Parliament of India I: Houses, Membership, Officers & Sessions (Arts 79–105) — UPSC Polity

Organisation & Composition of Parliament

🎯 Exam priority: High-yield. Parliament is the single most-tagged Polity chapter in the last decade. Prelims mines composition numbers, the Speaker's tenure after dissolution (asked 2025), starred vs unstarred questions (asked 2026), quorum, the six-month gap between sessions, adjournment/prorogation/dissolution, and which bills lapse. Mains returns to the Speaker's impartiality, privileges under Article 105, and the Rajya Sabha's federal role. Learn every number and every Article with its content attached.

Articles 79 to 122 in Part V deal with the organisation, composition, duration, officers, procedures, privileges and powers of Parliament. Under Article 79, Parliament consists of three parts: the President, the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). The Hindi names were adopted in 1954.

Why the President is inside Parliament

• The President is not a member of either House and does not sit to attend meetings — yet is an integral part of Parliament. A bill passed by both Houses cannot become law without the President's assent. The President also summons and prorogues both Houses, dissolves the Lok Sabha, addresses both Houses, and issues ordinances when they are not in session.

• This follows the British pattern (Crown-in-Parliament), not the American one. In the USA the President is not a constituent part of Congress. The parliamentary form stresses interdependence of legislature and executive — hence "President-in-Parliament".

Composition of the Rajya Sabha

• Maximum strength: 250 — up to 238 representatives of states and union territories (elected indirectly) plus 12 nominated by the President (Article 80). At present: 245 members (225 states + 8 union-territory seats + 12 nominated).

• Fourth Schedule of the Constitution is the table that allocates Rajya Sabha seats to each state and union territory. State representatives are elected by the elected members of state legislative assemblies by proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV: electors rank candidates; seats are filled by transferring surplus and eliminated preferences until the quota is reached). Seats vary with population (e.g. Uttar Pradesh has many; Tripura has one) — unlike the US Senate, where every state gets two seats.

• Union-territory representation: only three union territories have Rajya Sabha seats — Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir. The other five are too small. Their members are chosen by an electoral college specially constituted for the purpose, also by PR-STV.

• Nominated 12: persons with special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service. The American Senate has no nominated members.

Composition of the Lok Sabha

• Maximum strength: 550 — up to 530 from states and 20 from union territories (Article 81). At present: 543 (524 states + 19 union territories).

• State MPs are directly elected from territorial constituencies on universal adult franchise (every adult citizen who is not disqualified may vote). Voting age fell from 21 to 18 by the 61st Amendment, 1988.

• Anglo-Indian nomination ended. Before 2020 the President could nominate up to two Anglo-Indian members if the community was not adequately represented. The last extension (to 2020) was by the 95th Amendment, 2009. The 104th Amendment, 2019 did not extend it further — the provision ceased on 25 January 2020.

• Currency — women's reservation: the 106th Amendment, 2023 inserted Article 330A, reserving as nearly as may be one-third of Lok Sabha seats for women (including within seats already reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes). It takes effect only after the next delimitation of constituencies; the commencement date is yet to be notified.

Lok Sabha Elections, Delimitation & FPTP

Lok Sabha elections rest on territorial constituencies, a frozen seat allocation, reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and the first-past-the-post system — each a Prelims favourite.

Territorial constituencies — two uniformities

• Each state gets Lok Sabha seats so that the ratio of seats to population is the same across states (states under six million population are exempt from this rule).

• Within a state, constituencies are drawn so the ratio of population to seats is the same throughout the state. "Population" means the last census whose figures have been published.

Delimitation freeze — 1971 seats until after 2026

• Delimitation means redrawing constituency boundaries (and, when allowed, reallocating seats) so that each MP represents roughly the same population. After every census, seats and boundaries are to be readjusted. Parliament enacted Delimitation Commission Acts in 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.

• The 42nd Amendment, 1976 froze allocation of Lok Sabha seats to states at the 1971 level till 2000. The 84th Amendment, 2001 extended the freeze to 2026 to encourage population control — states that curbed population growth would not lose seats to those that did not.

