LESSON 3261 Sun 2 Feb 2020
from
Dr B.R.Ambedkar thundered “Main Bharat Baudhmay karunga.” (I will make India Buddhist)
All Aboriginal Awakened Societies Thunder ” Hum Prapanch Prabuddha Bharatmay karunge.” (We will make world Prabuddha Prapanch)
THE
BUDDHA
AND
HIS DHAMMA
by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
BOOK FIVE: THE SANGH
Book Five, Part I—The Sangh
1. *The Sangh and its Organisation*
– 2. *Admission to the Sangh* — 3. *The
Bhikkhu and His Vows* — 4. *The Bhikkhu and
Ecclesiastical Offences* — 5. *The Bhikkhu
and Restraints* — 6. *The Bhikkhu and Good
Conduct Rules* — 7. *The Bhikkhu and the Trial
of Offences* — 8. *The Bhikkhu and Confession*
§ 1. The Sangh and its Organisation
1. The followers of the Blessed Lord were divided
into two classes: Bhikkhus, and Lay Followers called Upasakas.
2. The Bhikkhus were organised into a Sangh, while
the Upasakas were not.
3. The Buddhist Bhikkhu is primarily a Parivrajaka.
This institution of Parivrajaka is older than that of the Buddhist Bhikkhu.
4. The old Parivrajakas were persons who had abandoned
family life, and were a mere floating body of wanderers.
5. They roamed about with a view to ascertain the
truth by coming into contact with various teachers and philosophers, listening
to their discourses, entering into discussion on matters of ethics, philosophy,
nature, mysticism, etc.
6. Some of the old type of Parivrajakas lived under
a teacher until they found another. Others lived singly, without acknowledging
any master.
7. Among these older type of Parivrajakas there
were also women wanderers. The female Parivrajakas sometimes lived with
men Parivrajakas; sometimes they lived alone and by themselves.
8. These old type of Parivrajakas had no Sangh,
had no rules of discipline, and had no ideal to strive for.
9. It was for the first time that the Blessed Lord
organised his followers into a Sangh or fraternity, and gave them rules
of discipline, and set before them an ideal to pursue and realise.
1. The Sangh was open to all.
2. There was no bar of caste.
3. There was no bar of sex.
4. There was no bar of status.
5. Caste had no place in the Sangh.
6. Social status had no place in the Sangh.
7. Inside the Sangh all were equal.
8. Inside the Sangh, rank was regulated by worth
and not by birth.
9. As the Blessed Lord said, the Sangh was like
the ocean, and the Bhikkhus were like the rivers that fell into the ocean.
10. The river has its separate name and separate
existence.
11. But once the river entered the ocean, it lost
its separate name and separate existence.
12. It becomes one with the rest.
13. Same is the case with the Sangh. When a Bhikkhu
entered the Sangh, he became one with the rest, like the water of the ocean.
14. He lost his caste. He lost his status; so said
the Lord.
15. The only distinction observed inside the Sangh
was that of sex. The Bhikkhu Sangh was separate in its organisation from
the Bhikkhuni Sangh.
16. The entrants into the Sangh were divided into
two classes: Shramaneras and Bhikkhus.
17. Anyone below twenty could become a Shramanera.
18. By taking the trisaranas and by taking the ten
precepts, a boy becomes a Shramanera.
19. “I follow the Buddha; I follow the Dhamma; and
I follow the Sangh”—are the Trisaranas.
20. “I shall abstain from killing; I shall not commit
theft; I shall follow Brahmacharya; I shall not tell [an] untruth; I shall
abstain from drink.”
21. “I shall abstain from taking food at an untimely
hour; I shall abstain from indecent and immoral acts; I shall abstain from
ornamenting and decorating myself; I shall abstain from luxuries; I shall
abstain from the love of gold and silver.”
22. These are the ten precepts.
23. A Shramanera can leave the Sangh at any time
and become a layman. A Shramanera is attached [to a] Bhikkhu, and spends
his time in the service of the Bhikkhu. He is not a person who has taken
Parivraja.
24. The status of a Bhikkhu has to be reached in
two stages. The first stage is called Parivraja, and the second stage is
called Upasampada. It is after Upasampada that he becomes a Bhikkhu.
25. A candidate who wishes to take Parivraja, with
a view ultimately to become a Bhikkhu, has to seek a Bhikkhu who has the
right to act as an Uppadhya. A Bhikkhu can become an Uppadhya only after
he has spent at least ten years as a Bhikkhu.
26. Such a candidate, if accepted by the Uppadhya,
is called a Parivrajaka, and has to remain in the service and tutelage
of the Uppadhya.
27. After the period of tutelage ends, it is his
Uppadhya who has to propose the name of his student to a meeting of the
Sangh specially called for the purpose, for Upasampada; and the student
must request the Sangh for Upasampada.
