Bill scrutinised by the Ministry of Law and Justice are carried out.

e) All the markings/corrections in ink are authenticated by putting the Rajya Sabha stamp against each of them.

The copy for the Press is prepared after making following changes in the Bill:-

a) The superscription “As introduced in the Rajya Sabha” is substituted by the words “As passed by the Rajya Sabha on the ……..”

b) The Bill No. is suffixed by an alphabet ‘C’ separated by a hyphen.

c) All the corrections and amendments made in the Bill are shown in the body of the Bill.

d) Statement of Objects and Reasons, Finance Memorandum and Memorandum Regarding Delegated Legislation and other appendices, if any, are deleted.

e) Only one change is done in the docket page, name:-

On the lower end of it, the name and designation of the Member-in-charge is replaced by the words “As passed by the Rajya Sabha.”

Thereafter, the copies of the Bill, both of in English and Hindi versions, are got printed through the Printing Section. The request to the Printing Section is sent through two notes whereby 1000 copies of the English and 500 copies of the Hindi version are got printed with the superscription “As passed by the Rajya Sabha on the………”and “………….200…….. respectively.

A copy of the English version is got checked by the Printing Section, Ministry of Law (Annexure 9.15), and that of the Hindi version is sent (Annexure-9.15-A) to the Official Languages Wing, Ministry of Law and Justice for scrutiny. A corrected copy of the English version of the Bill is sent to the Lok Sabha Secretariat based on the checked copy received from the Printing Section whereas Errata to the Hindi version of the Bill is got prepared by the Translation Section. The copies of the Bill alongwith the errata, if any, are sent to the Lok Sabha Secretariat and other agencies as per the mailing list and circulation note.

9.71.2 Bill reported by Select/Joint Committee: In case a Bill has been reported by a Select/Joint Committee, the report of the Select/Joint Committee is got printed and circulated by the concerned Committee Section. The copies of the Bill (‘Bill as Reported’) are also got printed and circulated by that Section separately, incorporating the amendments adopted by the Select/Joint Committee and the Bill No. is shown as Bill No….A/B of 20… The Bill, thereafter, is scrutinised by the Bill Office in order to check whether as a result of any amendment made by the Select/Joint Committee, the Bill which was an Ordinary Bill, has become a Financial Bill. If it has been so changed, the recommendation of the President under article 117(3) of the Constitution is obtained.

After the presentation of the final report and completion of the above formalities, the Minister-in-charge gives notice of his intention to move that the Bill as reported by the Select/Joint Committee be taken into consideration. Copies of the Bill as reported by the Select/Joint Committee are circulated two days in advance of the date for which the Motion is visited unless the Chairman allows otherwise (Rule 93)

9.71.3 Bill introduced and passed by the Lok Sabha: When a Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha, 325 copies of the English version and 200 copies of the Hindi version of the Bill are supplied to the Bill Office by the Lok Sabha Secretariat for circulation to the Members of the Rajya Sabha. This Bill is immediately entered into a Bill Register with the following format:

Sl. No.	File No.	Bill No.	Name of the Bill	Date of Introduction in Lok Sabha

It is allotted a file number and 275 copies of the English and 75 copies of Hindi version are immediately sent to the Distribution Section, for circulation to the Members of the Rajya Sabha. A copy is also sent to Committee Section-I of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. When this Bill is passed by the Lok Sabha, a message is received (in the Table Office) alongwith a copy of the Bill, as passed by the Lok Sabha. The message is reported to the House by the Secretary-General and the Bill is laid on the Table of the House (Rule 121). Lok Sabha Secretariat also forwards 425 copies of the English and 200 copies of the Hindi version of the Bill with the superscription “As passed by the Lok Sabha on the …..” alongwith one corrected copy (of each version) on the basis of which an errata, if necessary, is issued. The usual number of copies of the Bill alongwith errata, if any, are sent to the Distribution Section for circulation to the Members after the message has been received in the Secretariat. Once the Bill is laid on the Table of the Rajya Sabha and copies are circulated, the Minister-in-charge of the Bill gives notice of his intention to move for consideration of the Bill (Rule 122) but here also two days notice period is required for listing the Bill unless the Chairman waives the requirement (Rule 123).

The Bill, before it is listed, is examined to see whether any clause has a financial implication in which case recommendation of the President is sought (article 117(3)) even if a recommendation has already been obtained for consideration of the Bill by the Lok Sabha.

Once the above formalities are complete, the Table Office is given clearance for inclusion of the Bill in the List of Business.

If the Bill had not been referred to a Joint Committee of the Houses, any member may move as an amendment to refer the Bill to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha (Rule 125) and if it is adopted and reported by the Select Committee, the procedure is as described.

If the Bill is passed without any amendment, a message is sent to the Lok Sabha intimating that the Rajya Sabha has agreed to the Bill without any amendment (Rule 127) (Annexure-9.16). On adoption of any amendment, the Bill is returned with a message asking for concurrence of the Lok Sabha, on those amendments (Rule 128) (Annexure-9.17). No copy of the Bill is enclosed with the message under rule 127 whereas a copy incorporating the amendments is sent to Lok Sabha under rule 128. The following points have to be taken care of while endorsing the copy to Lok Sabha:-

a) the letter ‘D’ is indicated with the Bill number as Bill No.. D of 20…

b) the following certificate is typed on the first page above Bill No:-

“The Bill has been passed as amended by the Rajya Sabha at its sitting held

on the…20…

New Delhi

The…..20…..

Secretary-General

c) in the docket page ‘Rajya Sabha’ is written in place of ‘Lok Sabha’ and “As passed by the Rajya Sabha” in place of “As passed by Lok Sabha.”

d) each correction/amendment in the body of the Bill is authenticated by putting “Rajya Sabha” stamp.

9.71.4 Bill originating in the Rajya Sabha and returned by the Lok Sabha with Amendments: On receipt of a message of a Bill passed by the Rajya Sabha and returned by Lok Sabha with amendments, it is reported to the House and the Bill is laid on the Table (Rule 112). In such cases amendments made by the Lok Sabha are circulated (Annexure-9.18) to the Members of the Rajya Sabha and after giving two days notice or with the consent of the Chairman without notice, the Minister-in-charge moves that the amendments be taken into consideration (Rule 113). On adoption of the amendments by the Rajya Sabha, a message is sent to Lok Sabha to that effect (Annexure-9.19). In such case, a Bill is not attached with the message. But if the amendments are not agreed to by Rajya Sabha, the Bill is returned to the Lok Sabha with a message (Rule 115).