• The 84th also allowed redrawing constituencies on the 1991 census; the 87th Amendment, 2003 switched that to the 2001 census — without changing the number of seats allotted to each state. So boundaries moved; seat totals stayed frozen.

Reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

• Seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in proportion to their population. There is no separate electorate — all voters in the constituency elect the reserved-seat MP, and an SC/ST candidate may also contest a general (unreserved) seat.

• Originally for ten years (to 1960); extended by ten years each time. Under the 104th Amendment, 2019, this reservation lasts until 2030.

First-past-the-post — why not proportional representation for Lok Sabha?

• Rajya Sabha uses proportional representation with the single transferable vote (PR-STV); Lok Sabha uses territorial / first-past-the-post — one winner per single-member constituency by simple majority (the candidate with the most votes wins, even without 50%). That does not give seats in proportion to a party's statewide vote share, so small groups can be under-represented.

• The Constituent Assembly rejected proportional representation for the Lok Sabha for two reasons: it is hard for voters to understand given low literacy, and it tends to multiply parties and destabilise parliamentary government (coalitions become the norm).

• PR-STV is used for Rajya Sabha, state legislative councils, and electing the President and Vice-President.

Duration of the Two Houses

The two Houses live on different clocks — one permanent, one renewable every five years. That difference is why the Rajya Sabha can never be "dissolved" and why only the Lok Sabha's life ends at a general election.

Duration of the Rajya Sabha

• The Rajya Sabha (first constituted 1952) is a continuing chamber — not subject to dissolution (Article 83(1)). As nearly as possible one-third of members retire every second year; seats are filled by fresh elections and Presidential nominations at the beginning of every third year.

• The Constitution does not fix the term of a Rajya Sabha member — Parliament did, in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (the main statute on elections and membership of Parliament and state legislatures): six years. Retiring members may be re-elected or renominated any number of times. In the first Rajya Sabha, the order of retirement was settled by lottery.

• Why staggered terms? Continuity — experience and institutional memory survive even when the Lok Sabha is dissolved and freshly elected.

Duration of the Lok Sabha

• Normal term: five years from the date of its first meeting after general elections (Article 83(2)) — not from the election date itself. Expiry of that period operates as an automatic dissolution. The President may dissolve it earlier; that decision cannot be challenged in court.

• During a national emergency (Article 352 — a proclamation that the security of India or any part is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion), Parliament may by law extend the term by one year at a time, but not beyond six months after the emergency ceases.

Membership: Qualifications, Disqualifications & Vacating Seats

Who can sit, who must leave, and how a seat falls vacant — Prelims loves the decision-makers (President vs Speaker) and the exact days.

Qualifications (Article 84 + Representation of the People Act, 1951)

• Citizen of India; oath/affirmation before a person authorised by the Election Commission (true faith to the Constitution; uphold sovereignty and integrity); age ≥30 for Rajya Sabha, ≥25 for Lok Sabha; plus other qualifications Parliament may prescribe.

• Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951: must be registered as an elector for a parliamentary constituency (same rule for both Houses). The old rule that a Rajya Sabha candidate must be an elector in that state was dropped in 2003; the Supreme Court upheld that in 2006. For a reserved seat, the candidate must belong to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe — but SC/ST persons may also contest general seats.

Disqualifications — two tracks

• Constitutional (Article 102): holding an office of profit under the Union or a state (a paid public office under government that could create a conflict of interest — ministers are exempted; Parliament may also exempt other offices by law); unsound mind declared by a court; undischarged insolvent; not a citizen / foreign citizenship / allegiance to a foreign state; disqualified under any Parliamentary law.

• Extra disqualifications under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 include: electoral offences/corrupt practices; conviction with imprisonment of two or more years (preventive detention alone is not a disqualification); failure to lodge election-expense accounts; government contracts; office of profit in a corporation in which the government has at least 25% share; dismissal for corruption/disloyalty; promoting enmity / bribery; social crimes (untouchability, dowry, sati).