28. The Sangh must be satisfied that he is a fit
and a proper person to be made a Bhikkhu. For this purpose, there is a
set of questions which the candidate has to answer.
29. Only when the Sangh grants permission, that
Upasampada is granted and the person becomes a Bhikkhu.
30. The rules regulating entry into the Bhikkhuni
Sangh are more or less the same as the rules regulating the entry into
the Bhikkhu Sangh.
1. A layman or a Shramanera takes precepts. His obligation
is to follow them.
2. A Bhikkhu, besides taking precepts, takes them
also as vows which he must not break. If he breaks them, he becomes liable
to punishment.
3. A Bhikkhu vows to remain celebate.
4. A Bhikkhu vows not to commit theft.
5. A Bhikkhu vows not to boast.
6. A Bhikkhu vows not to kill or take life.
7. A Bhikkhu vows not to own anything except what
the rules allow.
8. No Bhikkhu is to possess more than the following
eight articles:—
(1) Three pieces of cloth to cover his body:(i) [a] lower garment
called Antarvaska; (ii) [an] upper garment called Uttarasang; (iii) [a]
covering garment against cold called Sanghati.
(2) A girdle for the loins.
(3) An alms-bowl.
(4) A razor.
(5) A needle.
(6) A water-strainer.
9. A Bhikkhu takes the vow of poverty. He must beg for
his food. He must live on alms. He must sustain himself only on one meal
a day. Where there is no Vihar built for the Sangh, he must live under
a tree.
10. A Bhikkhu does not take a vow of obedience.
Outward respect and courtesy to his superiors is expected from the novice.
His own salvation and his usefulness as a teacher depend on his self-culture.
He is to obey not his superior, but the Dhamma. His superior has no supernatural
gift of wisdom or of absolution. He must stand or fall by himself. For
that he must have freedom of thought.
11. Any breach of a vow taken by a Bhikkhu results
in an offence of Parajika. The punishment for Parajika is expulsion from
the Sangh.
§ 4. The Bhikkhu and Ecclesiastical Offences
1. Any breach of the vows taken by a Bhikkhu is an
offence against the Dhamma.
2. In addition to these offences, there were certain
other offences to which he was also liable. They were called Sanghadisesa,
“ecclesiastical offences.”
3. The list of such offences included in the Vinaya
Pitaka are thirteen.
4. They are allied to the Parajika.
§ 5. The Bhikkhu and Restraints
1. Besides sailing [=steering] clear of offences,
a Bhikkhu must observe certain restrictions, and cannot be as free as others.
2. One set of such restrictions are called Nissagiya-pacittiya.
It contains 26 restrictions to be observed by the Bhikkhu.
3. They relate to accepting gifts of robes, woollen
mats, bowls, and medical requisites.
4. They also relate to the acceptance of gold and
silver, [and] engagement of a monk in buying and selling, and appropriation
of property given to the Sangh to himself.
5. The punishment for [a] breach of these restrictions
is restoration (nissagiya) and expression of repentance (pacittiya).
6. Besides these restrictions there are other restrictions
which a Bhikkhu has to observe. They are called pacittiya. They number
ninety-two.
§ 6. The Bhikkhu and Good Conduct Rules
1. A Bhikkhu must behave well. He should be a model
person in his mode and manner of behaviour.
2. In order to secure this purpose, the Blessed
Lord framed a number of Conduct Rules.
3. These Good Conduct Rules were called Sekhiya
Dhamma. They number seventy-five.
§ 7. The Bhikkhu and the Trial of Offences
1. The enactment of these acts and omissions were
[=was] not a mere formality. They were legal in substance, involving a
definite charge, trial, and punishment.
2. No Bhikkhu could be punished without a trial
by a regularly constituted Court.
3. The Court was to be constituted by the Bhikkhus
resident at the place where an offence had taken place.
4. No trial could take place without a proper number
of Bhikkhus required to constitute a Court.
5. No trial would be legal without a definite charge.
6. No trial could be legal if it did not take place
in the presence of the accused.
7. No trial could be legal if the accused had not
been given the fullest opportunity to defend himself.
8. The following punishments could be awarded against
a guilty Bhikkhu: (i) Tarjaniya Karma (warn and discharge); (ii) Niyasha
Karma (declaring insane); (iii) Pravrajniya Karma (expulsion from the Sangh);
(iv) Utskhepniya Karma (boycott); (v) Parivasa Karma (expulsion from Vihar).
9. Expulsion may be followed by abbana karma. Abbana
Karma means annulment of dismemberment [=expulsion]. It may be followed
after granting of pardon granted by the Sangh, after being satisfied with
the proper performance of Parivasa Karma.
§ 8. The Bhikkhu and Confession
by the Blessed Lord in connection with the organisation of the Bhikkhus
was the introduction of Confession, called uposath.