9.71.5 Money Bill: A Money Bill, due to its special status, stands on a different footing as far as the procedure in the Rajya Sabha is concerned. When a Money Bill is passed by the Lok Sabha a message is transmitted to the Rajya Sabha alongwith the Bill duly certified by the Speaker (article 109). The message is reported to the House and the Bill is laid on the Table (Rule 186(I)). Copies of a Money Bill concerning Appropriation of Funds out of the Consolidated Fund of India, as introduced in the Lok Sabha, are received on the same day on which it is passed, since unlike other Bills, it is introduced and passed on the same day. Due to this reason, the copies of the Bill, as passed by Lok Sabha, are not printed and Bill as introduced in Lok Sabha is circulated after stamping it with the superscription “As passed by Lok Sabha”. The stamping is done by the Bill Office and the copies are, generally, circulated alongwith the copies of the Bill, as introduced in the Lok Sabha. However, in case of MoneyBills other than Appropriation Bills which are introduced and passed on different dates like Ordinary Bills, the procedure regarding receipt and circulation of copies of Bills as introduced and as passed is same as that of Ordinary Bills.

Bill Office also examines whether the Bill requires recommendation of the President under article 117(3) and if it does, this is obtained before the Bill is listed for consideration andreturn.

On completion of the above formalities, the Minister-in-charge may give notice for consideration and return of the Bill. After the Motion that the Bill be returned is adopted, the Money Bill is returned to the Lok Sabha with or without any recommendation. A message to that effect is, accordingly, sent to the Lok Sabha (Rule 186(6)) (Annexure-9.20 & 9.21). In both the cases, a copy is enclosed with the message. While preparing the copy, the following points are to be taken care of:-

a) the superscription “as introduced in Lok Sabha” is deleted.

b) the following endorsement is typed above the Bill No.:-

“This Bill was considered by the Rajya Sabha at its sitting held on the.. 20…and the House had no recommendations to make thereon.

New Delhi

The…20… Secretary-General

c) The Bill No. is re-written as Bill No….F of 20…….

d) on the top of the docket page, Rajya Sabha is written in place of Lok Sabha and “as passed by the Rajya Sabha” in place of “as passed by Lok

Sabha,”

e) the corrections in the body of the Bill, if any, are authenticated by the “Rajya Sabha” stamp.

Since the Rajya Sabha has only recommendatory powers on a Money Bill, it is open to the Lok Sabha either to accept or to reject any or all of the recommendations made by the Rajya Sabha. In both the cases a message is received from the Lok Sabha conveying its decision on the recommendation which is reported to the House.

9.72 Assent on Bills-

9.72.1 Preparation of Assent Copies: The Rajya Sabha Secretariat obtains the assent of the President on those Bills which are in its possession; i.e. Bills originating in the Lok Sabha and passed without any amendment by the Rajya Sabha, and Bills originating in the Rajya Sabha and returned by the Lok Sabha with amendments which are agreed to by the Rajya Sabha. An assent copy of the Bill in its final form is prepared after being passed by both the Houses of Parliament in the following manner:-

a) The superscription on the top right corner of the first page of the Bill is deleted.

b) The Bill Number is suffixed by an alphabet F separating it by a hyphen.

c) “AS PASSED BY THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT” is written just below the title.

d) Line numbering in the body of the Bill is deleted.

e) An endorsement for the signature of the Chairman and the President is attached after the body of the Bill.

f) In the Docket page,

i) the “Lok Sabha” at the top middle of the page is deleted.

ii) the long title in the middle centre is retained.

iii) the words “As passed by Lok Sabha” are replaced by the words “As passed by the Houses of Parliament.”

g) An additional cover page is added wherein:-

i) the Bill number, suffixed with ‘F’ separated by a hyphen is written on the top right corner.

ii) the title of the Bill (in capital letters) is written in the centre.

iii) The dates on which the Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are written as,-

AS PASSED BY THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

Lok Sabha on………….

Rajya Sabha on………

(OR Amendments made by Lok Sabha

agreed to by Rajya Sabha on……)

The Assent copy is then sent to the Ministry of Law and Justice for scrutiny (Annexure- 9.22). The same copy on its receipt from the Ministry of Law and Justice is sent to the Printing Section with a note requesting to get 20 copies of the Bill printed on azure laid paper. As soon as the assent copy is printed, it is again sent to the Ministry of Law and Justice for scrutiny (Annexure- 9.23). After the scrutinized assent copy is received, corrections of printing errors, if any, are carried out clearly in four assent copies. If one or two printing error remain un-corrected they are shown in the margin and are got authenticated by the Secretary-General. In cases where there are many printing mistakes all the 20 copies are got reprinted through Printing Section and scrutinized by the Ministry of Law and Justice again.

9.72.2 Submission for President’s Assent: After the copies have been prepared, four corrected assent copies are first submitted to Hon’ble Chairman on file for authentication (Rule 135). However, in the absence of the Chairman from New Delhi, the assent copies may be authenticated by the Secretary-General in case of urgency. On receiving all the four authenticated copies, a memorandum under the signatures of Secretary-General (Annexure-9.24) forwarding therewith two assent copies of the Bill duly authenticated and ten spare copies are sent to the Secretary to the President through the Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice for obtaining assent of the President.

The Ministry of Law and Justice while submitting the Bill for assent, obtains the signature of the President on two copies, out of which one copy alongwith a forwarding O.M. mentioning the date of assent, Act No. etc., is returned to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the other copy is retained by the Ministry. On receipt of this communication, a note mentioning the assent to the Bill is submitted on the relevant file through the Joint-Secretary to the Secretary-General.

9.72.3 Authenticated copy to Lok Sabha Secretariat: Once this Secretariat has obtained assent of the President in respect of Bills in its last possession passed during a session, an assent copy each of the Bills authenticated by Secretary-General is sent to the Legislative Branch of the Lok Sabha Secretariat with a forwarding U.O. note by Under Secretary with changes in it in the following manner:-

a) a rectangular box in the middle of the cover page is made as under:

Assented to on…20…

Act No……. (year)

b) a certificate by the Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha is given on the top of the first page as-

“The Bill was assented to by the President on the---(day)..(month)..& (Year)

Secretary –General”

c) names of the Chairman and the President are indicated on the endorsement with dates at the last page in place of signature.

d) printing mistakes are authenticated by “Rajya Sabha” stamp.

9.72.4 Printing and Circulation of Copies: After the assent on a Bill has been obtained, the Bill Office prepares a copy of the Bill, as passed by the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President with the following changes:-

a) a rectangular box on the cover page is drawn as under:-

Assented to on (day, month & year)

Act No……….(year)

b) the endorsement of the Chairman and the President on the last page of the Bill is deleted.