• Who decides Article 102(1) questions? The President, whose decision is final — but must obtain the Election Commission's opinion and act according to it (Article 103).

• Defection (Tenth Schedule / Article 102(2)): voluntary giving up of party membership; voting/abstaining against party direction; an independent joining a party; a nominated member joining a party after six months. Decision: Speaker (Lok Sabha) / Chairman (Rajya Sabha) — not the President. In Kihoto Hollohan (1992) the Supreme Court held this decision is subject to judicial review (courts can examine it).

Vacating of seats (Article 101)

• Double membership: cannot sit in both Houses. If elected to both, must intimate within 10 days which House to serve — default: Rajya Sabha seat vacant. Sitting member of one House elected to the other → first seat vacant. Elected to two seats in one House → choose one or both vacant. Parliament + state legislature: Parliament seat vacant if state seat not resigned within 14 days.

• Resignation: writing to Chairman/Speaker; seat vacant on acceptance. They may refuse if not voluntary or genuine.

• Absence: House may declare seat vacant after 60 days absence without permission (periods of prorogation or adjournment >4 consecutive days don't count).

• Also vacates on: election declared void; expulsion; election as President/Vice-President; appointment as Governor.

• Oath (Article 99): before taking a seat, swear before the President or a person appointed by him. Without the oath: no vote, no participation, no privileges. Sitting/voting without oath / while disqualified → penalty ₹500 per day (Article 104).

Speaker of the Lok Sabha — Powers, Tenure & Independence

The Speaker is the exam's favourite officer — Prelims 2025 went straight to tenure after dissolution and the removal procedure.

Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Articles 93–96)

• Elected by the Lok Sabha from among its members as soon as may be after the first sitting. The President fixes the date of election.

• Vacates earlier only in three cases: ceases to be a member; resigns in writing to the Deputy Speaker; removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Lok Sabha — that is an effective majority (more than half of the House's actual strength at that time, vacancies excluded), not a simple majority of those present and voting — after 14 days' notice (Article 94).

• PYQ anchor — dissolution: whenever the Lok Sabha is dissolved, the Speaker does not vacate office and continues until immediately before the first meeting of the newly elected Lok Sabha. The Constitution does not require the Speaker to resign from a political party on election — the British non-party convention is not fully established in India.

• While a removal resolution is under consideration, the Speaker cannot preside, but may speak, take part, and vote in the first instance — not on a casting vote (Article 96).

Powers that keep recurring in Prelims

• Maintains order; final interpreter of the Constitution, Rules of Procedure and parliamentary precedents within the House.

• Adjourns or suspends the sitting if there is no quorum (minimum presence to transact business: one-tenth of total strength — about 55 in Lok Sabha, 25 in Rajya Sabha).

• Does not vote first; exercises a casting vote only on a tie (to break a deadlock).

• Presides over a joint sitting of the two Houses — a combined meeting summoned by the President under Article 108 when the Houses disagree on an ordinary bill (Money Bills and Constitution Amendment Bills have no joint sitting).

• Decides whether a bill is a Money Bill (a bill that contains only the taxation / borrowing / Consolidated Fund matters listed in Article 110 — full list in Parliament II); that decision is final, and the Speaker certifies the bill when it goes to the Rajya Sabha and to the President.

• Decides Tenth Schedule disqualification of Lok Sabha members (subject to judicial review — Kihoto Hollohan).

• Ex-officio chair of the Indian Parliamentary Group (the national group linking India's Parliament to Inter-Parliamentary Union / Commonwealth Parliamentary Association networks) and of the Business Advisory Committee (allocates time for House business), Rules Committee and General Purposes Committee; appoints chairpersons of Lok Sabha parliamentary committees.

Independence of the Speaker

• Security of tenure via effective-majority removal (not simple majority); salary charged on the Consolidated Fund of India (the government's main account of all revenues and loans — charged items are discussed but not voted item-by-item in the annual Demands for Grants); conduct not criticisable except on a substantive motion; procedural powers not subject to court jurisdiction; casting vote only; seventh in the order of precedence (alongside the Chief Justice), above all cabinet ministers except the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister.