2. The Blessed Lord realized that it was possible
to enforce what he had laid down as offences. But he had laid down certain
restrictions which were not offences. He said that the restrictions were
most intimately connected with building up of character and maintaining
character; and that there was equal necessity to see that they were observed.
3. But the Lord could find no effective way of enforcing
them. He therefore thought of Confession in open [=public] as a means of
organising the Bhikkhu’s conscience and making it act as a sentinel to
guard him against taking a wrong or false step.
4. The Confession was confined to the transgressions
of restrictions (which were called Patimokha).
5. For a Confession there was to be a meeting of
the Bhikkhus of a given locality. There were to be three such meetings
in a fortnight, one each on chaturdashi, panchadasi, and ashatam; on that
day, the Bhikkhus may fast. That is why the day is also called uposath.
6. At the meeting a Bhikkhu reads the restrictions,
one by one, contained in the Patimokha. After reading a restriction, he
says to the assembled Bhikkhus, “I take it that none of you have transgressed
this Rule, that is why you are silent.” He says this three times. Then
[he] deals with the next restriction.
7. A similar Confessional meeting is required of
the Bhikhhuni Sangh.
8. On a Confession a charge and trial may follow.
9. On a failure to Confess, any Bhikkhu may report
a transgression, if he was a witness to it; and then a charge and trial
may follow.
The Constitution of India (Original Calligraphed and Illuminated Version)/Part 5/Chapter 2
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(c) if the President so requires, to submit for the
consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter on which a decision
has been taken by a Minister but which has not been considered by the
Council.
Chapter II.—Parliament
General
79. There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of
the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the Council of
States and the House of the People.
80. (1) The Council of States shall consist of—
(a) twelve members to be nominated by the President in accordance with the provisions of clause (3); and
(b) not more than two hundred and thirty-eight representatives of the States.
(2) The
allocation of seats in the Council of States to be filled by
representatives of the States shall be in accordance with the provisions
in that behalf contained in the Fourth Schedule.
(3) The members
to be nominated by the President under sub-clause (a) of clause (1)
shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical
experience in respect of such matters as the following, namely:—
Literature, science, art and social service.
(4) The
representatives of each State specified in Part A or Part B of the First
Schedule in the Council of States shall be elected by the elected
members of the Legislative Assembly of the State in accordance with the
system of proportional representation by means of the single
transferable vote.
(5) The
representatives of the States specified in Part C of the First Schedule
in the Council of States shall be chosen in such manner as Parliament
may by law prescribe.
81. (1) (a) Subject to the provisions of clause (2) and of articles 82
Constitution of Parliament.
Composition of the Council of States.
Composition of the House of the People.
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and 331, the House of the People shall consist of not more than five
hundred members directly elected by the voters in the States.
(b) For the purpose of sub-clause (a),
the States shall be divided, grouped or formed into territorial
constituencies and the number of members to be allotted to each such
constituency shall be so determined as to ensure that there shall be not
less than one member for every 750,000 of the population and not more
than one member for every 500,000 of the population.
(c) The
ratio between the number of members, allotted to each territorial
constituency and the population of that constituency as ascertained at
the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been
published shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the
territory of India.
(2) The
representation in the House of the People of the territories comprised
within the territory of India but not included within any State shall be
such as Parliament may by law provide.
(3) Upon
the completion of each census, the representation of the several
territorial constituencies in the House of the People shall be
readjusted by such authority, in such manner and with effect from such
date as Parliament may by law determine:
Provided
that such readjustment shall not affect representation in the House of
the People until the dissolution of the then existing House.
82. Notwithstanding anything in clause (1) of article 81,
Parliament may by law provide for the representation in the House of the
People of any State specified in Part C of the First Schedule or of any
territories comprised within the territory of India but not included
within any State on a basis or in a manner other than that provided in
that clause.
83. (1) The Council of States shall not be subject to
dissolution, but as nearly as possible one-third of the members thereof
shall retire as soon as may be on the expiration of every second year in
accordance with the provisions made in that behalf by Parliament by
law.
(2) The House of the People, unless sooner dissolved, shall
Special provision as to representation of States in Part C and territories other than States.
Duration of Houses of Parliament.
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continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting
and no longer and the expiration of the said period of five years shall
operate as a dissolution of the House:
Provided that the
said period may, while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, be
extended by Parliament by law for a period not exceeding one year at a
time and not extending in any case beyond a period of six months after
the Proclamation has ceased to operate.
84. A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in Parliament unless he—
(a) is a citizen of India;
(b) is, in the case of a seat in the Council of States, not
less than thirty years of age and, in the case of a seat in the House of
the People, not less than twenty-five years of age; and
(c) possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament.
85. (1) The Houses of Parliament shall be summoned to meet twice at
least in every year, and six months shall not intervene between their
last sitting in one session and the date appointed for their first
sitting in the next session.
