jbp123/hello · Datasets at Hugging Face

instruction stringlengths 1 84	input stringlengths 1 85	output stringlengths 1 83
hour, half-an-hour discussion, short duration discussion, calling	attention motion, adjournment motion, no-confidence motion,	censure motion and other discussions. It also supervises the
activities of the Executive with the help of its committees like	committee on government assurance, committee on subordinate	legislation, committee on petitions, etc.
The ministers are collectively responsible to the Parliament in	general and to the Lok Sabha in particular. As a part of collective	responsibility, there is individual responsibility, that is, each
minister is individually responsible for the efficient administration	of the ministry under his charge. This means that they continue in	office so long as they enjoy the confidence of the majority
members in the Lok Sabha. In other words, the council of	ministers can be removed from office by the Lok Sabha by	passing a noconfidence motion. The Lok Sabha can also express
lack of confidence in the government in the following ways:	(a) By not passing a motion of thanks on the President’s	inaugural address.
(b) By rejecting a money bill.	(c) By passing a censure motion or an adjournment motion.	(d) By defeating the government on a vital issue.
Therefore, “the first function of Parliament can be said to be to	select the group which is to form the government, support and	sustain it in power so long as it enjoys its confidence, and to expel
it when it ceases to do so, and leave it to the people to decide at	the next general election.”23	3. Financial Powers and Functions
No tax can be levied or collected and no expenditure can be	incurred by the Executive except under the authority and with the	approval of Parliament. Hence, the budget is placed before the
Parliament for its approval. The enactment of the budget by the	Parliament legalises the receipts and expenditure of the	government for the ensuing financial year.
The Parliament also scrutinises government spending and	financial performance with the help of its financial committees.	These include public accounts committee, estimates committee
and committee on public undertakings. They bring out the cases	of illegal, irregular, unauthorised, improper usage and wastage	and extravagance in public expenditure.
Therefore, the parliamentary control over the Executive in	financial matters operates in two stages:	(a) budgetary control, that is, control before the appropriation of
grants through the enactment of the budget; and	(b) post-budgetary control, that is, control after the appropriation	of grants through the three financial committees.
The budget is based on the principle of annuity, that is, the	Parliament grants money to the government for one financial year.	If the granted money is not spent by the end of the financial year,
then the balance expires and returns to the Consolidated Fund of	India. This practice is known as the ‘rule of lapse’. It facilitates	effective financial control by the Parliament as no reserve funds
can be built without its authorisation. However, the observance of	this rule leads to heavy rush of expenditure towards the close of	the financial year. This is popularly called as ‘March Rush’.
The Parliament is vested with the powers to amend the	Constitution by way of addition, variation or repeal of any	provision. The major part of the Constitution can be amended by
the Parliament with special majority, that is, a majority of the total	membership of each House and a majority of not less than two-	thirds of the members present and voting in each House. Some
other provisions of the Constitution can be amended by the	Parliament with simple majority, that is, a majority of the members	present and voting in each House of Parliament. Only a few
provisions of the Constitution can be amended by the Parliament	(by special majority) and with the consent of at least half of the	state Legislatures (by simple majority). However, the power to
initiate the process of the amendment of the Constitution (in all the	three cases) lies exclusively in the hands of the Parliament and	not the state legislature. There is only one exception, that is, the
state legislature can pass a resolution requesting the Parliament	for the creation or abolition of the legislative council in the state.	Based on the resolution, the Parliament makes an act for
amending the Constitution to that effect. To sum up, the	Parliament can amend the Constitution in three ways:	(a) By simple majority;
(b) By special majority; and	(c) By special majority but with the consent of half of all the state	legislatures.
The constituent power of the Parliament is not unlimited; it is	subject to the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution. In others words,	the Parliament can amend any provision of the Constitution
except the ‘basic features’ of the Constitution. This was ruled by	the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) and	reaffirmed in the Minerva Mills case (1980)24 .
5. Judicial Powers and Functions	The judicial powers and functions of the Parliament include the	following:
(a) It can impeach the President for the violation of the	Constitution.	(b) It can remove the Vice-President from his office.
