INTERPRETATION OF STATUTES ASSIGNMENT

Law Making
Process

Submitted to: Dr. Qazi Usman

Submitted by: Tanisha

IIIrd Year (Regular)

B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)

Faculty of Law

Jamia Millia Islamia

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I profusely thank Dr. Qazi Usman for his constant guidance and encouragement. His
democratic ways have helped me in my professional growth. I am indebted to him for his
valuable suggestions and guidance.
CONTENTS

 INTRODUCTION
 BILL FORMAT
 TYPES OF BILLS
 INITIATION OF LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS
 DRAFTING OF BILLS
 STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS
 HOW A BILL BECOMES AN ACT
- FIRST STATEMENT
- PUBLICATION IN GAZETTE
- SECOND READING
- BILL BEFORE THE SELECT/JOINT COMMITTEE
- CIRCULATION OF BILL FOR ELICITING OPINION
- CLAUSE-BY-CLAUSE CONSIDERATION
- THIRD READING
- CONSTITUTION AMENDING BILLS
- BILLS ORIGINATING IN THE OTHER HOUSE AND TRANSMITTED TO THE
COUNCIL
- CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL AT A JOINT SITTING OF BOTH HOUSES
- ASSENT OF THE PRESIDENT
 MONEY BILLS AND FINANCIAL BILLS
- MONEY BILLS
- FINANCIAL BILLS – CATEGORY – I
- FINANCIAL BILLS – CATEGORY – II
INTRODUCTION

An important function of Parliament is to make laws. According to the most generally accepted
definition, a ‘law’ is an imperative direction embodied in a Bill which has been debated and
passed by a duly constituted legislature or Parliament in the prescribed manner and assented to
by the Head of the State, and is binding on every citizen, and which the courts charged with
the duty of ensuring respect for law are bound to enforce. The term ‘law’ includes any
ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage having the force of
law. All legislative proposals are brought before Parliament in the form of Bills. A Bill is a
statute in draft, and no Bill, whether it is introduced by the Government or by a Private Member,
can become law until it has received the approval of both the Houses of Parliament and assent
of the President. When a Bill is passed by Parliament and assented to by the Head of the State,
it becomes law. Mechanism of Law-making in a welfare State, laws are designed to bring about
an orderly society to mitigate public hardships as far as possible, to curb social, political and
economic evils, and to smoothen the way to securing justice. Formulation of a legislative
proposal requires a comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter of legislation, a mastery of
language, an accurate and precise conception of the objects desired to be embodied in the law
and the skill to express those objects in unambiguous phrases. Legislation involves the
collaboration and agreement of experts and laymen both. Framing of legislation requires great
skill on the part of those who are connected with initiating and drafting of laws. It also requires
acumen on the part of the legislators who should have the vision and the capacity to go beyond
the written words so as to ensure that the proposed law is conducive to the progress of society,
is free from any tyrannical bias, is easily understandable by men of ordinary intelligence, and
has no loose ends or loopholes for mischief.

BILL FORMAT

A Bill has to begin with a short title, a long title, the preamble, wherever necessary and an
enacting formula. It also specifies the extent of applicability and in certain cases the date on
which it will come into force. If a date is not indicated, it means that the provision of the Bill
will come into force in accordance with the provision of section 5 of the General Clauses Act,
1897 i.e. on the date on which it receives the assent. In some cases, the Bill may provide that
the law will come into force on such date as may be specified by the Government by a
notification in the Official Gazette. Some Bills contain definition clause which is intended to
avoid ambiguities and tedious repetitions. The Bills also contain the operative section or
sections, exceptions and exemptions, procedural provisions, overriding effect of Act and rules,
penal clauses, power to delegate functions, removal of doubts, power to issue directions and
saving clauses.