(2) Subject to the provisions of clause (1), the President may from time to time—
(a) summon the Houses or either House to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit;
(b) prorogue the Houses;
(c) dissolve the House of the People.
86. (1) The President may address either House of Parliament or both
Houses assembled together, and for that purpose require the attendance
of members.
(2) The President
may send messages to either House of Parliament, whether with respect
to a Bill then pending in Parliament or otherwise, and a House to which
any message is so sent shall with all convenient despatch consider any
matter required by the message
Qualification for membership of Parliament.
Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution.
Right of President to address and send messages to Houses.
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to be taken into consideration.
87. (1) At the commencement of every session the President shall
address both Houses of Parliament assembled together and inform
Parliament of the causes of its summons.
(2) Provision
shall be made by the rules regulating the procedure of either House for
the allotment of time for discussion of the matters referred to in such
address and for the precedence of such discussion over other business of
the House.
88. Every Minister and the Attorney-General of India shall have
the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of,
either House, any joint sitting of the Houses, and any committee of
Parliament of which he may be named a member, but shall not by virtue of
this article be entitled to vote.
Officers of Parliament
89. (1) The Vice-President of India shall be ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States.
(2) The Council
of States shall, as soon as may be, choose a member of the Council to be
Deputy Chairman thereof and, so often as the office of Deputy Chairman
becomes vacant, the Council shall choose another member to be Deputy
Chairman thereof.
90. A member holding office as Deputy Chairman of the Council of States—
(a) shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the Council;
(b) may at any time, by writing under his hand addressed to the Chairman, resign his office; and
(c) may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Council passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council:
Provided that no resolution for the purpose of clause (c) shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution.
Special address by the President at the commencement of every session.
Rights of Ministers and Attorney-General as respects Houses.
The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of States.
Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the office of Deputy Chairman.
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91. (1) While the office of Chairman is vacant, or during any period
when the Vice-President is acting as, or discharging the functions of,
President, the duties of the office shall be performed by the Deputy
Chairman, or, if the office of Deputy Chairman is also vacant, by such
member of the Council of States as the President may appoint for the
purpose.
(2) During the
absence of the Chairman from any sitting of the Council of States the
Deputy Chairman, or, if he is also absent, such person as may be
determined by the rules of procedure of the Council, or, if no such
person is present, such other person as may be determined by the
Council, shall act as Chairman.
92. (1) At any sitting of the Council of States, while any
resolution for the removal of the Vice-President from his office is
under consideration, the Chairman, or while any resolution for the
removal of the Deputy Chairman from his office is under consideration,
the Deputy Chairman, shall not, though he is present, preside, and the
provisions of clause (2) of article 91 shall apply in relation to every
such sitting as they apply in relation to a sitting from which the
Chairman, or, as the case may be, the Deputy Chairman, is absent.
(2) The Chairman
shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part in the
proceedings of, the Council of States while any resolution for the
removal of the Vice-President from his office is under consideration in
the Council, but, notwithstanding anything in article 100, shall not be
entitled to vote at all on such resolution or on any other matter during
such proceedings.
93. The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two
members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker
thereof and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes
vacant, the House shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy
Speaker, as the case may be.
94. A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of the People—
(a) shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the House of the People;
Power of the Deputy Chairman or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or to act as, Chairman.
The Chairman or the Deputy Chairman not to preside while a resolution for his removal from office is under consideration.
The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People.
Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
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(b) may at any time, by writing under his hand addressed, if
such member is the Speaker, to the Deputy Speaker, and if such member is
the Deputy Speaker, to the Speaker, resign his office; and
(c) may be removed from his office by a resolution of the
House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the
House:
Provided that no resolution for the purpose of clause (c) shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution:
Provided further
that, whenever the House of the People is dissolved, the Speaker shall
not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the
House of the People after the dissolution.
95. (1) While the office of Speaker is vacant, the duties of the
office shall be performed by the Deputy Speaker or, if the office of
Deputy Speaker is also vacant, by such member of the House of the People
as the President may appoint for the purpose.
(2) During the
absence of the Speaker from any sitting of the House of the People the
Deputy Speaker or, if he is also absent, such person as may be
determined by the rules of procedure of the House, or, if no such person
is present, such other person as may be determined by the House, shall
act as Speaker.
96. (1) At any sitting of the House of the People, while any
resolution for the removal of the Speaker from his office is under
consideration, the Speaker, or while any resolution for the removal of
the Deputy Speaker from his office is under consideration, the Deputy
Speaker, shall not, though he is present, preside, and the provisions of
clause (2) of article 95 shall apply in relation to every such sitting
as they apply in relation to a sitting from which the Speaker, or, as
the case may be, the Deputy Speaker, is absent.
(2) The Speaker
shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part in the
proceedings of, the House of the People while any resolution for his
removal from office is under consideration in the House
Power of the Deputy Speaker or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or to act as, Speaker.
