Council of States, House of People, Fundamental Rights, Reasonable Restrictions

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Council of States

  • Elected members: 238 from state and union territories
    • Allocation of seats given in the 4th schedule
  • Nominated members: 12
    • From field of Literature, science, art and social service
  • Elected members of the states to be elected by respective Legislative Assembly by proportional representation by means of single transferrable vote
Illustration: Council of States
  • Representatives of UTs to be chosen as Parliament may by law prescribe
  • 1⟋3 members retire every 2 years
  • At least 30 years of age
  • Deputy Chairman can resign by addressing to the Chairman

Most ₹ seats: UP, Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka

States with only one ₹ seat: Arunachal, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura

States with least ₹ seats: Above Uttaranchal, Haryana

UTs: Delhi-3, Puducherry-1, Rest-zero

House of People

  • 530 members from states by direct elections
  • 20 from UTs chosen in a manner prescribed by the Parliament
  • 2 nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian community if it is not represented
  • Ratio of LS seats allocated to a state and its population should be same across states
    • This may not be followed if the population of the state is less than 6 million
  • Population kept as frozen till the census taken after 2026
    • For LS constituency allotment to states: 1971 census data used
    • For defining boundaries of constituencies: 2001 census data used
  • At least 25 years of age
  • Speaker can resign by addressing to the Dy Speaker. The latter can resign by addressing to the Speaker
  • When LS is dissolved, the Speaker shall not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the LS after its dissolution
  • Whenever the Deputy Speaker is appointed as a member of a parliamentary committee, he automatically becomes its chairman

Most LS seats: UP, Maharashtra, Bihar

States with one LS seat: Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim

Least LS seats: Above Manipur, Meghalaya, Goa, Tripura, Uttaranchal

UTs: Delhi-7, Puducherry-2, Rest -1

Reserved for SC: UP – 17, WB - 10

Reserved for ST: MP – 6, Jharkhand, Orissa – 5, CG, Gujarat, Maharashtra – 4

Fundamental Rights

  • Discrimination not on grounds only of:
    • Art 15: religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth
    • Art 16: religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence
  • Reservation:
    • First Backward Classes Commission: 1953, Kaka Kalelkar
    • Second BCC: 1979, B P Mandal (by Morarji Desai govt)
    • Article 340
      Illustration: Fundamental Rights
  • Reasonable Restrictions
    • Speech and Expression: sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, contempt of court, defamation and incitement to an offence
    • Assembly: sovereignty and integrity of India and public order
    • Association: sovereignty and integrity of India, public order and morality
    • Movement: interest of general public and the protection of interests of any scheduled tribe
    • Residence: interest of general public and the protection of interests of any scheduled tribe
    • Profession: in the interest of the general public
  • Protection against self-incrimination does not extend to civil proceedings
  • Protection provided under normal detention in Art 22 not covers arrest under the orders of a court, civil arrest, arrest on failure to pay the income tax and deportation of an alien

The president doesn՚t sit in Parliament. Why is he still consider an integral part of it?

  • Because a bill passed by the Parliament cannot become a law unless it receives President՚s assent
  • He also performs certain functions relating to the parliament eg, summoning and proroguing the sessions, issuing ordinances, addressing both the houses

What does Rajya Sabha consist of?

  • Representative of states
    • By elected members of state legislative assemblies
  • Representatives of Union Territories
    • By members of an electoral college constituted specially for this purpose
  • Nominated members
    • From field of Art, Science, literature and social service.

But, why have nominated members?

  • To provide eminent persons a place in the ₹ without going through the process of election

Why was proportional representation not adopted for election to LS?

  • Difficulty for the voters to understand the system due to low literacy rate in the country
  • Unsuitability to the parliamentary government due to the tendency of the system to multiply political parties leading to instability in government

Disqualification of an MP

  • Disqualification conditions mentioned in the constitution
    • Decided by the President on the advice of the EC
  • Disqualification on the ground of defection 10th Schedule
    • Decided by the Speaker⟋Chairman. Open to judicial review

In what cases does a MP vacate his seat?

  • Disqualification
  • Resignation
  • Absence
  • Double Membership
  • Some other cases