This copy is then sent to the Printing Section for getting 450 copies of the Bill printed on white paper with pink cover. After the copies are got printed and checked by Printing Section and errata, if any, is issued, the copies are circulated alongwith the errata, as per the circulation list. The circulation list includes 250 copies to Ministry of Law, 55 copies to Lok Sabha Secretariat, 6 copies to Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, 10 copies to Official language wing of Ministry of Law etc.

Apart from the agencies included on the circulation list, five copies of the Bills are supplied to the Table Office and one copy of each Bill (in the ‘Introduced’ as well as ‘passed’ versions) is supplied to the Committee Section-I by this Section at the end of each session.

9.72.5 Laying of Statement of Bills Assented to by the President: At the commencement of every Session, an item for laying of a statement showing the Bills passed by the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President during the preceding Session is prepared and after getting it approved by the Secretary-General, it is sent for inclusion in the List of Business of the first day. The statement is then laid on the Table by the Secretary-General in House, generally on the opening day.

9.73 Private Members Bills-

9.73.1 Introduction of Private Members Bills: Immediately before the commencement of a Session, a para is got published in the Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II by the Legislative Section wherein, alongwith dates for overall business, the Fridays fixed for Private Members’ Business are mentioned. Out of the available Fridays, alternate Fridays are allotted for Private Members’ Legislative Business and Private Members’ Resolutions. The same Bulletin also contains a para showing the date, time and place of the draw of lot for consideration of Private Members’ Bills. The time for transaction of the Private Members’ Legislative Business is generally 2.30 P.M. to 5.00 P.M. on the earmarked Friday. For consideration of Bills, one draw of lot is held generally fifteen days in advance in accordance with the direction of the Chairman (Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II No. 36268 dated 2^nd May, 1997) wherein names of ten Members are drawn (Rule 25(3)). The names so drawn are kept valid for the whole Session.

i) Receipt of Bill and Diary: Any Member other than a Minister, desirous of introducing a Bill, is required to give a notice thereof in the Notice Office alongwith a copy of Bill containing statement of Objects and Reasons duly signed by him one month prior to the date allotted for Private Members Legislative Business on which he intends to introduce the Bill (Rule 62(I)).

According to the direction of the Chairman (Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II No. 36268 dated the 2^nd May, 1997), a Member can give notice for introduction of a maximum of three Bills during a Session. A Member can introduce all the three Bills on one allotted date or on different dates allotted for that class of Business.

On the receipt of the Bill in the Section from the Notice Office, it is diarised and thereafter a file number is given to that Bill and is assigned to an Assistant. The Register is same as maintained for the purpose of File Number Register as given above.

ii) Scrutiny of Bill: After the Bill is assigned to an Assistant, he scrutinises the Bill according to the standard process sheet for scrutiny of Private Members’ Bills as given below:

PRIVATE MEMBERS BILL FOR INTRODUCTION

BILL NO. OF 20

Sl. No. Points Examined Remarks

1. Notice given by

2. Title of the Bill

3. i)Date of receipt of the Notice

ii)Whether Notice is in time?

iii)Due date for introduction of the Bill

4. Whether notice is accompanied by a copy of the

Bill and S.O.R. duly signed by the Member?

{Rule 62(1)}

5. Purpose of the Bill

6. Whether the subject-matter of the Bill is within

the Legislative competence of Parliament?

7. i)Whether the Bill contains more than 25 clauses?

ii)If so, whether ‘Arrangement of Clauses’ has been

appended/prepared?

8. If it is an amending Bill, whether the Sections of

the Parent Act sought to be amended have been

reproduced as an annexure to the Bill?

9. i)Whether the Bill requires President’s recommen-

dations for introduction under any of the follow-

ing articles of the Constitution:

a) Proviso to article 3

b) Article 274(1)

ii)If so, whether action has been initiated to obtain

the requisite recommendation?

10. i)Whether the Bill, if enacted and brought into

operation, would involve expenditure from the

Consolidated Fund of India?

ii)if so, whether action has been initiated to obtain the

requisite recommendation under Article 117(3)

of the Constitution?

11. Whether it attracts provisions of articles 110 or

117(1) of the Constitution?

12. i)Whether the Bill requires a Financial Memorandum?

ii)If so, whether it has been appended to the Bill

{Rule 64(1)}?

13. i)Whether the Bill involves delegation of

legislative power?

ii)If so, whether the Memorandum Regarding Delegated

Legislation has been appended to the Bill[Rule 65]?

14. i)Whether the Bill requires a prior resolution to be passed

by the Legislative Assembly of the State by a Special Majority

under article 169 of the Constitution?

ii)If so, whether this has been done and copy thereof

received?

15. i)Whether the Bill requires a prior resolution to be

Passed by the Rajya Sabha under any of the following

Articles of the Constitution:

a) Article 249

b) Article 312

ii)If so, whether this has been done?

16. i)Whether the Bill requires prior resolutions to be passed

by State Legislatures under article 252 of the

Constitution?

ii)If so, whether this has been done?

17. i)Whether the Bill relates to a subject under any of the

Entry Nos. 7,23,24,27,52,53,54,56,62,63,64 or 67

in the Union List?

ii)If so, does the Bill contain necessary declaratory

clause?

18. i)Whether a similar Private Member’s Bill was intro-

duced in the Rajya Sabha in the past?

ii)If so, whether it was discussed by the Rajya Sabha

(give dates)?

19. i)Whether substantial changes have been made in the

Draft Bill which require Member’s approval?

ii)If so, whether the same has been obtained formally

or informally?

Whether it attracts provisions of articles 110 or

117(1) of the Constitution?

Extract of the relevant Rules/articles/entries in the Union List is given in Annexure 9.25.

The Bill is then scrutinized. If minor changes in drafting or formatting are required these are carried out. In case substantial changes are required, the Member is advised accordingly. Similarly, in case the Bill appears to be on a subject included in the ‘State List’ the Member is informed. In case however the Member insists on returning the Bill in its present form, the bill is admitted as such.

iii) Entry in the Central Bill Register: Once the notice has been admitted for introduction of the Bill, the Bill is entered in the Central Bill Register and is allotted a Bill Number.

iv) Printing of Bills: Soon after the entry in the Central Bill Register, a copy of the English version of the Bill, alongwith a docket page attached with it, is sent to the Translation Section for getting its Hindi version. After the Hindi version of the Bill is received, both the English and Hindi version of the Bill are got printed through Printing Section in the same manner as in the case of a Government Bill (i.e. 500 copies and 150 copies in English and Hindi version of Bill to be introduced and 1200 copies and 650 copies of the ‘As Introduced’ version).