A Bill is divided into self-contained paragraphs known as clauses, each containing a feature of
the proposals embodied in the Bill. A clause may be divided into sub-clauses and a sub-clause
may be further divided into parts. The clauses are numbered serially 1, 2, 3, etc., the sub-clauses
(1), (2), (3), etc., and the parts (i), (ii), (iii), etc. or (a), (b), (c), etc. Where necessary a Bill may
also have Schedules. As a rule, matters of details, like lists, tables etc., are appended to
Schedules. If a Bill is long, it is divided into chapters. Each chapter, clause and schedule is
given a brief heading. A Bill embodying new proposal, ideas or policies and having more than
25 clauses also contains a list of clauses in the form of an ‘Arrangement of Clauses’ which is
in the nature of contents of the Bill. Certain Bills contain ‘Notes on Clauses’ after the Statement
of Objects and Reasons which explain the object of each clause of the Bill. The amending Bills
also contain extracts of relevant provisions of the Constitution or the principal Act, as the case
may be, in the form of an Annexure. In India the enacting formula of a Bill is — ‘Be it enacted
by Parliament in the .... Year of the Republic of India’. This means that Parliament which
consists of the President and the two Houses together, enacts laws for the country.

TYPES OF BILLS

Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, a Bill may originate in either House of Parliament.
Bills may be classified into Government Bills and Private Members’ Bills accordingly as they
are sponsored by a Minister or a private member. Depending upon their contents, the Bill may
be of the following types:

(a) Original Bills or Bills embodying new proposals, ideas or policies;

(b) Amending Bills or Bills which seek to modify, amend or revise the existing laws;
(c) Consolidating Bills or Bills which seek to consolidate the existing law on a particular
subject;
(d) Expiring Laws (Continuance) Bills or Bills to continue an expiring Act;
(e) Repealing Bills or Bills seeking to repeal existing Acts;
(f) Bills to replace Ordinances; and
 (g) Constitution (Amendment) Bills. Money Bills on Taxation and Appropriation and
Financial Bills because of their special features are treated separately from other Bills.

INITIATION OF LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS

Government legislative proposals are initiated by the Cabinet or a Minister of a Ministry.

Proposals involving major policies of Government are initiated to implement the electoral
promises on the basis of which the party was returned to power. Proposals of minor or
secondary importance may be initiated by a Minister or his Ministry as a result of the
experience of the working of the existing laws. In all cases, however, as soon as a legislative
proposal has been thought of, the concerned Ministry works out its implications, viz.—
political, administrative, financial, economic or social. If other Ministries of the Government
or State Government are in any way concerned, their advice is taken into account. The opinion
of experts, wherever necessary, is also obtained. The legal or constitutional aspects of the
problem are examined in consultation with the Ministry of Law or the Attorney-General. After
the proposal has been thoroughly examined from all points of view and those concerned with
it have been consulted, a self-contained Memorandum is prepared, which after being cleared
by the Ministry of Law is submitted to the Cabinet for approval. The Cabinet confines its
discussion to the broad aspects of policy underlying the proposal and gives its decision. If the
proposal is important, the Cabinet may ask one of its Standing Committees, or an ad-hoc
Committee, to go into it in greater detail, and it may also require that after it has given approval
to the principle or policy underlying the proposal, the draft of the actual Bill should be
submitted to it for detailed scrutiny.

DRAFTING OF BILLS

After the Cabinet has approved the proposal, the administrative Ministry forwards the papers
to the Draftsman in the Ministry of Law for putting it into the shape of a Bill. The Draftsman’s
job is very exacting and he has to be specially trained and experienced in this art. He must
possess a wide and intimate knowledge not only of the Indian Statute Book, but also of the
machinery, of technical expressions used in different branches of Government activity and of
their exact connotation. He must have an overall picture of the working of the Government,
judicial decisions and the problems of the country. The words and phrases that he chooses for
a particular provision of the Bill should convey the intention clearly, without any ambiguity
whatsoever. He is not only concerned with the form of the Bill and its wording; he should also
see to it that it is simple, effective and easily understood by men of average ability. The
principal officers of the executive Ministry concerned with the measure should give him the
assistance and co-operation, make available to him all the relevant papers and documents
connected with the proposal and also supplement the information by oral discussions with him,
so that the draft Bill is as near perfection as possible. The Bill, as drafted, is examined in detail
by the administrative Ministry. Sometimes, a Bill has to be drafted several times before it can
meet all the criticism and satisfy the various experts connected with the matter. The Bill, if
important, may also be scrutinised in detail by the Cabinet or by one of its Committees.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