(c) It can recommend the removal of judges (including chief	justice) of the Supreme Court and the high courts, chief	election commissioner, comptroller and auditor general to the
president.	(d) It can punish its members or outsiders for the breach of its	privileges or its contempt.
6. Electoral Powers and Functions	The Parliament participates in the election of the President (along	with the state legislative assemblies) and elects the Vice-
President. The Lok Sabha elects its Speaker and Deputy Speaker,	while the Rajya Sabha elects its Deputy Chairman.	The Parliament is also authorised to make laws to regulate the
elections to the offices of President and Vice-President, to both	the Houses of Parliament and to both the Houses of state	legislature. Accordingly, Parliament enacted the Presidential and
Vice-Presidential Election Act (1952), the Representation of	People Act (1950), the Representation of People Act (1951), etc.	7. Other Powers and Functions
The various other powers and functions of the Parliament include:	(a) It serves as the highest deliberative body in the country. It	discusses various issues of national and international
significance.	(b) It approves all the three types of emergencies (national, state	and financial) proclaimed by the President.
(c) It can create or abolish the state legislative councils on the	recommendation of the concerned state legislative	assemblies.
(d) It can increase or decrease the area, alter the boundaries	and change the names of states of the Indian Union.	(e) It can regulate the organisation and jurisdiction of the
INEFFECTIVENESS OF PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL	The parliamentary control over government and administration in	India is more theoretical than practical. In reality, the control is not
as effective as it ought to be. The following factors are responsible	for this:	(a) The Parliament has neither time nor expertise to control the
administration which has grown in volume as well as	complexity.	(b) Parliament’s financial control is hindered by the technical
nature of the demands for grants. The parliamentarians being	laymen cannot understand them properly and fully.	(c) The legislative leadership lies with the Executive and it plays
a significant role in formulating policies.	(d) The very size of the Parliament is too large and	unmanagable to be effective.
(e) The majority support enjoyed by the Executive in the	Parliament reduces the possibility of effective criticism.	(f) The financial committees like Public Accounts Committee
examines the public expenditure after it has been incurred by	the Executive. Thus, they do post mortem work.	(g) The increased recourse to ‘guillotine’ reduced the scope of
financial control.	(h) The growth of ‘delegated legislation’ has reduced the role of	Parliament in making detailed laws and has increased the
powers of bureaucracy.	(i) The frequent promulgation of ordinances by the president	dilutes the Parliament’s power of legislation.
(j) The Parliament’s control is sporadic, general and mostly	political in nature.	(k) Lack of strong and steady opposition in the Parliament, and a
setback in the parliamentary behaviour and ethics, have also	contributed to the ineffectiveness of legislative control over	administration in India.
POSITION OF RAJYA SABHA	The Constitutional position of the Rajya Sabha (as compared with	the Lok Sabha) can be studied from three angles:
1. Where Rajya Sabha is equal to Lok Sabha.	2. Where Rajya Sabha is unequal to Lok Sabha.	3. Where Rajya Sabha has special powers that are not at all
shared with the Lok Sabha.	Equal Status with Lok Sabha	In the following matters, the powers and status of the Rajya
Sabha are equal to that of the Lok Sabha:	1. Introduction and passage of ordinary bills.	2. Introduction and passage of Constitutional amendment bills.
3. Introduction and passage of financial bills involving	expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India.	4. Election and impeachment of the president.
5. Election and removal of the Vice-President. However, Rajya	Sabha alone can initiate the removal of the vice-president.	He is removed by a resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha
by an effective majority (which is a type of special majority)	and agreed to by the Lok Sabha by a simple majority.	6. Making recommendation to the President for the removal of
Chief Justice and judges of Supreme Court and high courts,	chief election commissioner and comptroller and auditor	general.
7. Approval of ordinances issued by the President.	8. Approval of proclamation of all three types of emergencies	by the President.
9. Selection of ministers including the Prime Minister. Under	the Constitution, the ministers including the Prime Minister	can be members of either House. However, irrespective of
their membership, they are responsible only to the Lok	Sabha.	10. Consideration of the reports of the constitutional bodies like
11. Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and	the Union Public Service Commission.	Unequal Status with Lok Sabha
In the following matters, the powers and status of the Rajya	Sabha are unequal to that of the Lok Sabha:	1. A Money Bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and
not in the Rajya Sabha.	2. Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill. It should	return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, either with
