Powers and Functions of Parliament

Parliament exercises legislative, financial, executive-control, constituent and electoral functions. The legislative procedure differs sharply for Ordinary Bills (Arts.107, 108, 111) and Money Bills (Arts.109, 110), in which the Council of States has only a recommendatory role.

Parliament performs five broad classes of function: legislative, financial, control over the executive, constituent, and electoral. Its legislative competence is drawn from Arts.245 and 246 read with the Seventh Schedule, and the manner in which it legislates depends on how the Bill in question is classified.

Legal Framework

Provision	Subject	Key Rule
Art.107	Introduction and passing of Bills	An Ordinary Bill may originate in either House and must be agreed to by both
Art.108	Joint sitting	Where the Houses disagree, the President may summon a joint sitting; not available for Money Bills or Constitution Amendment Bills
Art.109	Special procedure for Money Bills	A Money Bill originates only in the House of the People; the Council of States may only recommend, within fourteen days
Art.110	Definition of a Money Bill	Exhaustive list of six matters plus incidental matters; the Speaker's certificate is conclusive
Art.111	Assent to Bills	The President may assent, withhold assent, or return a Bill other than a Money Bill for reconsideration once
Art.112	Annual Financial Statement	The Budget, laid before both Houses
Art.113	Demands for grants	Only the House of the People votes on demands; it may assent, refuse, or reduce
Art.114	Appropriation Bills	No money may be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except under an appropriation made by law
Art.117	Financial Bills	Bills involving expenditure or taxation require the President's recommendation
Art.123	Ordinance power	The President may promulgate Ordinances when Parliament is not in session
Art.266 and Art.267	Consolidated Fund and Contingency Fund	The two principal funds, with the Public Account

Legislative Function

An Ordinary Bill passes through three readings in each House: introduction with the first reading, general discussion and clause by clause consideration at the second reading, and the formal motion for passing at the third reading. Having been passed by one House, it goes to the other, and on being passed by both it is presented to the President under Art.111.

Deadlock and the joint sitting (Art.108): Where the second House rejects the Bill, or the Houses disagree on amendments, or the second House allows more than six months to pass without passing it, the President may summon both Houses to meet in a joint sitting. The Bill is then decided by a majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting. Because the House of the People is more than twice the size of the Council of States, the popular House effectively prevails. The Speaker presides. A joint sitting is not available for a Money Bill, since the Council of States has no power to reject one, nor for a Constitution Amendment Bill, which requires separate passage by each House by the special majority.

Money Bills

A Bill is a Money Bill if, and only if, it contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters (Art.110(1)):

Clause	Matter
(a)	Imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax
(b)	Regulation of the borrowing of money or the giving of any guarantee by the Government of India
(c)	Custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund, and payments into or withdrawals from them
(d)	Appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund
(e)	Declaring any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund, or increasing the amount of such expenditure
(f)	Receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund or the public account, and the custody or issue of such money, or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a State
(g)	Any matter incidental to any of the above

A Bill is not a Money Bill merely because it provides for the imposition of fines or other pecuniary penalties, or for fees for licences or services rendered, or because it deals with a tax imposed by a local authority for local purposes (Art.110(2)).

Why the classification matters so much: A Money Bill can originate only in the House of the People, and only on the President's recommendation. When transmitted, the Council of States must return it within fourteen days with its recommendations, which the House of the People may accept or reject entirely. If the Council does not return it in time, the Bill is deemed passed by both Houses. The President cannot withhold assent in practice, and no joint sitting is possible. The result is that classifying a Bill as a Money Bill removes the second chamber from the process almost entirely, which is why the question is so heavily litigated.

**Mohd. Saeed Siddiqui v State of Uttar Pradesh (2014)** Supreme Court of India

Facts: An amendment to a State Act extending the tenure of the State Lokayukta had been passed as a Money Bill in the State Legislature. It was challenged on the ground that it was not in truth a Money Bill and that the second chamber had been improperly bypassed.

Issue: Whether the Speaker's certification of a Bill as a Money Bill is open to judicial review.

Held: It is not. The certificate of the Speaker under Art.199(4), the State counterpart of Art.110(3), is final and conclusive. The proceedings could not be examined on the ground of an irregularity of procedure, which Art.212 places outside the courts' scrutiny.

Relevance: The high water mark of non-justiciability. Cite it for the proposition that the Speaker's certificate is conclusive, and then note that it has since been doubted.

**Rojer Mathew v South Indian Bank Ltd (2020)** Supreme Court of India

Facts: Part XIV of the Finance Act, 2017 restructured a large number of tribunals, altering qualifications and terms of service of members. The Finance Act had been passed as a Money Bill, and the tribunal provisions were challenged as having nothing to do with the matters in Art.110.

Issue: Whether provisions unconnected with the Art.110 matters can be enacted through a Money Bill, and whether the Speaker's certificate is beyond review.

Held: The Court struck down the delegation in the tribunal provisions and, on the Money Bill question, doubted the correctness of Mohd. Saeed Siddiqui and the reasoning of the majority in the Aadhaar decision. It referred the question of the scope of Art.110 and the reviewability of the Speaker's certificate to a larger Bench.