Other Officers, Leaders & Whips

The House also needs a temporary Speaker, a Rajya Sabha chair, and recognised floor leaders.

Deputy Speaker, Panel, and Speaker Pro Tem

• Deputy Speaker: elected after the Speaker; date fixed by the Speaker. Same three vacation routes (resigns to the Speaker). Not subordinate to the Speaker — responsible directly to the House. When appointed to a parliamentary committee, automatically becomes its chairman. Conventionally, Speaker from the ruling side, Deputy Speaker often from the opposition — a convention, not a rule.

• Panel of Chairpersons: Speaker nominates from members; any may preside in absence of Speaker/Deputy. They cannot preside when the office of Speaker or Deputy is vacant — then the President appoints a member to perform the duties.

• Speaker Pro Tem: when the outgoing Speaker vacates just before the new House meets, the President appoints a member (usually the seniormost) as Speaker Pro Tem, administers the oath, and that person administers oaths to new members and enables election of the new Speaker. The office then ceases.

Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha

• Vice-President is ex-officio Chairman (Article 89). While acting as / discharging functions of President, does not perform Chairman's duties. Removed from the Chair only by removal from the Vice-Presidency.

• Two Speaker powers the Chairman lacks: Money Bill certification, and presiding at a joint sitting.

• Deputy Chairman elected by the Rajya Sabha; performs Chairman's duties when vacant or when the Vice-President acts as President.

Leaders and Whips

• Leader of the House: in Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister if a Lok Sabha member, else a minister nominated by the Prime Minister. In Rajya Sabha, a minister who is a Rajya Sabha member, nominated by the Prime Minister. Mentioned in the Rules of the House, not in the Constitution.

• Leader of the Opposition: statutory recognition since 1977 (Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act). Cabinet-minister-equivalent facilities. Recognised party needs roughly one-tenth of the House's total membership (about 55 in Lok Sabha). First officially recognised in 1969.

• Whips: neither in the Constitution nor in the Rules — pure convention. Ensure attendance and party discipline on votes. Government Chief Whip in Lok Sabha is the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. Recognised party thresholds under the 1998 Facilities Act: Lok Sabha ≥55 / Rajya Sabha ≥25 members; recognised group: Lok Sabha ≥30 / Rajya Sabha ≥15.

Sessions: Summoning, Prorogation, Dissolution & Quorum

Summoning, ending a sitting, ending a session, and ending the House itself are four different legal acts — mixing them up is a classic trap.

Summoning and the six-month rule (Article 85)

• The President summons each House from time to time. Six months shall not intervene between the last sitting of one session and the first sitting of the next — Parliament must meet at least twice a year. There is no constitutional minimum number of sitting days.

• Usual three sessions (convention, not a constitutional mandate): Budget (Feb–May), Monsoon (Jul–Sep), Winter (Nov–Dec). A session runs from the first sitting to prorogation (or dissolution for Lok Sabha). The gap after prorogation until reassembly is the recess.

What lapses on dissolution of the Lok Sabha

• Lapses: a bill pending in the Lok Sabha; a bill passed by the Lok Sabha but pending in the Rajya Sabha.

• Does NOT lapse: a bill pending in the Rajya Sabha but not yet passed by the Lok Sabha; a bill passed by both Houses pending Presidential assent; a bill returned by the President for reconsideration; a bill on which the President has already notified a joint sitting before dissolution.

• Pending assurances before the Committee on Government Assurances (which tracks promises ministers make on the floor) also do not lapse.

Quorum, voting, language, ministers' rights

• Quorum (Article 100): one-tenth of total membership including the presiding officer — about 55 in the Lok Sabha and 25 in the Rajya Sabha. Without quorum the Chair must adjourn or suspend.

• Ordinary rule: majority of members present and voting, excluding the Chair. Chair has casting vote only. Proceedings remain valid despite vacancies or unauthorised participation.