The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker not to preside while a resolution for his removal from office is under consideration.
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and shall, notwithstanding anything in article 100, be entitled to
vote only in the first instance on such resolution or on any other
matter during such proceedings but not in the case of an equality of
votes.
97. There shall be paid to the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman
of the Council of States, and to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of
the House of the People, such salaries and allowances as may be
respectively fixed by Parliament by law and, until provision in that
behalf is so made, such salaries and allowances as are specified in the
Second Schedule.
98. (1) Each House of Parliament shall have a separate secretarial staff:
Provided that nothing in this clause shall be construed as preventing the creation of posts common to both Houses of Parliament.
(2) Parliament
may by law regulate the recruitment, and the conditions of service of
persons appointed, to the secretarial staff of either House of
Parliament.
(3) Until
provision is made by Parliament under clause (2), the President may,
after consultation with the Speaker of the House of the People or the
Chairman of the Council of States, as the case may be, make rules
regulating the recruitment, and the conditions of service of persons
appointed, to the secretarial staff of the House of the People or the
Council of States, and any rules so made shall have effect subject to
the provisions of any law made under the said clause.
Conduct of Business
99. Every member of either House of Parliament shall, before taking
his seat, make and subscribe before the President, or some person
appointed in that behalf by him, an oath or affirmation according to the
form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule.
100. (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Constitution, all
questions at any sitting of either House or joint sitting of the Houses
shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and
Salaries and allowances of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
Secretariat of Parliament.
Oath or affirmation by members.
Voting in Houses, power of Houses to act notwithstanding vacancies and quorum.
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voting, other than the Speaker or person acting as Chairman or Speaker.
The Chairman or
Speaker, or person acting as such, shall not vote in the first instance,
but shall have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality
of votes.
(2) Either House
of Parliament shall have power to act notwithstanding any vacancy in the
membership thereof, and any proceedings in Parliament shall be valid
notwithstanding that it is discovered subsequently that some person who
was not entitled so to do sat or voted or otherwise took part in the
proceedings.
(3) Until
Parliament by law otherwise provides, the quorum to constitute a meeting
of either House of Parliament shall be one-tenth of the total number of
members of the House.
(4) If at any
time during a meeting of a House there is no quorum, it shall be the
duty of the Chairman or Speaker, or person acting as such, either to
adjourn the House or to suspend the meeting until there is a quorum.
Disqualifications of members
101. (1) No person shall be a member of both Houses of Parliament and
provision shall be made by Parliament by law for the vacation by a
person who is chosen a member of both Houses of his seat in one House or
the other.
(2) No person
shall be a member both of Parliament and of a House of the Legislature
of a State specified in Part A or Part B of the First Schedule, and if a
person is chosen a member both of Parliament and of a House of the
Legislature of such a State, then, at the expiration of such period as
may be specified in rules made by the President, that person’s seat in
Parliament shall become vacant, unless he has previously resigned his
seat in the Legislature of the State.
(3) If a member of either House of Parliament—
(a) becomes subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause (1) of article 102, or
Vacation of seats.
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(b) resigns his seat by writing under his hand addressed to the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be,
his seat shall thereupon become vacant.
(4) If for a period of sixty days a member of either House of
Parliament is without permission of the House absent from all meetings
thereof, the House may declare his seat vacant:
Provided that in
computing the said period of sixty days no account shall be taken of any
period during which the House is prorogued or is adjourned for more
than four consecutive days.
102. (1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament—
(a) if he holds any office of profit under the Government of
India or the Government of any State, other than an office declared by
Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder;
(b) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;
(c) if he is an undischarged insolvent;
(d) if he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily
acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or is under any
acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State;
(e) if be is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament.
(2) For the
purposes of this article a person shall not be deemed to hold an office
of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State
by reason only that he is a Minister either for the Union or for such
State.
103. (1) If any question arises as to whether a member of either
House of Parliament has become subject to any of the disqualifications
mentioned in clause (1) of article 102, the question shall be referred
for the decision of the President and his decision shall be final.
(2) Before giving any decision on any such question, the President shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and
Disqualifications for membership.
Decision on questions as to disqualifications of members.
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shall act according to such opinion.
104. If a person sits or votes as a member of either House of
Parliament before he has complied with the requirements of article 99,
or when he knows that he is not qualified or that he is disqualified for
membership thereof, or that he is prohibited from so doing by the
provisions of any law made by Parliament, he shall be liable in respect
of each day on which he so sits or votes to a penalty of five hundred
rupees to be recovered as a debt due to the Union.
Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and its Members
105. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and to the
rules and standing orders regulating the procedure of Parliament, there
shall be freedom of speech in Parliament.
(2) No member of
Parliament shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of
anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or any committee
thereof, and no person shall be so liable in respect of the publication
by or under the authority of either House of Parliament of any report,
paper, votes or proceedings.