The Printing Section supplies the corrected copies of each version of the Bill on the basis of which the errata to the English version is prepared by this Section and that of the Hindi version is got prepared by the Translation Section.

After the printing of Private Members’ Bill, two copies of the English version are sent each to the Attorney-General (Annexure-9.26) and to the Administrative Ministry (Annexure-9.27) concerned a fortnight in advance of the proposed date of its introduction to enable them to forward their objections, if any, to the Bill.

v) Circulation of Bill before Introduction: The procedure is the same as is followed for Government Bills.

vi) Listing of Motion for Introduction: An item for inclusion in the List of Business for introduction of Bill on a date fixed for Private Members’ Bills is prepared in the Section and after obtaining approval on the file, it is sent to the Table Office.

vii) Publication and Circulation of Bill after Introduction: The procedure of publication and circulation of Bill after introduction is same as that for Government Bill.

9.73.3 Consideration of Private Members’ Bills:

i) Draw of Lot for Bills: Prior to the commencement of the Session, the day, time and place for holding of draw of lot for determining the names of Members whose Bills will be considered during the Session, is fixed. This information is published in the Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II at the commencement of each Session.

Thereafter, as per the Direction of Hon’ble Chairman, for all Fridays fixed for transaction of Private Members’ Legislative Business during a Session, one draw of lot is held, generally 15 days in advance (Rule 25(1)) of the first allotted date. The draw of lot is held on the Computer in the Secretary-General’s room. For this purpose names of all Members whose Bills are pending consideration of the House are fed in the Computer. In this draw of lot, names of only ten are drawn. After the draw of lots, the Members who find place in the draw are informed through a letter (Annexure-9.28) under the signature of Under Secretary (with a request to inform the Section within a week, the Bill, they would like to take up for consideration during the Session in case they have more than one Bill pending). Simultaneously a para containing the Bills for introduction and the result of draw of lot containing names of Members is published in the Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II for information of Members and others. The priority obtained in the draw of lot remains valid throughout the Session.

ii) Listing of Private Members’ Bills: On receipt of the preferences from Members regarding listing of Bills for consideration, a draft item for inclusion in the List of Business is prepared containing the title of the Bills of first five Members out of the ten names drawn by lot in addition to the Bill, if any, on which the discussion had not concluded which always gets priority over the other Bills under proviso to Rule 27. The item after being approved is sent to Table Office for inclusion in the List of Business. The Bills of the remaining five Members are listed in the order of their priority on a subsequent day subject to disposal of other listed Bills in such a way that the List of Business does not contain more than five Bills at a time in addition to the part discussed Bill, if any, for consideration.

iii) Disposal of Private Members’ Bills: After the House has expressed its decision, in case the Bill is either negatived or withdrawn in the House, the file on the Bill is closed by the orders of the Secretary-General and the Bill is also removed from the Register of Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha under rule 120(1) or 120 (2) respectively. In case a Bill is passed by the House, the procedure regarding its transmission to the Lok Sabha is the same as that of a Government Bill. At the consideration stage in the Lok Sabha, the Member-in-charge has to authorise a Member of that House to pilot the Bill in that House.

9.74 Amendments to Bill (Other than Constitutional Amendments)-

9.74.1 Notice of Amendment: Any Member desirous of giving notice of amendment to a Bill (whether Government or Private Bill), as introduced in the Rajya Sabha or as passed by the Lok Sabha and laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha, can do so by submitting the notice alongwith a copy of the amendment proposed, in the Notice Office, where diary number, date and time is recorded according to which priority of Member in moving the amendment is fixed. Every such notice of an amendment has to be given at least one day before the day on which the Bill is to be moved (Rule 95). On receipt of the notice in the Bill Office from the Notice Office, it is again diarised and is allotted to the Assistant dealing with that particular Bill.

9.74.2 Notice for Reference to Select/Joint Committee: Notice for amendment of Motion under Rule 71, seeking reference of the Bill to Select/Joint Committee is examined as to whether it is in proper format, besides checking the correct style of names of the Members proposed for the Select/Joint Committee and time proposed for submitting the report of the Committee. If the above information is not given, the Member is requested to supply the details. On receiving the requisite information, the notice is processed on file and after its approval-

a) a note alongwith a copy of the Notice for amendment is sent to the Distribution Section for circulation to the Members of the Rajya Sabha and supplying requisite spare copies (75 copies to Bill Office, 60 copies to Lobby Office, 20 copies to Table Office and 10 copies to the Administrative Ministry).

b) a note alongwith a copy of the notice for amendment and a copy each of the English and Hindi version of the Bill is sent to the Translation Section for translating the amendment with the request that Hindi version may be forwarded directly to the Distribution Section for circulation alongwith English version; and

c) an advance copy is also sent to the Table Office.

9.74.3 Amendments to enacting formula, clauses and Schedules: On receipt of such notice, preliminary examination of the amendments is done as per Rule 96. The amendments are arranged clause wise. If there is any amendment which cannot be moved without the recommendation of the President (Rule 97), the fact is placed on record while submitting the amendment for approval.

Once the notice for amendments is approved, further action is initiated in the same way as in the case of notice for amendment regarding reference to Select/Joint Committee.

The notices for amendments given on a Money Bill are processed in a different manner since the Rajya Sabha has only recommendatory power in respect of that Bill. In such case the following para succeeds every amendment in a clause:

“That the Rajya Sabha recommends to the Lok Sabha that the following amendment be made in the………Bill 200….”

9.75 Constitution Amending Bills- Constitution Amending Bills are of two types:

a) Bills which have to be passed by a Special Majority of two thirds of Members present and voting and by a majority of the total membership (article 368(2)); and

b) Bills which after having been passed by Special Majority require ratification by not less than one half of the State Legislatures (Proviso to article 368(2))

9.75.1 Bills requiring Special Majority: A Bill amending any provisions of the Constitution can be introduced in either House of Parliament but has to be passed by special majority in each House, i.e., majority of the total Membership of the House and majority of not less than two-thirds of the Members present and voting.

The procedure regarding introduction of a Constitution Amending Bill is similar to the introduction of any other ordinary Bill. However there are the following differences in the procedure regarding consideration and passing of such Bill:-

a) motion for consideration of the Bill has to be adopted by special majority;

b) all the clauses have to be adopted by special majority;

c) the amendment to clauses have to be decided by simple majority;

d) the motion for passing of the Bill whether amended or not has to be adopted by special majority.

