THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

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EGISLATIVE COUNCIL

At present, 5 states of the Indian Union have bi-cameral legislature, they are Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir. The Upper House or second chamber of the state legislature is called the Legislative Council. The composition of it is laid down in Article 171 of the Constitution.

COMPOSITION:

The Constitution provides that the total strength of the Legislative Council must not be less than 40 and not more than 1/3 of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly of the state. The Parliament has the power to create a Legislative Council or abolish it after a resolution to this effect is passed by the Legislative Assembly of the state.

The members of the Legislative Council are indirectly elected by means of proportional representation with a single transferable vote system.

1)  1/3 members are elected by the Legislative Assembly from amongst persons who are not its members;

2)  1/3 members are elected by the local bodies of the state;

3)  1/2 members are elected by persons of at least three years’ standing as teachers in the educational institutions not lower in standard than that of a secondary school.

4)  1/2 members are elected by the University graduates of at least 3 years’ standing in the state.

5)  1/6 members are nominated by the Governor from amongst persons possessing special knowledge and experience in the fields of art, literature, science, social service, co-operative movement, etc.

QUALIFICATIONS:

1)  He must be a citizen of India,

2)  He must be above 30 years of age and

3)  He must have all qualifications laid down by a law of the Parliament.

Nobody can be a member of more than one House of any Legislature.

TERM OF OFFICE:

It is a continuing chamber. 1/3 of its members retire after every 2 years. They may be re-elected. A member of the House remains in office for 6 years. It cannot be dissolved by the Governor. The life of the Legislative Council depends upon the will of the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly by a resolution may ask the Parliament to abolish it.

PRESIDING OFFICER AND QUORUM:

1/10 of the members must be present to hold a meeting of the Council. There is a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman to preside over its sitting. They are elected by the members of the Council from among themselves. Members are administered oath by the Governor.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

It has no effective powers at all. In theory, it has many powers. A bill must be passed by both the Houses.

LEGISLATIVE POWERS:

A non- money bill can originate in this House also. It can pass bills on the subjects included in the State and Concurrent lists. A bill passed by the Legislative Assembly can be rejected by the Legislative Council only once. If the bill is passed again by the Assembly after a period of 3 months, it will be sent to the Council again for approval. The bill will be regarded as passed by both the Houses after a period of one month. The Assembly may or may not accept the suggestions of the Council.

FINANCIAL POWERS:

It cannot originate money bills. A money bill passed by the Legislative Assembly must be adopted by it within a period of 14 days. The bill will be regarded as passed even without its approval after this period.

ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS:

The members of the Legislative Council can criticize the Government. They may ask questions. But they cannot pass a vote of ‘no confidence’ against the ministry. It has little or no control over the Council of Ministers.

ELECTROAL POWERS:

The Legislative Council can elect its Chairman and Deputy Chairman. It can also remove them. The House can also declare a seat vacant if a member absents himself without the permission of the House for a period of 60 days.

AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION:

It also participates in the amendment of the Constitution. In this respect both the Houses of the State Legislature have equal powers.