(3) In other
respects, the powers, privileges and immunities of each House of
Parliament, and of the members and the committees df each House, shall
be such as may from time to time be defined by Parliament by law, and,
until so defined, shall be those of the House of Commons of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom, and of its members and committees, at
the commencement of this Constitution.
(4) The
provisions of clauses (1), (2) and (3) shall apply in relation to
persons who by virtue of this Constitution have the right to speak in,
and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of, a House of Parliament
or any committee thereof as they apply in relation to members of
Parliament.
106. Members of either House of Parliament shall be entitled
Penalty for sitting and voting before making oath or affirmation under article 99 or when not qualified or when disqualified.
Powers, privileges, etc., of the Houses of Parliament and of the members and committees thereof.
Salaries and allowances of members.
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to receive such salaries and allowances as may from time to time be
determined by Parliament by law and, until provision in that respect is
so made, allowances at such rates and upon such conditions as were
immediately before the commencement of this Constitution applicable in
the case of members of the Constituent Assembly of the Dominion of
India.
Legislative Procedure
107. (1) Subject to the provisions of articles 109 and 117 respect to
Money Bills and other financial Bills, a Bill may originate in either
House of Parliament.
(2) Subject to
the provisions of articles 108 and 109, a Bill shall not be deemed to
have been passed by the Houses of Parliament unless it has been agreed
to by both Houses, either without amendment or with such amendments only
as are agreed to by both Houses.
(3) A Bill pending in Parliament shall not lapse by reason of the prorogation of the Houses.
(4) A Bill
pending in the Council of States which has not been passed by the House
of the People shall not lapse on a dissolution of the House of the
People.
(5) A Bill which
is pending in the House of the People, or which having been passed by
the House of the People is pending in the Council of States, shall,
subject to the provisions of article 108, lapse on a dissolution of the
House of the People.
108. (1) If after a Bill has been passed by one House and transmitted to the other House—
(a) the Bill is rejected by the other House; or
(b) the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the Bill; or
(c) more than six months elapse from the date of the reception of the Bill by the other House without the Bill being passed by it,
the President may, unless the Bill has lapsed by reason of a
Provisions as to introduction and passing of Bills.
Joint sitting of both Houses in certain cases.
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dissolution of the House of the People, notify to the Houses by
message if they are sitting or by public notification if they are not
sitting, his intention to summon them to meet in a joint sitting for the
purpose of deliberating and voting on the Bill:
Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to a Money Bill.
(2) In
reckoning any such period of six months as is referred to in clause (1),
no account shall be taken of any period during which the House referred
to in sub-clause (c) of that clause is prorogued or adjourned for more than four consecutive days.
(3) Where
the President has under clause (1) notified his intention of summoning
the Houses to meet in a joint sitting, neither House shall proceed
further with the Bill, but the President may at any time after the date
of his notification summon the Houses to meet in a joint sitting for the
purpose specified in the notification and, if he does so, the Houses
shall meet accordingly.
(4) If at
the joint sitting of the two Houses the Bill, with such amendments, if
any, as are agreed to in joint sitting, is passed by a majority of the
total number of members of both Houses present and voting, it shall be
deemed for the purposes of this Constitution to have been passed by both
Houses:
Provided that at a joint sitting—
(a) if the Bill, having been passed by one House, has not been
passed by the other House with amendments and returned to the House in
which it originated, no amendment shall be proposed to the Bill other
than such amendments (if any) as are made necessary by the delay in the
passage of the Bill;
(b) if the Bill has been so passed and returned, only such
amendments as aforesaid shall be proposed to the Bill and such other
amendments as are relevant to the matters with respect to which the
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Houses have not agreed;
and the decision of the person presiding as to the amendments which are admissible under this clause shall be final.
(5) A Joint
sitting may be held under this article and a Bill passed thereat,
notwithstanding that a dissolution of the House of the People has
intervened since the President notified his intention to summon the
Houses to meet therein.
109. (1) A Money Bill shall not be introduced in the Council of States.
(2) After a Money
Bill has been passed by the House of the People it shall be transmitted
to the Council of States for its recommendations and the Council of
States shall within a period of fourteen days from the date of its
receipt of the Bill return the Bill to the House of the People with its
recommendations and the House of the People may thereupon either accept
or reject all or any of the recommendations of the Council of States.
(3) If the House
of the People accepts any of the recommendations of the Council of
States, the Money Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by both
Houses with the amendments recommended by the Council of States and
accepted by the House of the People.
(4) If the House
of the People does not accept any of the recommendations of the Council
of States, the Money Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by both
Houses in the form in which it was passed by the House of the People
without any of the amendments recommended by the Council of States.
(5) If a Money
Bill passed by the House of the People and transmitted to the Council of
States for its recommendations is not returned to the House of the
People within the said period of fourteen days, it shall be 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 House
Special procedure in respect of Money Bills.