• Floor languages: Hindi and English; mother tongue with the Chair's permission. Languages in the Eighth Schedule (the Constitution's list of recognised languages) get simultaneous interpretation. The Official Languages Act 1963 kept English as a floor language beyond 1965.

• Article 88: every minister and the Attorney General of India (the Union's top law officer) may speak and take part in either House, any joint sitting, and any committee of which they are a member — but not vote. So a Lok Sabha minister can speak in the Rajya Sabha, and a non-member minister (allowed for up to six months under Article 75) can speak in both.

• Lame-duck session: last session of the old Lok Sabha after a new one has been elected but before it is constituted. Historically used to pass a Vote on Account — advance authorisation to spend for part of the financial year before the full Budget/Appropriation Act is ready.

Types of Majority & Devices of Parliamentary Proceedings

Which majority, which motion, which colour of question paper — this is where Prelims harvests marks every year.

Four types of majority

• Simple (ordinary): majority of members present and voting. Default under Article 100. Used for ordinary/money/financial bills, adjournment / no-confidence / confidence / censure / Motion of Thanks, election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, approval of President's Rule and financial emergency, Lok Sabha resolution discontinuing national emergency, and Lok Sabha's agreement to remove the Vice-President.

• Effective: majority of all the then members (vacancies excluded). Example: if Lok Sabha has 543 seats and 15 are vacant, effective majority needs more than half of 528. Used to remove Speaker and Deputy Speaker (Article 94), Deputy Chairman (Article 90), and to initiate Vice-President's removal in the Rajya Sabha (Article 67).

• Absolute: majority of total membership ignoring vacancies — not a standalone constitutional requirement, but a component of some special majorities (Lok Sabha absolute ≈ 272 of 543).

• Special-I: majority of total membership of each House and two-thirds of those present and voting — Article 368 amendments; removal of Supreme Court / High Court judges, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG — audits Union and state accounts), the Chief Election Commissioner, and a State Election Commissioner; approval of national emergency.

• Special-II: two-thirds of total membership of each House — Presidential impeachment (Article 61).

• Special-III (Rajya Sabha only): two-thirds of members present and voting — Article 249 (Parliament may temporarily legislate on a matter in the State List — the Seventh Schedule list of subjects normally for states, e.g. police, public health — if Rajya Sabha declares it necessary in the national interest) and Article 312 (creation of new All-India Services common to Centre and states, like the IAS/IPS pattern).

Devices — Question Hour to No-Confidence

• Question Hour: first hour of every sitting. Starred (marked with an asterisk; oral answer; supplementary follow-up questions allowed — list printed green); unstarred (written answer only; no supplementaries — white); short notice (notice of less than 10 days; oral — light pink); questions to private members (yellow). This starred/unstarred distinction was tested in Prelims 2026.

• Zero Hour: Indian innovation since 1962; not in the Rules of Procedure. Gap between Question Hour and the day's listed agenda for raising urgent matters without prior notice in the formal sense.

• Calling Attention: also an Indian innovation (since 1954) but is in the Rules — a member calls a minister's attention to an urgent public matter and seeks an authoritative statement.

• Adjournment Motion: draws the House to a definite matter of urgent public importance; needs support of 50 members to be admitted; involves an element of censure — Rajya Sabha cannot use it; discussion must last at least 2 hours 30 minutes.

• No-Confidence Motion (Article 75): against the entire council of ministers only; needs 50 members to admit; if passed, the council must resign. Censure Motion: must state reasons; may target one minister, a group, or the whole council; passage does not by itself force resignation.

• Motion of Thanks: debate on the President's address to Parliament (first session after a general election and first session of each year — Article 87). Defeat of the motion = defeat of the government.

• Privilege Motion: censures a minister for breach of parliamentary privilege (e.g. withholding or distorting facts before the House).

• Closure motions cut debate short: simple closure ("sufficiently discussed — put to vote"); closure by compartments (vote part by part); kangaroo (only important clauses debated); guillotine (undiscussed clauses also put to vote when time is up). A Point of Order challenges a breach of procedure and suspends proceedings; no debate is allowed on it.