recommendations or without recommendations.	3. The Lok Sabha can either accept or reject all or any of the	recommendations of the Rajya Sabha. In both the cases, the
money bill is deemed to have been passed by the two	Houses.	4. A financial bill, not containing solely the matters of Article
110, also can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in	the Rajya Sabha. But, with regard to its passage, both the	Houses have equal powers.
5. The final power to decide whether a particular bill is a Money	Bill or not is vested in the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.	6. The Speaker of Lok Sabha presides over the joint sitting of
both the Houses.	7. The Lok Sabha with greater number wins the battle in a joint	sitting except when the combined strength of the ruling party
in both the Houses is less than that of the opposition parties.	8. Rajya Sabha can only discuss the budget but cannot vote	on the demands for grants (which is the exclusive privilege
of the Lok Sabha).	9. A resolution for the discontinuance of the national	emergency can be passed only by the Lok Sabha and not by
the Rajya Sabha.	10. The Rajya Sabha cannot remove the council of ministers by	passing a no-confidence motion. This is because the Council
of ministers is collectively responsible only to the Lok Sabha.	But, the Rajya Sabha can discuss and criticise the policies	and activities of the government.
Special Powers of Rajya Sabha	The Rajya Sabha has been given four exclusive or special powers	that are not enjoyed by the Lok Sabha:
1. It can authorise the Parliament to make a law on a subject	enumerated in the State List (Article 249).	2. It can authorise the Parliament to create new All-India
Services common to both the Centre and states (Article	312).	3. It alone can initiate a move for the removal of the vice-
president. In other words, a resolution for the removal of the	vice-president can be introduced only in the Rajya Sabha	and not in the Lok Sabha (Article 67).
4. If a proclamation is issued by the President for imposing	national emergency or president’s rule or financial	emergency at a time when the Lok Sabha has been
dissolved or the dissolution of the Lok Sabha takes place	within the period allowed for its approval, then the	proclamation can remain effective even if it is approved by
the Rajya Sabha alone (Articles 352, 356 and 360).	An analysis of the above points makes it clear that the position	of the Rajya Sabha in our constitutional system is not as weak as
that of the House of Lords in the British constitutional system nor	as strong as that of the Senate in the American constitutional	system. Except in financial matters and control over the council of
ministers, the powers and status of the Rajya Sabha in all other	spheres are broadly equal and coordinate with that of the Lok	Sabha.
Even though the Rajya Sabha has been given less powers as	compared with the Lok Sabha, its utility is supported on the	following grounds:
1. It checks hasty, defective, careless and ill-considered	legislation made by the Lok Sabha by making provision of	revision and thought.
2. It facilitates giving representation to eminent professionals	and experts who cannot face the direct election. The	President nominates 12 such persons to the Rajya Sabha.
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGES	Meaning	Parliamentary privileges are special rights, immunities and
exemptions enjoyed by the two Houses of Parliament, their	committees and their members. They are necessary in order to	secure the independence and effectiveness of their actions.
Without these privileges, the Houses can neither maintain their	authority, dignity and honour nor can protect their members from	any obstruction in the discharge of their parliamentary
responsibilities.	The Constitution has also extended the parliamentary privileges	to those persons who are entitled to speak and take part in the
proceedings of a House of Parliament or any of its committees.	These include the attorney general of India and Union ministers.	It must be clarified here that the parliamentary privileges do not
extend to the president who is also an integral part of the	Parliament.	Classification
Parliamentary privileges can be classified into two broad	categories:	1. those that are enjoyed by each House of Parliament
collectively, and	2. those that are enjoyed by the members individually.	Collective Privileges
The privileges belonging to each House of Parliament collectively	are:	1. It has the right to publish its reports, debates and
proceedings and also the right to prohibit others from	publishing the same. The 44th Amendment Act of 1978	restored the freedom of the press to publish true reports of
parliamentary proceedings without prior permission of the	House. But this is not applicable in the case of a secret	sitting of the House.
2. It can exclude strangers from its proceedings and hold	secret sittings to discuss some important matters.	3. It can make rules to regulate its own procedure and the
conduct of its business and to adjudicate upon such matters.	4. It can punish members as well as outsiders for breach of its	privileges or its contempt by reprimand, admonition or
imprisonment (also suspension or expulsion, in case of	members).25	5. It has the right to receive immediate information of the