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of the People.
110. (1) For the purposes of this Chapter, a Bill shall be deemed
to be a Money Bill if it contains only provisions dealing with all or
any of the following matters, namely—
(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 moneys
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).
(2) 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
Definition of “Money Bills”.
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by any local authority or body for local purposes.
(3) If any
question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of
the Speaker of the House of the People thereon shall be final.
(4) There shall
be endorsed on every Money Bill when it is transmitted to the Council of
States under article 109, and when it is presented to the President for
assent under article 111, the certificate of the Speaker of the House
of the People signed by him that it is a Money Bill.
111. When a Bill has been passed by the Houses of Parliament, it
shall be presented to the President, and the President shall declare
either that he assents to the Bill, or that he withholds assent
therefrom:
Provided that the
President may, as soon as possible after the presentation to him of a
Bill for assent, return the Bill if it is not a Money Bill to the Houses
with a message requesting that they will reconsider the Bill or any
specified provisions thereof and, in particular, will consider the
desirability of introducing any such amendments as he may recommend in
his message, and when a Bill is so returned, the Houses shall reconsider
the Bill accordingly, and if the Bill is passed again by the Houses
with or without amendment and presented to the President for assent, the
President shall not withhold assent therefrom.
Procedure in financial matters
112. (1) The President shall in respect of every financial year cause
to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament a statement of the
estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for that
year, in this Part referred to as the “annual financial statement”.
(2) The estimates of expenditure embodied in the annual financial statement shall show separately—
(a) the sums required to meet expenditure described by
Assent to Bills.
Annual financial statement.
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this Constitution as expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India; and
(b) the sums required to meet other expenditure proposed to be made from the Consolidated Fund of India,
and shall distinguish expenditure on revenue account from other expenditure.
(3) The following expenditure shall be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India—
(a) the emoluments and allowances of the President and other expenditure relating to his office;
(b) the salaries and allowances of the Chairman and the Deputy
Chairman of the Council of States and the Speaker and the Deputy
Speaker of the House of the People;
(c) debt charges for which the Government of India is liable
including interest, sinking fund charges and redemption charges, and
other expenditure relating to the raising of loans and the service and
redemption of debt;
(d) (i) the salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of Judges of the Supreme Court;
(ii) the pensions payable to or in respect of Judges of the Federal Court;
(iii) the pensions payable to or in respect of Judges of any High
Court which exercises jurisdiction in relation to any area included in
the territory of India or which at any time before the commencement of
this Constitution exercised jurisdiction in relation to any area
included in a Province corresponding to a State specified in Part A of
the First Schedule;
(e) the salary, allowances and pension payable to or
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in respect of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India;
(f) any sums required to satisfy any judgment, decree or award of any court or arbitral tribunal;
(g) any other expenditure declared by this Constitution or by Parliament by law to be so charged.
113. (1) So much of the estimates as relates to expenditure charged
upon the Consolidated Fund of India shall not be submitted to the vote
of Parliament, but nothing in this clause shall be construed as
preventing the discussion in either House of Parliament of any of those
estimates.
(2) So much of
the said estimates as relates to other expenditure shall be submitted in
the form of demands for grants to the House of the People, and the
House of the People shall have power to assent, or to refuse to assent,
to any demand, or to assent to any demand subject to a reduction of the
amount specified therein.
(3) No demand for a grant shall be made except on the recommendation of the President.
114. (1) As soon as may be after the grants under article 113
have been made by the House of the People, there shall be introduced a
Bill to provide for the appropriation out of the Consolidated Fund of
India of all moneys required to meet—
(a) the grants so made by the House of the People; and
(b) the expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India
but not exceeding in any case the amount shown in the statement
previously laid before Parliament.
(2) No
amendment shall be proposed to any such Bill in either House of
Parliament which will have the effect of varying the amount or altering
the destination of any grant so made or of varying the amount of any
expenditure charged
Procedure in Parliament with respect to estimates.
Appropriation Bills.
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on the Consolidated Fund of India, and the decision of the person
presiding as to whether an amendment is inadmissible under this clause
shall be final.
(3) Subject to
the provisions of articles 115 and 116, no money shall be withdrawn from
the Consolidated Fund of India except under appropriation made by law
passed in accordance with the provisions of this article.
115. (1) The President shall—
(a) if the amount authorised by any law made in accordance
with the provisions of article 114 to be expended for a particular
service for the current financial year is found to be insufficient for
the purposes of that year or when a need has arisen during the current
financial year for supplementary or additional expenditure upon some new
service not contemplated in the annual financial statement for that
year, or
(b) if any money has been spent on any service during a
financial year in excess of the amount granted for that service and for
that year,
cause to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament another
statement showing the estimated amount of that expenditure or cause to
be presented to the House of the People a demand for such excess, as the
case may be.