Relevance: The current state of the law. Cite it to show that the finality of the Speaker's certificate is unsettled and awaits authoritative resolution.

Financial Function

The financial year's proposals come before Parliament as the Annual Financial Statement under Art.112, popularly the Budget, which distinguishes expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund from other expenditure.

Stage	Provision	Effect
Annual Financial Statement	Art.112	Estimates of receipts and expenditure laid before both Houses
Charged expenditure	Art.112(3)	Not submitted to the vote of Parliament, though it may be discussed; includes the salaries of the President, Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, the Comptroller and Auditor-General, and debt charges
Demands for grants	Art.113	Voted only by the House of the People, which may assent, refuse assent, or reduce the amount
Appropriation Bill	Art.114	Authorises withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund; no amendment may vary the amount or destination of a grant
Supplementary and excess grants	Art.115	Where the authorised amount proves insufficient or is exceeded
Votes on account, credit, exceptional grants	Art.116	Interim and special authorisations

Why charged expenditure is placed beyond the vote: Salaries of judges, of the Comptroller and Auditor-General and of the President are charged on the Consolidated Fund so that the legislature cannot use the annual grant as a lever against them. It is a structural guarantee of independence, working in the same direction as the security of tenure provisions.

Control over the Executive, Constituent and Electoral Functions

Function	Instruments
Control over the executive	Question hour, half an hour discussion, calling attention motions, adjournment motion, censure motion, and the motion of no confidence, which lies only in the House of the People
Financial scrutiny	The Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings, aided by the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General
Constituent	Amendment of the Constitution under Art.368
Electoral	Participation in the election of the President (Art.54) and election of the Vice-President (Art.66)
Removal	Impeachment of the President (Art.61), address for removal of Judges (Art.124(4) and Art.217), and removal of the Comptroller and Auditor-General and the Chief Election Commissioner by the like procedure
Control over delegated legislation	Laying of Ordinances and rules, and the Committee on Subordinate Legislation

Illustrations

Deadlock resolved by joint sitting: An Ordinary Bill passed by the House of the People is rejected by the Council of States. The President summons a joint sitting under Art.108, at which the Bill is carried by a majority of members of both Houses present and voting. The Bill is deemed passed by both Houses.
No joint sitting for a Money Bill: A Money Bill is not returned by the Council of States within fourteen days. No joint sitting is needed or permitted; under Art.109(5) the Bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses at the end of that period.
Recommendations rejected: The Council of States returns a Money Bill with recommendations. The House of the People rejects all of them. The Bill is deemed passed by both Houses in the form originally passed by the House of the People (Art.109(3)).
Fees do not make a Money Bill: A Bill provides for a licence fee for a service rendered. Applying Art.110(2), the Bill is not a Money Bill on that account alone.
Speaker's certificate: A Bill containing provisions on judicial appointments is certified as a Money Bill. Applying Mohd. Saeed Siddiqui (2014) the certificate is conclusive, but applying Rojer Mathew (2020) the question is now referred to a larger Bench and the outcome is open.
Appropriation Bill not amendable as to amount: A member moves an amendment to an Appropriation Bill increasing a grant. The amendment is inadmissible, because Art.114(2) forbids amendments varying the amount or the destination of any grant.
Charged expenditure discussed but not voted: The salary of a Judge of the Supreme Court is placed in the Budget. Under Art.112(3) it may be discussed in either House but is not submitted to the vote of Parliament.

Recall Check

In what three situations may the President summon a joint sitting, and for which Bills is it unavailable?
State the six matters in Art.110(1) which alone can make a Bill a Money Bill.
Who presides over a joint sitting, and why does the House of the People effectively prevail?

Key Cases

Mohd. Saeed Siddiqui v State of Uttar Pradesh (2014) Mohd Saeed Siddiqui v State of UP 2014
Issue: Whether the Speaker's certification of a Bill as a Money Bill is justiciable.
Rule: The Speaker's certificate is final and conclusive, and an irregularity of procedure in the legislature is not open to judicial scrutiny.
Held: The certificate could not be questioned, and the challenge failed.

Rojer Mathew v South Indian Bank Ltd (2020) Rojer Mathew v South Indian Bank 2020
Issue: Whether tribunal reforms unconnected with Art.110 could be enacted through a Money Bill, and whether the Speaker's certificate is reviewable.
Rule: The scope of Art.110 is a question of constitutional interpretation and is not necessarily foreclosed by the Speaker's certificate.
Held: The tribunal provisions were struck down for excessive delegation, and the Money Bill question was referred to a larger Bench, Mohd. Saeed Siddiqui being doubted.