hour, half-an-hour discussion, short duration discussion, calling

attention motion, adjournment motion, no-confidence motion,

censure motion and other discussions. It also supervises the

activities of the Executive with the help of its committees like

committee on government assurance, committee on subordinate

legislation, committee on petitions, etc.

The ministers are collectively responsible to the Parliament in

general and to the Lok Sabha in particular. As a part of collective

responsibility, there is individual responsibility, that is, each

minister is individually responsible for the efficient administration

of the ministry under his charge. This means that they continue in

office so long as they enjoy the confidence of the majority

members in the Lok Sabha. In other words, the council of

ministers can be removed from office by the Lok Sabha by

passing a noconfidence motion. The Lok Sabha can also express

lack of confidence in the government in the following ways:

(a) By not passing a motion of thanks on the President’s

inaugural address.

(b) By rejecting a money bill.

(c) By passing a censure motion or an adjournment motion.

(d) By defeating the government on a vital issue.

Therefore, “the first function of Parliament can be said to be to

select the group which is to form the government, support and

sustain it in power so long as it enjoys its confidence, and to expel

it when it ceases to do so, and leave it to the people to decide at

the next general election.”23

3. Financial Powers and Functions

No tax can be levied or collected and no expenditure can be

incurred by the Executive except under the authority and with the

approval of Parliament. Hence, the budget is placed before the

Parliament for its approval. The enactment of the budget by the

Parliament legalises the receipts and expenditure of the

government for the ensuing financial year.

The Parliament also scrutinises government spending and

financial performance with the help of its financial committees.

These include public accounts committee, estimates committee

and committee on public undertakings. They bring out the cases

of illegal, irregular, unauthorised, improper usage and wastage

and extravagance in public expenditure.

Therefore, the parliamentary control over the Executive in

financial matters operates in two stages:

(a) budgetary control, that is, control before the appropriation of

grants through the enactment of the budget; and

(b) post-budgetary control, that is, control after the appropriation

of grants through the three financial committees.

The budget is based on the principle of annuity, that is, the

Parliament grants money to the government for one financial year.

If the granted money is not spent by the end of the financial year,

then the balance expires and returns to the Consolidated Fund of

India. This practice is known as the ‘rule of lapse’. It facilitates

effective financial control by the Parliament as no reserve funds

can be built without its authorisation. However, the observance of

this rule leads to heavy rush of expenditure towards the close of

the financial year. This is popularly called as ‘March Rush’.

The Parliament is vested with the powers to amend the

Constitution by way of addition, variation or repeal of any

provision. The major part of the Constitution can be amended by

the Parliament with special majority, that is, a majority of the total

membership of each House and a majority of not less than two-

thirds of the members present and voting in each House. Some

other provisions of the Constitution can be amended by the

Parliament with simple majority, that is, a majority of the members

present and voting in each House of Parliament. Only a few

provisions of the Constitution can be amended by the Parliament

(by special majority) and with the consent of at least half of the

state Legislatures (by simple majority). However, the power to

initiate the process of the amendment of the Constitution (in all the

three cases) lies exclusively in the hands of the Parliament and

not the state legislature. There is only one exception, that is, the

state legislature can pass a resolution requesting the Parliament

for the creation or abolition of the legislative council in the state.

Based on the resolution, the Parliament makes an act for

amending the Constitution to that effect. To sum up, the

Parliament can amend the Constitution in three ways:

(a) By simple majority;

(b) By special majority; and

(c) By special majority but with the consent of half of all the state

legislatures.

The constituent power of the Parliament is not unlimited; it is

subject to the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution. In others words,

the Parliament can amend any provision of the Constitution

except the ‘basic features’ of the Constitution. This was ruled by

the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) and

reaffirmed in the Minerva Mills case (1980)24 .

5. Judicial Powers and Functions

The judicial powers and functions of the Parliament include the

following:

(a) It can impeach the President for the violation of the

Constitution.

(b) It can remove the Vice-President from his office.

(c) It can recommend the removal of judges (including chief

justice) of the Supreme Court and the high courts, chief

election commissioner, comptroller and auditor general to the

president.

(d) It can punish its members or outsiders for the breach of its

privileges or its contempt.