After the Bill has passed through all these various channels and has been finally agreed to by
the Draftsman, experts, the Minister and the Cabinet, it is referred to the administrative
Ministry for preparation of a ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’, briefly explaining the
purpose of the proposed legislation. The statement is explanatory of the contents and objects
of a Bill and helps in understanding the necessity and scope of the Bill. It should be framed in
nontechnical language and should not be unduly long. In some cases, Bills are also
accompanied by ‘Notes on Clauses’, a ‘Financial Memorandum’, a memorandum explaining
the proposals, if any, for delegation of legislative powers, and in the case of a Bill seeking to
replace an Ordinance with modifications, a memorandum explaining the changes made in the
Bill. If the Bill seeks to amend an existing law, extracts of the provisions which are sought to
be amended by the Bill are attached to the Bill as a separate Annexure. The Bill, after it is
complete in all respects together with the various Memoranda, Annexures, etc., is sent to the
Draftsman who after a final check sends it for printing. Two proof copies duly corrected and
attested by him are then sent by him to the Secretary-General of the House in which the Bill is
proposed to be introduced. After the proof copy of a Bill has been received from the Draftsman
by the Secretariat of the House in which it is proposed to be introduced, action is taken by that
Secretariat to give Bill number of the year, to have the lines on each page of the Bill numbered
as 5, 10, 15, etc. (to facilitate the moving and the consideration of amendments in the House)
and to have the requisite number of copies printed. Clauses or provisions in Bills involving
expenditure from Consolidated Fund of India are printed in thick type or in italics; but where
this requirement has not been fulfilled, the Chairman has power to permit the member-in-
charge of the Bill to bring such clauses to the notice of the House. The Bill is included in the
List of Business for the day on which the Minister proposes to introduce it. The requisite
recommendation of the President for consideration of the Bill under article 117(3) of the
Constitution, if received in time, is reproduced at the proof stage after the ‘Statement of Objects
and Reasons’ of the Bill. If the recommendation is received, after the Bill has been printed, it
is published in the Parliamentary Bulletin, if time permits.

HOW A BILL BECOMES AN ACT

The passage of a Bill in a House involves three readings.

FIRST READING

The legislative process starts with the introduction of the Bill in either House of Parliament—
the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha. Money Bills [i.e. Bills which contain only provisions for
the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of taxes, for appropriation of
moneys out of the Consolidated Fund and other matters referred to in clauses (a) to (f) of Article
110 of the Constitution] and Financial Bills containing provisions attracting Article 110 as well
as other matters can, however, be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. It is necessary to ask for
leave to introduce the Bill. If leave is granted by the House, the Bill is introduced. This
constitutes the First Reading of the Bill. Normally, the motion for introduction is not opposed,
but there have been occasions when motions for introduction of Government and Private
Members’ Bills have been opposed.10a If a motion for leave to introduce a Bill is opposed, the
Chairman may, if he thinks fit, allow a brief explanatory statement to be made by the Member
who opposes the motion and by the Member who moves it. Thereafter, without further debate,
the question is put to the vote of the House. A member can also oppose a Bill on the ground
that it initiates legislation on a matter which is outside the legislative competence of the House,
in which case the Chairman may permit a full discussion thereon.

PUBLICATION IN GAZETTE

After a Bill has been introduced, it is published in the Official Gazette as soon as possible. But
even before introduction, a Bill might, with the permission of the Chairman, be published in
the Gazette. In such cases, leave to introduce is not necessary and the Bill is straightway
introduced. With the introduction of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing
Committees, the Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha may be referred to these
Committees by Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha for
examination and report. Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha and Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha
have agreed to specify ordinarily a time-frame of three months for examination and report on
a Bill by a Committee.

SECOND READING

The Second Reading consists of consideration of the Bill which is in two stages. The first stage
consists of a discussion on the Bill as a whole when only the principles of the Bill and its
provisions are discussed in general. At this stage it is open to the House to refer a Bill to a
Select Committee of the House or a Joint Committee of the two Houses or to circulate it for
the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon or straightway take it into consideration.

BILL BEFORE THE SELECT/JOINT COMMITTEE

In the case of a Bill having been referred to a Select/ Joint Committee, the Committee considers
the Bill clauseby-clause just as the House does. Amendments can be moved to the various
clauses by members of the Committee. The Committee can also take evidence of associations,
public bodies or experts who are interested in the measures. After the Bill has thus been
considered, the Committee submits its report to the House which considers the Bill as reported
by the Committee.