When a Bill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha, a message under rule 111 (Annexure-9.29) mentioning that the Bill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha in accordance with the provisions of article 368 of the Constitution is sent to the Lok Sabha. The procedure of transmission of the Bill to the Lok Sabha is same as is in the case of any Government Bill.

Similarly, the procedure for laying, consideration and passing of a Constitution Amending Bill, as passed by the Lok Sabha, is same as that of an Ordinary Bill barring the above differences at the consideration and passing stage.

9.75.2 Bills requiring Special Majority and Ratification by not less than One half of the State Legislatures: A Bill which seeks to make changes in the following provisions of the Constitution has also to be ratified by not less than one half of the State Legislatures:-

a) election of the President (articles 54 & 55)

b) extent of the executive powers of the Union and the States (articles 73 and 162)

c) Supreme Court or High Courts

d) distribution of legislative power between the Union and the States and the seventh schedule

e) the representation of the States in Parliament

f) the procedure for amendment of the Constitution (article 368)

The opinion of the Ministry of Law and Justice is always obtained as to whether a particular amendment requires to be ratified by the State Legislatures. The Chairman may, also, in case of doubt, refer the matter to the Attorney General for opinion. The procedure of consideration and passing of these Bills is the same as that of a Bill passed with special majority.

For the purpose of ratification, after the Bill has been passed by both the Houses of Parliament, requisite number of copies of the Bill, as introduced in the Lok Sabha and as passed by the Houses of Parliament alongwith the printed debates of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the Bill, are sent under a letter from Secretary-General (Annexure-9.30) to the Secretary of each State Legislature. The letter of the Secretary-General is sent to Ministry of Law and Justice for vetting before issue. The copies of Bills/debates are either collected by the State Officials from the Office of the Resident Commissioners of the States or are sent by registered post directly to the State Legislature through Distribution Section. Advance copies are sent by e-mail or posted on the Internet site of the Rajya Sabha. While forwarding the papers, the following general form of resolution is also suggested to the Legislatures for being adopted for ratification:-

“That this House ratifies the amendment to the Constitution of India falling within the purview of clause of the proviso to clause (2) of article 368 thereof, proposed to be made by the Constitution (Amendment) Bill,(year)….as passed by the Houses of Parliament.”

This resolution has to be conveyed by the Presiding Officer of the House or the Secretary to the State Legislature to the Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha.

The process is monitored closely and Joint-Secretary and Secretary-General are kept informed on a weekly/daily basis of the progress of ratification.

9.75.3 Exception: A Bill dealing with any of the following matters under the Constitution is treated as an Ordinary Bill and is passed by simple majority:

a) Admission or establishment of new States; formation of a new State; alteration of areas, boundaries or name of existing States etc. (articles 2-4)

b) Creation or abolition of Legislative Councils in States (article 169)

c) Administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes (Fifth Schedule to the Constitution)

d) Administration of Tribal Areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram (Sixth Schedule to the Constitution).

Such Bills can be introduced in either House of Parliament subject to conditions prescribed in respective Articles and Schedules. Strictly speaking, they are not Constitution amending Bills within the meaning of article 368 and are, therefore, introduced, considered, passed and assented in the same manner as is applicable to the Ordinary Bills.

9.76 Assent on Bills- In case of a Bill passed by Special Majority, an endorsement is signed by the Chairman in the following manner before submitting the Bill to the President:

“This Bill has been passed by the Houses of Parliament in accordance with article 368 of the Constitution”.

The rest of the procedure of assent on such a Bill is same as that of an Ordinary Bill.

On the Bill ratified by not less than one half of the State Legislatures, barring the endorsement of the Chairman at the end of the Bill, the rest of the procedure is same. The endorsement in such a case is in following manner:-

“This Bill has been passed by the Houses of Parliament in accordance with article 368 of the Constitution and has also been ratified by Legislatures of not less than one half of the States by resolution to that effect as required under the proviso to clause (2) of the said article.”

The fact that the Bill has been ratified by not less than one half of the State Legislatures is also reflected on the cover page of the assent copy in the following manner:-

(As passed by the Houses of Parliament:-

Lok Sabha on…………………(date)

Rajya Sabha on……………...(date)

and ratified by the State Legislatures of not less than one half of the States).

After the Chairman has signed on the endorsement, a memorandum is sent to the Secretary to the President through the Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice as in case of an Ordinary Bill for assent of the President, mentioning however the names of the State that ratified the Bill (Annexure-9.31) and enclosing copies of the communications received to this effect.

9.77 Numbering of Bills at various Stages- The various stages of a Bill when it is required to be printed are mentioned below. At each of these stages, the Bill will be printed with its original number allotted in the Central Bill Register (of the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha as the case may be) alongwith the distinctive letters ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ etc. as indicated against each stage.

S.N.	Stage of Bill	No. of the Bill
(1)	Introduction in Rajya Sabha	XV
(2)	Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha reported by Select Committee	XV-A
(3	Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha reported by Joint Committee	XV-B
(4)	Bill passed by Rajya Sabha and transmitted to the Lok Sabha	XV-C
(5)	Bill passed by Lok Sabha and reported by Select Committee of Rajya Sabha.	*15-CA
(6)	Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha, passed by Lok Sabha and returned to Rajya Sabha	XV-D
(7)	Bill passed by Lok Sabha and rejected by the Rajya Sabha	* 15-DA
(8)	Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha and passed at Joint sitting of both Houses	XV-E
(9)	Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha and passed by the Houses of Parliament	XV-F

(*Bill introduced in Lok Sabha)

The year and number of the Bill identifies the Bill in the Bill Register (Bills introduced in Rajya Sabha have Roman numerals while these introduced in Lok Sabha have International numerals). The suffix A, B, C etc. identifies the version or stage upto which the draft was processed.

9.78 Ordinance replacing Bills- As soon as an Ordinance is promulgated, whether on a Bill pending in Rajya Sabha or otherwise, two copies of the Ordinance are sent to this Section by the Ministry of Law and Justice for information. Before the commencement of each Session, 300 copies of the English and 125 copies of the Hindi versions of the each of the Ordinances promulgated during the inter-Session are received from the concerned Ministry for circulation to the Members of the Rajya Sabha. A copy each of these Ordinances is laid on the Table of the House at the commencement of each Session by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and remaining copies are circulated through Distribution Section by Bill Office to the Members.