6. Electoral Powers and Functions

The Parliament participates in the election of the President (along

with the state legislative assemblies) and elects the Vice-

President. The Lok Sabha elects its Speaker and Deputy Speaker,

while the Rajya Sabha elects its Deputy Chairman.

The Parliament is also authorised to make laws to regulate the

elections to the offices of President and Vice-President, to both

the Houses of Parliament and to both the Houses of state

legislature. Accordingly, Parliament enacted the Presidential and

Vice-Presidential Election Act (1952), the Representation of

People Act (1950), the Representation of People Act (1951), etc.

7. Other Powers and Functions

The various other powers and functions of the Parliament include:

(a) It serves as the highest deliberative body in the country. It

discusses various issues of national and international

significance.

(b) It approves all the three types of emergencies (national, state

and financial) proclaimed by the President.

(c) It can create or abolish the state legislative councils on the

recommendation of the concerned state legislative

assemblies.

(d) It can increase or decrease the area, alter the boundaries

and change the names of states of the Indian Union.

(e) It can regulate the organisation and jurisdiction of the

INEFFECTIVENESS OF PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL

The parliamentary control over government and administration in

India is more theoretical than practical. In reality, the control is not

as effective as it ought to be. The following factors are responsible

for this:

(a) The Parliament has neither time nor expertise to control the

administration which has grown in volume as well as

complexity.

(b) Parliament’s financial control is hindered by the technical

nature of the demands for grants. The parliamentarians being

laymen cannot understand them properly and fully.

(c) The legislative leadership lies with the Executive and it plays

a significant role in formulating policies.

(d) The very size of the Parliament is too large and

unmanagable to be effective.

(e) The majority support enjoyed by the Executive in the

Parliament reduces the possibility of effective criticism.

(f) The financial committees like Public Accounts Committee

examines the public expenditure after it has been incurred by

the Executive. Thus, they do post mortem work.

(g) The increased recourse to ‘guillotine’ reduced the scope of

financial control.

(h) The growth of ‘delegated legislation’ has reduced the role of

Parliament in making detailed laws and has increased the

powers of bureaucracy.

(i) The frequent promulgation of ordinances by the president

dilutes the Parliament’s power of legislation.

(j) The Parliament’s control is sporadic, general and mostly

political in nature.

(k) Lack of strong and steady opposition in the Parliament, and a

setback in the parliamentary behaviour and ethics, have also

contributed to the ineffectiveness of legislative control over

administration in India.

POSITION OF RAJYA SABHA

The Constitutional position of the Rajya Sabha (as compared with

the Lok Sabha) can be studied from three angles:

1. Where Rajya Sabha is equal to Lok Sabha.

2. Where Rajya Sabha is unequal to Lok Sabha.

3. Where Rajya Sabha has special powers that are not at all

shared with the Lok Sabha.

Equal Status with Lok Sabha

In the following matters, the powers and status of the Rajya

Sabha are equal to that of the Lok Sabha:

1. Introduction and passage of ordinary bills.

2. Introduction and passage of Constitutional amendment bills.

3. Introduction and passage of financial bills involving

expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India.

4. Election and impeachment of the president.

5. Election and removal of the Vice-President. However, Rajya

Sabha alone can initiate the removal of the vice-president.

He is removed by a resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha

by an effective majority (which is a type of special majority)

and agreed to by the Lok Sabha by a simple majority.

6. Making recommendation to the President for the removal of

Chief Justice and judges of Supreme Court and high courts,

chief election commissioner and comptroller and auditor

general.

7. Approval of ordinances issued by the President.

8. Approval of proclamation of all three types of emergencies

by the President.

9. Selection of ministers including the Prime Minister. Under

the Constitution, the ministers including the Prime Minister

can be members of either House. However, irrespective of

their membership, they are responsible only to the Lok

Sabha.

10. Consideration of the reports of the constitutional bodies like

11. Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and

the Union Public Service Commission.

Unequal Status with Lok Sabha

In the following matters, the powers and status of the Rajya

Sabha are unequal to that of the Lok Sabha:

1. A Money Bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and

not in the Rajya Sabha.

2. Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill. It should

return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, either with

recommendations or without recommendations.