Rajya Sabha's Position, Privileges & Why UPSC Asks This

Close with the federal chamber's real weight and the privileges that make speech in the House free.

Position of the Rajya Sabha — three angles

• Equal with Lok Sabha: ordinary bills; constitutional amendment bills; financial bills involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India; election and impeachment of the President; election of the Vice-President; recommending removal of Supreme Court / High Court judges, the Chief Election Commissioner and the Comptroller and Auditor General; approving ordinances and all three emergencies; selecting ministers (who remain collectively responsible only to the Lok Sabha); considering reports of constitutional bodies; enlarging Supreme Court / UPSC jurisdiction.

• Unequal (Lok Sabha stronger): Money Bills (introduce only in Lok Sabha; Rajya Sabha has 14 days to return with recommendations it cannot force; Speaker's certificate is final); certain financial bills under Article 110's exclusive matters introduce only in Lok Sabha; Speaker chairs joint sittings; Rajya Sabha can discuss but not vote Demands for Grants (ministry-wise spending proposals that become "grants" once the Lok Sabha votes them); only Lok Sabha can pass a resolution discontinuing national emergency; only Lok Sabha can remove the council by no-confidence.

• Special powers of Rajya Sabha alone: authorise Parliament to legislate on a State List subject (Article 249); authorise creation of new All-India Services (Article 312); initiate removal of the Vice-President (Article 67 — Rajya Sabha passes by effective majority, Lok Sabha agrees by simple majority); keep an emergency proclamation alive by its approval alone if the Lok Sabha is dissolved or dissolves within the approval window.

• Utility: revises hasty Lok Sabha legislation; seats eminent professionals via nomination; protects federal balance. Weaker than the US Senate, stronger than the British House of Lords on most non-money matters.

Parliamentary privileges (Article 105)

• Special rights, immunities and exemptions of the Houses, their committees and members — also extended to ministers and the Attorney General when they speak under Article 88. They do not extend to the President.

• Collective: publish (and prohibit others from publishing) debates — the 44th Amendment, 1978 restored press freedom to publish true reports of proceedings (not secret sittings); exclude strangers; make own procedure rules; punish breach of privilege or contempt; be informed of a member's arrest; inquire and summon witnesses; courts barred from inquiring into House proceedings; no arrest/legal process inside the precincts without the Chair's permission.

• Individual: freedom of speech in Parliament — no court liability for anything said or any vote given (Article 105(2)); freedom from arrest in civil cases during the session and 40 days before and after (not for criminal cases or preventive detention); exemption from jury service while the House sits.

• Codification gap: Article 105(3) says privileges shall be as defined by Parliament by law, and until then as they were immediately before the 44th Amendment. Parliament has not comprehensively defined them by statute — a recurring Mains theme.

Why this matters for UPSC

• Prelims: Speaker after dissolution + removal majority + 14-day notice (2025); starred vs unstarred (2026); composition maxima vs current strength; Anglo-Indian end-date; six-month session gap; quorum; which bills lapse; Rajya Sabha special powers under Articles 249/312/67.

• Mains: "Once a Speaker, always a Speaker?" and impartiality; Article 105 privileges without codification; Rajya Sabha as a federal second chamber versus a revising chamber.

• What comes next (Parliament II): how a bill becomes an Act, the Article 110 Money Bill list, joint sittings in practice, the Budget cycle, cut motions, and the financial committees — each term flagged here is taught in full there.

Further Reading

• Standard NCERT-level texts and reference books on the Indian Constitution and Polity (any UPSC reading list).

• The Constitution of India (Bare Act) — Articles 79 to 105 for exact wording on organisation, duration, membership, officers, sessions, quorum and privileges.

Test Yourself: Practice Questions & PYQs

High-yield Parliament I bank — composition, Speaker, sessions, devices, Rajya Sabha position and privileges. Work the practice set first, then the real PYQs (2006–2025). Expand every answer.