(2) The
provisions of articles 112, 113 and 114 shall have effect in relation to
any such statement and expenditure or demand and also to any law to be
made authorising the appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated
Fund of India to meet such expenditure or the grant in respect of such
demand as they have effect in relation to the annual financial statement
and the expenditure mentioned therein or to a demand for a grant and
the law to be made for the authorisation of appropriation of moneys out
of the Consolidated Fund of India to meet such expenditure or grant.
Supplementary, additional or excess grants.
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116. (1) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter, the House of the People shall have power—
(a) to make any grant in advance in respect of the estimated
expenditure for a part of any financial year pending the completion of
the procedure prescribed in article 113 for the voting of such grant and
the passing of the law in accordance with the provisions of article 114
in relation to that expenditure;
(b) to make a grant for meeting an unexpected demand upon the
resources of India when on account of the magnitude or the indefinite
character of the service the demand cannot be stated with the details
ordinarily given in an annual financial statement;
(c) to make an exceptional grant which forms no part of the current service of any financial year;
and Parliament shall have power to authorise by law the withdrawal of
moneys from the Consolidated Fund of India for the purposes for which
the said grants are made.
(2) The
provisions of articles 113 and 114 shall have effect in relation to the
making of any grant under clause (1) and to any law to be made under
that clause as they have effect in relation to the making of a grant
with regard to any expenditure mentioned in the annual financial
statement and the law to be made for the authorisation of appropriation
of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India to meet such
expenditure.
117. (1) A Bill or amendment making provision for any of the
matters specified in sub-clauses (a) to (f) of clause (1) of article 110
shall not be introduced or moved except on the recommendation of the
President and a Bill making such provision shall not be introduced in
the Council of States:
Provided that no
recommendation shall be required under this clause for the moving of an
amendment making provision for the reduction or abolition of any tax.
Votes on account, votes of credit and exceptional grants.
Special provisions as to financial Bills.
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(2) A Bill or
amendment shall not be deemed to make provision for any of the matters
aforesaid 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.
(3) A Bill which,
if enacted and brought into operation, would involve expenditure from
the Consolidated Fund of India shall not be passed by either House of
Parliament unless the President has recommended to that House the
consideration of the Bill.
Procedure Generally
118. (1) Each House of Parliament may make rules for regulating,
subject to the provisions of this Constitution, its procedure and the
conduct of its business.
(2) Until rules
are made under clause (1), the rules of procedure and standing orders in
force immediately before the commencement of this Constitution with
respect to the Legislature of the Dominion of India shall have effect in
relation to Parliament subject to such modifications and adaptations as
may be made therein by the Chairman of the Council of States or the
Speaker of the House of the People, as the case may be.
(3) The
President, after consultation with the Chairman of the Council of States
and the Speaker of the House of the People, may make rules as to the
procedure with respect to joint sittings of, and communications between,
the two Houses.
(4) At a joint
sitting of the two Houses the Speaker of the House of the People, or in
his absence such person as may be determined by rules of procedure made
under clause (3), shall preside.
119. Parliament may, for the purpose of the timely completion of
financial business, regulate by law the procedure of, and the conduct of
business in, each House of Parliament in relation to any financial
Rules of procedure.
Regulation by law of procedure in Parliament in relation to financial business.
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matter or to any Bill for the appropriation of moneys out of the
Consolidated Fund of India, and, if and so far as any provision of any
law so made is inconsistent with any rule made by a House of Parliament
under clause (1) of article 118 or with any rule or standing order
having effect in relation to Parliament under clause (2) of that
article, such provision shall prevail.
120. (1) Notwithstanding anything in Part XVII, but subject to
the provisions of article 348, business in Parliament shall be
transacted in Hindi or in English:
Provided that the
Chairman of the Council of States or Speaker of the House of the
People, or person acting as such, as the case may be, may permit any
member who cannot adequately express himself in Hindi or in English to
address the House in his mother tongue.
(2) Unless
Parliament by law otherwise provides, this article shall, after the
expiration of a period of fifteen years from the commencement of this
Constitution, have effect as if the words “or in English” were omitted
therefrom.
121. No discussion shall take place in Parliament with respect to
the conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court in the
discharge of his duties except upon a motion for presenting an address
to the President praying for the removal of the Judge as hereinafter
provided.
122. (1) The validity of any proceedings in Parliament shall not
be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of
procedure.
(2) No officer or
member of Parliament in whom powers are vested by or under this
Constitution for regulating procedure or the conduct of business, or for
maintaining order, in Parliament shall be subject to the jurisdiction
of any court in respect of the exercise by him of those powers.
Chapter III.—Legislative Powers of the President
123. (1) If at any time, except when both Houses of Parliament are in
session, the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which
Language to be used in Parliament.
Restriction on discussion in Parliament.
Courts not to inquire into proceedings of Parliament.
Power of President to promulgate Ordinances during recess of Parliament.