3. The Lok Sabha can either accept or reject all or any of the

recommendations of the Rajya Sabha. In both the cases, the

money bill is deemed to have been passed by the two

Houses.

4. A financial bill, not containing solely the matters of Article

110, also can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in

the Rajya Sabha. But, with regard to its passage, both the

Houses have equal powers.

5. The final power to decide whether a particular bill is a Money

Bill or not is vested in the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

6. The Speaker of Lok Sabha presides over the joint sitting of

both the Houses.

7. The Lok Sabha with greater number wins the battle in a joint

sitting except when the combined strength of the ruling party

in both the Houses is less than that of the opposition parties.

8. Rajya Sabha can only discuss the budget but cannot vote

on the demands for grants (which is the exclusive privilege

of the Lok Sabha).

9. A resolution for the discontinuance of the national

emergency can be passed only by the Lok Sabha and not by

the Rajya Sabha.

10. The Rajya Sabha cannot remove the council of ministers by

passing a no-confidence motion. This is because the Council

of ministers is collectively responsible only to the Lok Sabha.

But, the Rajya Sabha can discuss and criticise the policies

and activities of the government.

Special Powers of Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha has been given four exclusive or special powers

that are not enjoyed by the Lok Sabha:

1. It can authorise the Parliament to make a law on a subject

enumerated in the State List (Article 249).

2. It can authorise the Parliament to create new All-India

Services common to both the Centre and states (Article

312).

3. It alone can initiate a move for the removal of the vice-

president. In other words, a resolution for the removal of the

vice-president can be introduced only in the Rajya Sabha

and not in the Lok Sabha (Article 67).

4. If a proclamation is issued by the President for imposing

national emergency or president’s rule or financial

emergency at a time when the Lok Sabha has been

dissolved or the dissolution of the Lok Sabha takes place

within the period allowed for its approval, then the

proclamation can remain effective even if it is approved by

the Rajya Sabha alone (Articles 352, 356 and 360).

An analysis of the above points makes it clear that the position

of the Rajya Sabha in our constitutional system is not as weak as

that of the House of Lords in the British constitutional system nor

as strong as that of the Senate in the American constitutional

system. Except in financial matters and control over the council of

ministers, the powers and status of the Rajya Sabha in all other

spheres are broadly equal and coordinate with that of the Lok

Sabha.

Even though the Rajya Sabha has been given less powers as

compared with the Lok Sabha, its utility is supported on the

following grounds:

1. It checks hasty, defective, careless and ill-considered

legislation made by the Lok Sabha by making provision of

revision and thought.

2. It facilitates giving representation to eminent professionals

and experts who cannot face the direct election. The

President nominates 12 such persons to the Rajya Sabha.

PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGES

Meaning

Parliamentary privileges are special rights, immunities and

exemptions enjoyed by the two Houses of Parliament, their

committees and their members. They are necessary in order to

secure the independence and effectiveness of their actions.

Without these privileges, the Houses can neither maintain their

authority, dignity and honour nor can protect their members from

any obstruction in the discharge of their parliamentary

responsibilities.

The Constitution has also extended the parliamentary privileges

to those persons who are entitled to speak and take part in the

proceedings of a House of Parliament or any of its committees.

These include the attorney general of India and Union ministers.

It must be clarified here that the parliamentary privileges do not

extend to the president who is also an integral part of the

Parliament.

Classification

Parliamentary privileges can be classified into two broad

categories:

1. those that are enjoyed by each House of Parliament

collectively, and

2. those that are enjoyed by the members individually.

Collective Privileges

The privileges belonging to each House of Parliament collectively

are:

1. It has the right to publish its reports, debates and

proceedings and also the right to prohibit others from

publishing the same. The 44th Amendment Act of 1978

restored the freedom of the press to publish true reports of

parliamentary proceedings without prior permission of the

House. But this is not applicable in the case of a secret

sitting of the House.

2. It can exclude strangers from its proceedings and hold

secret sittings to discuss some important matters.

3. It can make rules to regulate its own procedure and the

conduct of its business and to adjudicate upon such matters.

4. It can punish members as well as outsiders for breach of its

privileges or its contempt by reprimand, admonition or

imprisonment (also suspension or expulsion, in case of

members).25

5. It has the right to receive immediate information of the