Practice Questions

Q1. The Parliament of India consists of:

• (a) President, Vice-President, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

• (b) President, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

• (c) Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha only

• (d) Council of Ministers, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

Q2. The maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha fixed by the Constitution is:

• (a) 552

• (b) 238

• (c) 245

• (d) 250

Q3. Special representation of the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha by Presidential nomination:

• (a) Was abolished by the 61st Amendment

• (b) Continues under Article 331 without time limit

• (c) Was last extended by the 104th Amendment until 2030

• (d) Ceased to have effect on 25 January 2020 after the 104th Amendment did not extend it further

Q4. Allocation of Lok Sabha seats among states is currently frozen with reference to which census, until after 2026?

• (a) 1951

• (b) 1971

• (c) 1991

• (d) 2001

Q5. Disqualification under the Tenth Schedule is decided by:

• (a) The Supreme Court in the first instance

• (b) The Speaker (Lok Sabha) or Chairman (Rajya Sabha), subject to judicial review

• (c) The Election Commission alone

• (d) The President on the advice of the Election Commission

Q6. Quorum to constitute a sitting of either House of Parliament is:

• (a) One-third of total membership

• (b) Fifty members in each House

• (c) One-half of total membership

• (d) One-tenth of total membership

Q7. Adjournment of a House is done by the ______; prorogation is done by the ______.

• (a) Speaker/Chairman; Speaker/Chairman

• (b) Prime Minister; President

• (c) President; Speaker/Chairman

• (d) Speaker/Chairman; President

Q8. Which of the following correctly distinguishes a starred question from an unstarred question?

• (a) Starred needs written answer; unstarred needs oral answer

• (b) Starred needs oral answer and allows supplementaries; unstarred needs written answer and does not allow supplementaries

• (c) Unstarred is printed in green and starred in white

• (d) Both need oral answers; only starred allows a short-notice variant

Q9. Removal of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha requires:

• (a) Two-thirds of total membership of the House

• (b) Effective majority — majority of all the then members — after 14 days' notice

• (c) Simple majority of members present and voting

• (d) Two-thirds of members present and voting

Q10. Parliamentary privileges under Article 105:

• (a) Have been exhaustively defined by a single Parliamentary statute

• (b) Include freedom of speech in Parliament and immunity from court proceedings for votes and speeches there

• (c) Extend to the President as an integral part of Parliament

• (d) Include freedom from arrest in criminal cases during the session

Q11. Zero Hour in the Indian Parliament:

• (a) Can be used only in the Rajya Sabha

• (b) Is the first hour of every sitting and is mentioned in the Rules of Procedure

• (c) Is an Indian innovation since 1962, not mentioned in the Rules, between Question Hour and the day's agenda

• (d) Requires a formal motion and a vote

Q12. Which of the following is a special power of the Rajya Sabha alone?

• (a) Voting on Demands for Grants

• (b) Passing a no-confidence motion

• (c) Authorising Parliament to make a law on a State List subject under Article 249

• (d) Introducing a Money Bill

UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Ten verified Prelims questions. Pattern to notice: Speaker tenure/removal (2025), bill-lapse rules (2016 and again 2024), Rajya Sabha vs Lok Sabha position (2015, 2006, 2022), sessions under Article 85 (2020), Leader of the Opposition (2018), and oversight devices (2017).

Q13. Consider the following statements: (1) On the dissolution of the House of the People, the Speaker shall not vacate his/her office until immediately before the first meeting of the House of the People after the dissolution. (2) According to the provisions of the Constitution of India, a Member of the House of the People on being elected as Speaker shall resign from his/her political party immediately. (3) The Speaker of the House of the People may be removed from his/her office by a resolution of the House passed by a majority of all the then Members of the House, provided that no resolution shall be moved unless at least fourteen days' notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution. Which of the statements given above are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2025)