9.78.1 Ordinance replacing Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha: When a Bill replacing an Ordinance, with or without modification is received, it is examined in the same manner as other Bills except that before the introduction of such a Bill, a statement explaining the circumstances which had necessitated immediate legislation through Ordinance is required to be laid to the Table of the House before introduction (Rule 66(1)).

To facilitate the laying of this statement, the concerned Ministry is requested to send an authenticated copy of the English and Hindi versions alongwith 300 copies of the English and 125 copies of the Hindi version. A draft item (Annexure- 9.32) is got approved and sends to the Table Office for inclusion in the List of Business.

Once the statement has been laid, 275 copies of the English and 75 copies of the Hindi version are sent to the Distribution Section for circulation to Members of the Rajya Sabha.

The other procedure of reference, consideration and passing of such Bills is the same as that of an Ordinary Bill.

9.78.2 Ordinance on a Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha: When an Ordinance is promulgated on a Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha, a Statement explaining the circumstances which had necessitated immediate legislation by Ordinance is required to be laid on the Table at the commencement of the Session (Rule 66 (2)). For this also, an item for inclusion in the List of Business is sent to the Table Office after receiving authenticated copies of the statement from the concerned Ministry. Once the statement is laid, 275 copies of English and 75 copies of Hindi version are sent to the Distribution Section for circulation to Members of the Rajya Sabha.

9.78.3 Ordinance replacing Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha and Ordinance on a Bill pending in Lok Sabha: If an Ordinance replacing Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha or an Ordinance is promulgated on a Bill pending in the Lok Sabha no statement is laid on the Table of the House. Only the usual number of copies of the statement explaining the circumstances which had necessitated immediate legislation by Ordinance are obtained from the concerned Ministry and are circulated to the Members.

9.79 Recommendation of the President Regarding Bills, Amendments etc.-

9.79.1 Articles of Constitution under which recommendation of the President is required: The recommendation of the President is required in the following cases under various articles of the Constitution referred to against each of them:-

Type of Bill

Stage

Article

Money Bills

Financial Bills

Bills containing provision relating to article 3 of the Constitution.

Consideration

-do-

Introduction

117(3)

Type of Amendments

Article

Amendments making provision for matters specified in Sub-Clauses (a) to (f) of Clause (1) of article 110.

Amendments for imposing taxes etc. in which States are interested.

117(1)

274(1)

Each Bill is examined on receipt of its proof from the Ministry of Law and Justice whether it attracts the provisions of any article of the Constitution which provides for the recommendation of the President for the introduction and/or consideration of the Bill, and if so whether it has been received.

9.79.2 Communication of recommendation of the President: Rules 63 and 234 of the Rules of Procedure provide that the orders of the President, granting or withholding the recommendation for introduction or consideration of a Bill, shall be communicated to the Secretary-General by the Minister concerned in writing. Accordingly, it is to be ensured that the recommendation has been communicated under the signature of a Minister and the communication has been addressed to the Secretary-General.

9.79.3 Action in case of non-receipt of recommendation: If in any particular case, recommendation is required but has not been received by the Ministry concerned, the Ministry is contacted immediately on telephone by the Legislative Officer to expedite the despatch of the recommendation.

If it appears that the Ministry concerned has not taken any action to obtain the required recommendation, the matter is at once brought to the notice of the Joint Secretary on file and, if directed, a U.O. note is sent to the Ministry concerned to take steps to furnish the requisite recommendation of the President immediately.

9.79.4 Printing and Publication of recommendation in respect of Bills originating in the Rajya Sabha: If the recommendation for the introduction of a particular Bill is received in time before its printing, the contents of the letter conveying such recommendation is reproduced in the Bill after the Statement of Objects and Reasons. In such a case, the recommendations are not published in the Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II. If the recommendation is received later, the contents of the letter conveying the recommendation is reproduced in the Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II for information of Members. In the case of a Private Members’ Bill, besides reproducing the contents of the letter in the Bill or Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II, a letter is also sent to Member-in-charge informing him of the receipt of such recommendation under the signature of the Under Secretary. If the recommendation is received too late and there is no time either to reproduce it in the Bill or to publish it in Parliamentary Bulletin-Part II, the Chairperson is informed.

9.79.5 Inclusion in the List of Business of Bills requiring recommendation: Bill Office ensures that:

(a) In case a Bill requires the recommendation of the President for introduction of a Bill, the Bill is not included in the List of Business till such recommendation has actually been received; and

(b) In case the recommendation is required for consideration of a Bill, the Bill is not included in the List of Business for consideration and passing until the recommendation has in fact been received.

9.79.6 Recommendation in respect of Bills passed by one House and transmitted to the other House: A separate recommendation of the President under article 117(3) is required for consideration of a Bill by each House. When such a Bill having been considered and passed by the Lok Sabha is transmitted to the Rajya Sabha, a separate recommendation of the President under article 117 (3) is necessary before it is taken up for consideration by the Rajya Sabha.

As soon as the President’s recommendation under article 117(3) for consideration of the Bill by the Rajya Sabha for a Bill passed by the Lok Sabha has been conveyed to this Secretariat, Members are informed through a paragraph in the Bulletin-Part II after the Bill has been laid on the Table of the Rajya Sabha.

In exceptional cases where the recommendation is received too late to publish in Bulletin-Part II, the Chairperson is informed.

The recommendation of the President is not printed in the Bills, as passed by the Rajya Sabha, for transmission to the Lok Sabha. The recommendation is also struck off from the message copy of the Bill before its transmission to the Lok Sabha.

9.79.7 Recommendation in respect of Amendments to Bills: Notice of amendment received to a Bill is examined whether the amendment requires the recommendation of the President under the Constitution and if it is required, the Member giving notice is informed. He in turn applies to the Secretariat for obtaining the necessary recommendation required for moving of the amendment. A copy of the letter from the Member alongwith a copy of the amendment is forwarded to the administrative Ministry concerned for communicating the orders of the President.

It is ensured that the orders of the President are received in this Secretariat before the concerned Bill is taken up in the House.

In case the Ministry concerned intimates under the signature of an Officer of the Ministry that the President has accorded or withheld the recommendation, the attention of the Ministry is invited to rules 63 and 234 and they are asked, accordingly, to communicate the orders of the President under the signature of a Minister. The recommendation of the President is published in the Parliamentary Bulletin Part – II for information of the Members.

If the recommendation is received on the day the concerned clauses of the Bill are to be taken up in the House, the letter conveying the recommendation of the President is kept at the Table and a copy thereof is supplied to the Member concerned.