CIRCULATION OF BILL FOR ELICITING OPINION

A Bill may be circulated for the purpose of eliciting public opinion thereon and the opinions
may be obtained through the agencies of the State Governments. Where a Bill has been
circulated for eliciting opinion and opinions have been received and laid on the Table of the
House, the next motion in regard to the Bill must be for its reference to a Select/Joint
Committee. It is not ordinarily permissible at this stage to move a motion for consideration of
the Bill, unless the Chairman allows it.

CLAUSE-BY-CLAUSE CONSIDERATION

The second stage of the Second Reading consists of clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill,
as introduced or as reported by Select/Joint Committee. Discussion takes place on each clause
of the Bill and amendments to clauses can be moved at this stage. If an amendment requires
previous sanction or recommendation of the President, the Member giving such an amendment
shall annex the same to his notice which shall not otherwise be valid. Each amendment and
each clause is put to the vote of the House. The amendment becomes part of the Bill if they are
accepted by a majority of the members present and voting. After the clauses, the schedules, if
any, the Enacting Formula, Long Title and Short Title of the Bill have been adopted by the
House, the Second Reading is deemed to be over.

THIRD READING

Thereafter, the Member-in-charge can move that the Bill (or the Bill, as amended) be passed.
This stage is known as the Third Reading of the Bill. At this stage debate is confined to
arguments either in support of the Bill or for its rejection, without referring to the details thereof
further than is absolutely necessary. Only formal, verbal or consequential amendments are
allowed at this stage. In passing an ordinary Bill, a simple majority of the Members present
and voting is sufficient.

CONSTITUTION AMENDING BILLS

In the case of a Bill to amend the Constitution, it can be introduced in either House of
Parliament and it has to be passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of the
House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Members present and voting. The
Constitution (Amendment) Bill, if it fails to obtain the requisite majority as per the provisions
of the article 368 in either House, is treated as not passed. The Constitution does not permit a
joint sitting in case of disagreement between the Houses on the Constitution Amendment Bills.

BILLS ORIGINATING IN THE OTHER HOUSE AND TRANSMITTED TO

THE COUNCIL

After a Bill is passed by the Lok Sabha, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha for concurrence with a
message to that effect and is, as soon as may be, laid on the Table. It goes through the same
stages in the Rajya Sabha — consideration and passing or return. In regard to Money Bills, the
Lok Sabha has got the exclusive power to legislate and the Rajya Sabha can only recommend
amendments therein and must return such a Bill to the Lok Sabha within fourteen days from
the date of its receipt. It is open to the Lok Sabha to accept or reject any or all the
recommendations of the Rajya Sabha with regard to a Money Bill. In the past, on three
occasions the recommendations made by the Rajya Sabha were accepted by the Lok Sabha. If
a Money Bill passed by Lok Sabha and transmitted to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations
is not returned to the Lok Sabha within the said period of fourteen days, it is deemed to have
been passed by both Houses at the expiration of the said period in the form in which it was
passed by the Lok Sabha.

CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL AT A JOINT SITTING OF BOTH HOUSES

If a Bill, other than a Money Bill and the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, passed by one House
is rejected by the other House, or the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to
be made in the Bill, or more than six months elapse from the date of receipt of the Bill by the
other House without the Bill being passed by it, the President may summon a Joint Sitting of
the two Houses to resolve the deadlock. The Bill is deemed to have been passed by both the
Houses in the form in which it is passed by a majority of the total number of members of both
the Houses present and voting in the Joint Sitting. There have been only three instances of Joint
Sittings of both the Houses so far. First Joint Sitting was held on May, 1961 at which the Dowry
Prohibition Bill, 1959 on which both Houses had finally disagreed as to the amendment to be
made in the Bill, was passed. The other was held in May, 1978, at which the Banking Service
Commission (Repeal) Bill, 1977, rejected by the Rajya Sabha, was passed. The third Joint
Sitting was held on 26 March, 2002 in which the Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002, rejected
by the Rajya Sabha was passed. At the first Joint Sitting, that is Joint Sitting of the Houses in
1961 on the Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1959, some of the amendments insisted upon by the Rajya
Sabha were adopted and were incorporated in the Bill as passed at the Joint Sitting.