• (a) 2 and 3 only

• (b) 1 and 2 only

• (c) 1, 2 and 3

• (d) 1 and 3 only

Q14. Consider the following statements: (1) The Rajya Sabha has no power either to reject or to amend a Money Bill. (2) The Rajya Sabha cannot vote on the Demands for Grants. (3) The Rajya Sabha cannot discuss the Annual Financial Statement. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2015)

• (a) 1, 2 and 3

• (b) 1 and 2 only

• (c) 1 only

• (d) 2 and 3 only

Q15. Which of the following statements is/are correct? (1) A Bill pending in the Lok Sabha lapses on its prorogation. (2) A Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha, which has not been passed by the Lok Sabha, shall not lapse on dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Select the correct answer using the code given below. (UPSC Prelims 2016)

• (a) Both 1 and 2

• (b) 1 only

• (c) Neither 1 nor 2

• (d) 2 only

Q16. With reference to the Indian Parliament, consider the following statements: (1) A bill pending in the Lok Sabha lapses on its dissolution. (2) A bill passed by the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha lapses on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. (3) A bill in regard to which the President of India notified his/her intention to summon the Houses to a joint sitting lapses on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2024)

• (a) 2 and 3 only

• (b) 1 only

• (c) 3 only

• (d) 1 and 2 only

Q17. The Parliament of India exercises control over the functions of the Council of Ministers through (1) Adjournment motion (2) Question Hour (3) Supplementary questions. Select the correct answer using the code given below: (UPSC Prelims 2017)

• (a) 1 and 3 only

• (b) 1, 2 and 3

• (c) 2 and 3 only

• (d) 1 only

Q18. Consider the following statements: (1) In the first Lok Sabha, the single largest party in the opposition was the Swatantra Party. (2) In the Lok Sabha, a 'Leader of the Opposition' was recognised for the first time in 1969. (3) In the Lok Sabha, if a party does not have a minimum of 75 members, its leader cannot be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2018)

• (a) 1 and 3 only

• (b) 1, 2 and 3

• (c) 2 only

• (d) 2 and 3 only

Q19. Consider the following statements: (1) The President of India can summon a session of Parliament at such place as he/she thinks fit. (2) The Constitution of India provides for three sessions of Parliament in a year, but it is not mandatory to conduct all three sessions. (3) There is no minimum number of days that Parliament is required to meet in a year. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2020)

• (a) 2 only

• (b) 2 and 3 only

• (c) 1 and 3 only

• (d) 1 only

Q20. Rajya Sabha has equal powers with Lok Sabha in: (UPSC Prelims PYQ)

• (a) the removal of the government

• (b) amending the Constitution

• (c) making cut motions

• (d) the matter of creating new All India Services

Q21. Which of the following is/are the exclusive power(s) of Lok Sabha? (1) To ratify the declaration of Emergency (2) To pass a motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers (3) To impeach the President of India Select the correct answer using the code given below: (UPSC Prelims 2022)

• (a) 2 only

• (b) 3 only

• (c) 1 and 3 only

• (d) 1 and 2 only

Q22. Consider the following statements: (1) The Rajya Sabha alone has the power to declare that it is necessary in the national interest for Parliament to legislate with respect to a matter in the State List. (2) Resolutions approving the Proclamation of Emergency are passed only by the Lok Sabha. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2006)

• (a) 2 only

• (b) Both 1 and 2

• (c) Neither 1 nor 2

• (d) 1 only

Mains Practice Questions

Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover.

• Discuss the constitutional position of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha with special reference to tenure after dissolution, removal, and impartiality. (UPSC theme; Prelims 2025 tested the first two)

• Compare the powers of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. In which respects is the Rajya Sabha equal, unequal, or specially empowered?

• 'Parliamentary privileges are essential but remain largely uncodified.' Examine Article 105 and the case for statutory definition. (UPSC Mains theme)

• Distinguish adjournment, prorogation and dissolution. What happens to pending bills in each case?

• Explain the devices of parliamentary proceedings — Question Hour, Zero Hour, Calling Attention, Adjournment Motion and No-Confidence — and their utility for legislative oversight.