In case the President withholds the recommendation to the moving of an amendment, a copy of the communication received from the Minister concerned is given to the Member concerned. A copy of such communication is also sent to the Table Office for giving necessary indication to the effect in the Memorandum for Officers of the Rajya Sabha.

9.80 Withdrawal of Bills- A Bill may be withdrawn at any stage by the Member-in-charge of that Bill. The Member-in-charge of the Bill may give a notice for such withdrawal under rule 118 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha.

9.80.1 Withdrawal of Bill Introduced and Pending in Rajya Sabha: The Member-in-charge of the Bill (in cases other than a Private Members Bill) has to give notice under Rule 118 of his intention to move for leave to withdraw a Bill. He is also required to furnish an authenticated statement both in English and Hindi, giving reasons for such withdrawal. The concerned Ministry has to supply 300 copies of the English and 125 copies of the Hindi version of that Statement. However as soon as the Statement is received, 275 copies of the English and 75 copies of the Hindi version of the Statement are sent to the Distribution Section for circulation to the Members. Thereafter an item (Annexure-9.33) for withdrawal is got approved and sends to the Table Office for inclusion in the List of Business. After the Motion for withdrawal has been adopted by the House, the Lok Sabha is informed through an U.O. note, the Bill is removed from the Register of Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha and the file on that Bill is closed for permanent retention.

9.80.2 Withdrawal of Bill passed by Lok Sabha and Pending in the Rajya Sabha: If a Bill as passed by Lok Sabha pending in Rajya Sabha is to be withdrawn, the Member-in-charge of the Bill gives notice for moving a Motion recommending to Lok Sabha to agree to leave being granted to withdraw the Bill. Before enlisting the Motion a Statement is received from the Member stating the reason for such withdrawal. The usual number of copies i.e. 275 in English and 75 in Hindi of the statement which are received from the Ministry are circulated a day before the Motion for withdrawal is enlisted in the List of Business.

The draft para containing a Motion which recommends to the Lok Sabha that the Lok Sabha do agree to leave being granted by the Rajya Sabha to withdraw the Bill is got approved and sent to the Table Office for enlisting in the List of Business. After the motion is adopted, a message containing the Motion adopted by the House is sent to the Lok Sabha for concurrence. When the concurrence of the Lok Sabha is received and reported in the House, the concerned Member in charge is required to give another notice for withdrawal of the Bill which is enlisted in the List of Business through the Table Office. After the Motion for withdrawal has been adopted by the House, the Lok Sabha is informed by a message and the Bill is removed from the Register of Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha and the file on that Bill is closed for permanent retention.

9.80.3 Bill passed by the Rajya Sabha and pending in the Lok Sabha: When a Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha and pending before the Lok Sabha is sought to be withdrawn in the Lok Sabha, a Motion is moved in the Lok Sabha by the Member-in-charge for recommending to the Rajya Sabha that the Rajya Sabha do agree to leave being granted by it to withdraw the Bill. The Motion upon its adoption is conveyed through a message to the Rajya Sabha. The message is reported to the House by the Secretary-General. After the message has been so reported, the Member in-charge gives a notice for concurrence of the Rajya Sabha on the Motion adopted in the Lok Sabha. This Motion, on adoption by the Rajya Sabha, is conveyed to the Lok Sabha through a message (Annexure-9.34) after which the Bill is formally withdrawn in the Lok Sabha and the fact is communicated to this Secretariat through a message.

9.80.4 Bill introduced and pending in Lok Sabha: When a Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha is withdrawn, an intimation is received from the Lok Sabha Secretariat through an U.O. note which is submitted on file to the Secretary-General through the Joint Secretary for information.

9.80.5 Procedure after withdrawal: After the Bill has been withdrawn in the Lok Sabha, the file on that that Bill is closed and kept for permanent retention.

The procedure regarding withdrawal of a Private Members’ Bill is similar to that of a Government Bill. However, in such a case no statement giving reasons for such withdrawal is required.

9.81 Removal of Bills from the Register of Bills Pending in the Rajya Sabha-

9.81.1 Removal of Government Bills: (a) Rejection of a Motion: When any Motion on a Bill originating in the Rajya Sabha is rejected by it, the Bill is removed from the 'Register of Bills Pending in the Rajya Sabha' (Rule 120 (1)).

(b) Withdrawal of a Bill: When a Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha is withdrawn under rule 118, the Bill is removed from the 'Register of Bills Pending in the Rajya Sabha' (Rule 120 (2)).

(c) Adoption of Statutory Resolution Seeking Disapproval of Ordinance: When a motion seeking disapproval of an Ordinance is adopted in the Rajya Sabha, the Bill replacing that Ordinance with or without modifications is removed from the 'Register of Bills Pending in the Rajya Sabha.'

(d) Dissolution of Lok Sabha: A Bill, as passed by the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha lapses on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha under article 107(5) of the Constitution. The Bill is then removed from the 'Register of Bills Pending in the Rajya Sabha.'

9.81.2 Removal of Private Members’ Bills: (a) Rejection of a Motion: When any Motion on a Bill originating in the Rajya Sabha is rejected by it, the Bill is removed from the 'Register of Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha' (Rule 120 (1)).

(b) Withdrawal of a Bill: When a Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha is withdrawn under rule 118, the Bill is removed from the 'Register of Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha' (Rule 120 (2)).

(c) Ceasation of the Membership of the Member-in-charge of a Bill: When a member-in-charge of a Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha ceases to be a Member of the Rajya Sabha, the Bill is removed from the 'Register of Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha'. (Rule 120(3))

(d) Induction of the Member-in-charge of a Bill in the Council of Ministers: When the Member-in-charge of a Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha becomes a Minister, the Bill is removed from the 'Register of Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha' in pursuance of direction contained in Parliamentary Bulletin Part II Para No. 35373 dated the 23^rd November, 1995.

9.82 Maintenance of computerised Bill Registers- There are two types of Registers maintained in the Section for entering the details of Bills. They are:

(i) Central Bill Registers; and

(ii) Detailed Bill Registers.

The process has been computerised and a web-enabled Bills software is in operation and entry is made into the data base by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha’s Bill Office, with regard to changes in Bill status when the Bill was in their respective possession. The electronic text of the Bill in its various versions is obtained from the Government of India Press by the Bill Office of the respective Houses, and linked to the data to enable the text also to be seen on Internet. For this purpose, initial data entry is made into the Bills software, giving the type of Bill, name of Ministry, Member, short title etc by the Bill Office of the House in which the Bill is introduced. All changes in status are entered (by selection) along with dates. In case of reference to Joint/Select Committee names of Members are selected out of the database. The Central Bill Registers and Detailed Bill Registers are printed out at the end of each session and bound.