ASSENT OF THE PRESIDENT

When a Bill is passed by both Houses, the Secretariat of the House, which is last in possession
of the Bill, obtains the assent of the President. In the case of a Money Bill or a Bill passed at a
Joint Sitting of the Houses, the Lok Sabha Secretariat obtains the assent of the President. The
Bill becomes an Act only after the President’s assent has been given thereto. As per article 111,
the President can give his assent or withhold his assent to a Bill. The President can also return
the Bill (except a Money Bill) with his recommendations to the Houses for reconsideration and
if the Houses pass the Bill again with or without amendment, the Bill has to be assented to by
the President. In the case of a Bill which seeks to amend any of the provisions of the
Constitution in terms of article 368 of the Constitution after it is passed by the Houses by
requisite special majority and ratified by the States where required by the proviso to clause (2)
of article 368 of the Constitution, the President has to accord his assent thereto.
MONEY BILLS AND FINANCIAL BILLS

MONEY BILLS

A Money Bill, as defined in article 110 of the Constitution, is a Bill which contains only
provisions dealing with all or any of the matter detailed in clause (1) thereof. The matters
detailed therein are as under:

a) the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;

b) the regulation of the borrowing of money or the giving of any guarantee by the
Government of India, or the amendment of the law with respect to any financial
obligations undertaken or to be undertaken by the Government of India;
c) the custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the Payment
of moneys into or the withdrawal of money from any such fund;
d) the appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India;
e) the declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund
of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure;
f) the receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the Public
Account of India or the custody or issue of such money or the audit of the accounts of
the union or of a State; or
g) any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub-clauses (a) to (f).

Clause (2) of article 110, however, makes it clear that a Bill shall not be deemed to be a Money
Bill by reason only that it provides for the imposition of fines or other pecuniary penalties or
for the demand or payment of fees for licences or fees for services rendered or by reason that
it provides for the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax by any
local authority or body for local purposes.

On the question, whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker is final. In
every case of a Money Bill, he endorses a certificate thereon signed by him to the effect that it
is a Money Bill before the Bill is sent to the Rajya Sabha or presented to the President for
assent. This certificate can be endorsed only by the Speaker so long as the office of the Speaker
is not vacant.

The procedure with regard to the Money Bills in the Rajya Sabha is the same as in the case of
other Bills transmitted by the Lok Sabha with difference that in case of other Bills the
amendments are adopted and, the last motion is that the Bill be passed, while in the case of
Money Bills the amendments are recomended and the last motion is, that the Bill be returned.
On the adoption of this motion, a Money Bill is returned to the Lok Sabha with the message
that the Rajya Sabha has no recommendations to make to the House in regard to the Bill or
with the message intimating to the House the amendments recommended, as the case may be.
The Lok Sabha under article 109 has the option to accept or reject all or any of the
recommendations of the Rajya Sabha. The Bill, however, has to be returned within a period of
fourteen days from the date of its receipt by the Rajya Sabha, otherwise it is deemed to have
been passed by both Houses at the expiration of the said period in the form in which it was
passed by the Lok Sabha.

In the case of a Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha, if there is any objection that the Bill is a
Money Bill and should not be proceeded within the Rajya Sabha, and the Chairman has any
doubt in regard to the validity of the objection, he shall refer the matter to the Speaker whose
decision on the question shall be final.

FINANCIAL BILLS — CATEGORY-I

A Bill falling under clause (1) of article 117 of the Constitution is called a Financial Bill. It is
a Bill which seeks to make provision for any of the matters specified in sub-clauses (a) to (f)
to clause (1) of article 110 as also other matters. It is, so to say, a Bill which has characteristics
both of a Money Bill and an ordinary Bill. As in the case of a Money Bill, firstly, it cannot be
introduced in the Rajya Sabha and secondly, it cannot be introduced except on the
recommendation of the President. Except these two points of difference, a Financial Bill in all
other respects is just like any other ordinary Bill.

FINANCIAL BILLS — CATEGORY-II

There are Bills of yet another class which are also Financial Bill under article 117(3). Such
Bills are more in the nature of ordinary Bills than the Money Bills and Financial Bills
mentioned earlier. The only points of difference between this category of Financial Bills and
the ordinary Bills is that a Financial Bill of this category, if enacted and brought into operation,
involves expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India and cannot be passed by either
House of Parliament unless the President has recommended to that House the consideration of
the Bill. In all other respects that category of Bills is just like ordinary Bills.