Distinctions

Basis	Ordinary Bill	Money Bill
House of origin	Either House	House of the People only
President's recommendation	Not needed to introduce	Needed to introduce (Art.117(1))
Power of the Council of States	May reject or amend	May only recommend, within fourteen days
Deemed passage	No such provision	Deemed passed if not returned in fourteen days
Joint sitting	Available under Art.108	Not available
Certification	None	Speaker's certificate under Art.110(3)
President's power to return	May return once for reconsideration	Cannot return

Basis	Money Bill (Art.110)	Financial Bill
Contents	Only the Art.110 matters and incidental matters	Art.110 matters together with other matters, or expenditure from the Consolidated Fund
Origin	House of the People only	Art.117(1) Bills in the House of the People; Art.117(3) Bills in either House
Role of the Council of States	Recommendatory only	Full powers, as with an Ordinary Bill
Speaker's certificate	Required	Not applicable
Every Money Bill is a Financial Bill	Yes	But not every Financial Bill is a Money Bill

Flashcards

In which House must a Money Bill originate?

Only in the House of the People, and only on the recommendation of the President.

How long does the Council of States have to return a Money Bill?

Fourteen days, failing which the Bill is deemed passed by both Houses.

For which two categories of Bill is a joint sitting unavailable?

Money Bills and Constitution Amendment Bills.

Who presides over a joint sitting of the two Houses?

The Speaker of the House of the People.

Does a Bill become a Money Bill because it imposes a fine or a licence fee?

No. Art.110(2) expressly excludes fines, pecuniary penalties, licence fees and fees for services rendered.

What is the effect of the Speaker's certificate under Art.110(3)?

It certifies the Bill as a Money Bill and is stated to be conclusive; Mohd. Saeed Siddiqui (2014) treated it as non-justiciable, but Rojer Mathew (2020) referred the question to a larger Bench.

What is expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund?

Expenditure which is not submitted to the vote of Parliament, though it may be discussed, including the salaries of the President, the Judges and the Comptroller and Auditor-General.

Can an Appropriation Bill be amended to increase a grant?

No. Art.114(2) forbids any amendment varying the amount or the destination of a grant.

In which House alone can a motion of no confidence be moved?

The House of the People, because the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to it (Art.75(3)).

Which three committees carry out Parliament's financial scrutiny?

The Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings.

Exam Scenario

Problem: A Bill is introduced in the House of the People containing three sets of provisions: a change in the rate of income tax, a restructuring of the qualifications and tenure of members of certain tribunals, and a licence fee for a new regulatory service. The Speaker certifies it as a Money Bill. The Council of States returns it after nineteen days with several recommendations, all of which the House of the People rejects. The President then returns the Bill for reconsideration. A petitioner challenges the certification and the entire procedure. Advise.

Step 1: Classify each set of provisions under Art.110(1)

Art.110 requires the Bill to contain only the enumerated matters, so a single provision outside them is fatal.

Provision	Position under Art.110
Change in the rate of income tax	Falls squarely within clause (a)
Licence fee for a new regulatory service	Expressly excluded from making a Bill a Money Bill by Art.110(2), though its mere presence may be defended as incidental
Restructuring of the qualifications and tenure of tribunal members	Answers none of the six clauses and is not incidental to any of them

On a plain reading the Bill is therefore not a Money Bill.

Step 2: Ask whether the court can say so

Argue in this order:

Mohd. Saeed Siddiqui v State of Uttar Pradesh (2014): the Speaker's certificate is conclusive, and Art.122 protects the proceedings from scrutiny for irregularity of procedure.
Rojer Mathew v South Indian Bank Ltd (2020): that position has been doubted and referred to a larger Bench.
The better view is that whether a Bill answers the constitutional definition is a question of constitutional interpretation rather than mere procedure.

The challenge is arguable, but the law is unsettled.

Step 3: Apply the fourteen day rule in Art.109(5)

The Council of States did not return the Bill within fourteen days. The Bill therefore stood deemed passed by both Houses at the expiry of that period.

Its recommendations on the nineteenth day were of no effect, and their rejection by the House of the People was unnecessary.

Step 4: Test the President's return under Art.111

The proviso to Art.111 permits the President to return a Bill for reconsideration only where it is not a Money Bill. Everything turns on the classification reached in Step 1.

Classification	Consequence
The Bill is a Money Bill	The return for reconsideration was incompetent
The Bill is not a Money Bill	The whole procedure under Art.109 was misconceived and the Bill was never validly passed, the Council of States having been denied its full powers

Traps in this problem

The word "only" in Art.110. The Article is not satisfied by a Bill that is mostly fiscal. The tribunal provisions are the weak point precisely because nothing outside the six clauses is admitted.

The licence fee cuts against the certification. Art.110(2) expressly says a fee for a service does not make a Bill a Money Bill, so it is not a provision that helps the Speaker.

Justiciability is unsettled. Mohd. Saeed Siddiqui says the certificate is conclusive, Rojer Mathew doubts that and refers it to a larger Bench. Present both.

The nineteen days change nothing on the merits. Once fourteen days passed the Bill was deemed passed, so the recommendations and their rejection are beside the point.

Art.111 and Art.110 are linked. The return is competent only for a Bill that is not a Money Bill, so a finding either way produces an unconstitutionality.

Conclusion. The tribunal provisions are the weak point, and the correct classification determines everything else. On the Rojer Mathew approach the petitioner has a real prospect of establishing that the Bill was wrongly certified.