9.82.1 Central Bill Registers: There are two Central Bill Registers maintained for entering the preliminary details of a Bill immediately after its receipt in the Section, one for Government and the other for Private Members’ Bills. After the diarisation of a Government Bill, its short title, long title, name of the Minister/Member-in-charge, concerned Ministry, file number etc. are entered and a number in Roman numerals is allotted to the Bill year-wise starting from one. In case of the entry of a Private Members Bill, the details mentioned above are entered after the Bill has been approved on the file since the Bill may be subject to some changes during examination. The Bill numbers are allotted to the Government and the Private Members’ Bill is continuation and to ensure that there is no duplication or gap, the last allotted number is verified from both Registers. The format of the Register is as mentioned in Para 9.62.1.

9.82.2 Detailed Bill Registers: A Detailed Bill Register is maintained separately for Government and Private Members’ Bills, incorporating all the details of a Bill from its introduction till its final disposal by the House including the assent of the President. It contains details about dates of introduction, reference to Committees, if any, names of Members in case of constitution of a Select and/or Joint Committee and date of laying/presentation of report, dates of debate and passing by both the Houses, dates of assent, date of publication in the Gazette of India, Act numbers etc. All the data is entered into the computer so that the upto date Bill Register entries in respect of all Bills are available in the computer data base for query purposes. The format of the Register is as follows:

DETAILED BILL REGISTER

Serial No.	Short Title	House in Which Introduced and Member-in-Charge		Ministry concerned		File No.			Bill No.

Stage & Through which The Bill Passed		Date	Joint or Select Committee							Bill Ratified By
			Names of Members		When Appointed or Added			Dates of Meeting
i)Leave given to introduce. ii)Introduced. iii)Published in Gazette of India iv)Sent to Executive Ministry v)Circulated for opinion and publication vi)Referred to Joint or Select Committee Message vii)Report of Joint or Select Committee presented viii)Report of Joint or Select Committee with Bill as amended and published in Gazette of India. ix)Bill as reported by Joint or Select Committee considered. x)Bill passed by originating House. Message xi)Bill laid on the Table in Second House….. xii)Amendments made by second House considered by originating House….. Message xiii)Bill passed/returned by Second House. . . Message xiv)Bill considered and passed at Joint Sitting. .. xv)Bill assented to xvi)Act published in Gazette of India as No….of 20….			Rajya Sabha
			Lok Sabha
			Dates of Debate Relating to The Bill
			Rajya Sabha				Lok Sabha

			Remarks

9.82.3 Office Records: All Parliamentary Bulletins Part-I and II, Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha (English version), Acts of Parliament (Ministry of Law and Justice Publication) and assented copies of Bills are bound and kept for reference. The procedure given in para 9.30.

The Section prepares a List of Bills (Both Government and Private Members’) pending in the Rajya Sabha at the end of every Session of the Rajya Sabha and a List of Bills passed during the Session and assented to by the President and the same is published using the computer database information, in the Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II for information of Members within one week of the end of the session.

9.82.4 Weekly Bulletin of Progress of Bills: During the pendancy of each Session, a Bulletin is issued at the end of every week detailing the progress of Bills during the week, in the following format:

S. No.	Title of Bill	Member/Minister in Charge	Progress

While recording the progress, the date of change of status must be mentioned, e.g. date of presentation of the report on the Bill or date of its tabling in the House etc. The details are based on the data entered in the computer database.

9.83 Precedents Register- In respect of recording of precedents the procedure described earlier will also apply to the Bill Office.

Prescriptive Indications (DOS and DON’TS):

1. Printing of Bills before Introduction: Before sending a Bill for printing, a check whether -

(a) the Bill contains the Arrangement of Clauses, Statement of Objects and Reasons, Finance Memorandum, Memorandum Regarding Delegated Legislation, Docket page etc., if required;

(b) the Bill No. has been allotted; and

2. Circulation of Bills: Before circulating a Bill, check whether the errata to the Bill, if any, are being circulated with the Bills.

3. Publication in the Gazette: Before sending a Bill for publication in the Gazette, check whether-

(a) the short title of the Bill is deleted; and

(b) line numbering, docket page and annexure are marked for deletion.

4. Preparation of Amendment: Before circulation of the Amendment, check whether –

(a) the Hindi version of the Amendment has been got prepared; and

(b) the Amendment requires the recommendation of the President for their moving or not and, if required, the same has been received.

5. Printing of the Bills, after passing: Before sending a Bill as passed by the Rajya Sabha for printing, the following points may be checked: -

(a) whether the suffix ‘C’ to Bill No. has been added separated by a hyphen;

(b) whether the Statement of Objects and Reasons and all other memorandum except the docket page have been marked for deletion; and

6. Transmission of Message to the Lok Sabha: Before sending a message to the Lok Sabha, ensure that -

(a) the Message contains the file No. on the top middle of the page above the inscription “Rajya Sabha”;

(b) the Embossing of the Rajya Sabha seal is there on the top right margin of the message;

(d) every modification suggested are authenticated by affixing the “Rajya Sabha” stamp; and

(e) if a copy of the Bill is attached with the message, it is attached to the message by a red ribbon.

7. Reference of the Bills: After a Bill has been referred to any Committee of the Rajya Sabha, check whether the letter has been sent to the Chairman of the Committee.

8. Balloting of the Private Members’ Bills: Before Balloting of the Private Members’ Bills, check whether the names of all Members excluding the name of the Member whose Bill is already under consideration of the House, and whose Bills are pending have been inserted in a List prepared before ballot.

9. Listing of a Private Members’ Bill for Introduction: Before listing a Private Members’ Bll for introduction, check whether -

(a) the Motion for introduction of fourth Bill by a Member is not appearing in the Lists of Business during a Session; and

(b) both English and Hindi version of the Bills are got printed and circulated to the Members along with the errata, if any.

10. Listing of a Private Members’ Bill for Consideration: Before listing a Private Members Bill for consideration, check whether the recommendation of the President, if required, has been received.

11. Printing of Assent Copies: Before sending the assent copies of a Bill for Printing, check whether -

a) the stage of the Bill has been shown with the Bill Number;

b) the line numbering in the body of the Bill is marked for deletion; and

c) the endorsement has been added at the end of the Bill.

12. Printing of Bills, as Passed by the Houses of Parliament: Before sending a Bill for printing as passed by the Houses of Parliament, check whether -

a) the rectangular box containing the information therein has been shown on the cover page; and

b) the endorsement has been marked for deletion.