How Bills Move Through Parliament
Every law enacted by the Parliament of India begins as a bill, a statute in draft form. A bill cannot become law until it has been passed by both Houses of Parliament and received the assent of the President of India, with specific procedural variations for Money Bills, Financial Bills, and Constitutional Amendment Bills.
The process is designed to be deliberative rather than hasty: multiple readings in each house, opportunities for referral to committees, and a requirement that both chambers agree before the President is asked to assent. In practice, the pace of this process has varied significantly across different Lok Sabhas, and the share of bills receiving thorough committee scrutiny before passage has declined markedly in recent years, as documented by PRS Legislative Research.
 |
| Representational Image: How Bills Move Through Parliament |
The Ground Reality
- A
bill undergoes three readings in each House of Parliament; the first
reading is introduction, the second reading covers general discussion and
committee referral, and the third reading is the final vote on passage —
this framework is confirmed in official Rajya Sabha legislative procedure
documentation.
- In
the 14th Lok Sabha (2004–09), 60% of bills were referred to parliamentary
standing committees; in the 15th Lok Sabha (2009–14), 71% were referred;
in the 16th Lok Sabha (2014–19), this fell to 27%; in the 17th Lok Sabha
(2019–24), only approximately 16% of bills were referred to committees,
according to PRS Legislative Research.
- A
Money Bill, as defined in Article 110 of the Constitution, can only be
introduced in Lok Sabha by a minister on the President's recommendation;
Rajya Sabha must return it within 14 days with or without recommendations,
and Lok Sabha may accept or reject those recommendations — there is no
joint sitting mechanism for Money Bills.
- Constitutional
Amendment Bills require a special majority in each house — a majority of
total membership and two-thirds of members present and voting — and for
certain provisions must also be ratified by not less than half of the
state legislatures before receiving Presidential assent.
- If a
bill passed by one house is rejected by the other, or if six months elapse
without the other house passing it, the President may summon a joint
sitting under Article 108; joint sittings have been convened only three
times since 1950, most recently in 2002.
How It Works in Practice
1. First Reading (Introduction): The
minister-in-charge moves for leave to introduce the bill. If leave is granted —
normally without debate — the bill's title and objectives are read out. The
bill is then printed and circulated to all members. This stage is usually brief
and non-contentious.
2. Second Reading — First Stage (General Discussion):
At this stage the house discusses the general principles and objects of the
bill as a whole. No amendments to specific clauses are allowed. The house may
vote on one of four options: take the bill into immediate consideration; refer
it to a Select Committee of the house; refer it to a Joint Committee of both
Houses; or circulate it for public opinion. Where the bill is referred to a
Standing Committee (a Departmentally Related Standing Committee, or DRSC), this
referral typically happens before or alongside the Second Reading process.
3. Committee Stage: Where referred to a DRSC, Select
Committee, or Joint Committee, the committee considers the bill clause by
clause, may invite expert testimony and public submissions, and produces a
report with recommendations. The government may accept or reject recommendations
in the committee report. The reports of DRSCs are described officially as
having "persuasive value" — the government is not bound to accept
them.
4. Second Reading — Second Stage (Clause-by-Clause
Consideration): After committee report, the bill returns to the house for
clause-by-clause discussion. Amendments may be moved to individual clauses.
Each clause is voted on. This is the most detailed legislative stage and, where
time is allocated, the most substantive.
5. Third Reading (Passage): The bill in its final
form is put to a vote. For ordinary bills, a simple majority of members present
and voting suffices. If the bill passes, it is transmitted to the other House,
where it goes through Second and Third Readings. If both Houses pass identical
text, the bill goes to the President for assent. If the President returns a
non-Money Bill with a message for reconsideration, both Houses must reconsider;
if passed again, the President must give assent.
What People Often Misunderstand
- Both
Houses must pass identical text for most bills: If Rajya Sabha amends
a bill that originated in Lok Sabha, the amended bill returns to Lok Sabha
for concurrence; only when both Houses agree on identical text does the
bill proceed to Presidential assent.
- Presidential
assent is not ceremonial for all bills: For non-Money Bills, the
President may return the bill once for reconsideration; if Parliament
passes it again, assent is mandatory. For Constitutional Amendment Bills
meeting the special majority and, where required, state ratification
requirements, Presidential assent is obligatory.
- Committee
referral is not mandatory: No rule compels referral of any bill to a
committee; the decision rests with the Speaker or Chairman on the
recommendation of the ministry piloting the bill; the declining referral
rate in recent Lok Sabhas reflects a deliberate choice, not an absence of
the mechanism.
- Bills
lapse on dissolution of Lok Sabha: All bills pending in Lok Sabha at
dissolution — including those passed by Rajya Sabha and awaiting Lok Sabha
action — lapse; they must be reintroduced in the new Lok Sabha. Bills
pending only in Rajya Sabha do not lapse.
- The
joint sitting mechanism is almost never used: Only three joint
sittings have occurred in seventy-plus years of parliamentary history;
inter-house disagreements are overwhelmingly resolved through negotiation,
government withdrawal of contentious provisions, or the bill simply
lapsing.
What Changes Over Time
The decline in committee referral rates across successive
Lok Sabhas — from 71% in the 15th to 16% in the 17th — is the most significant
procedural change of recent decades, reducing the deliberative quality of
legislation as documented by PRS Legislative Research and the Business
Standard. The 17th Lok Sabha passed several major laws — including the three
new criminal codes (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha
Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023) — after committee referral, demonstrating
that the mechanism remains available even as its use has declined. The 18th Lok
Sabha (from 2024) has seen renewed calls for mandatory committee referral
norms.
Sources and Further Reading
- Rajya
Sabha Secretariat — Legislative Procedure: https://cms.rajyasabha.nic.in/UploadedFiles/Procedure/PracticeAndProcedure/English/6/legislative_procedure.pdf
- Digital
Sansad — How a Bill is Introduced: https://sansad.in/ls/legislation/introduction
- PRS
Legislative Research — How is a law enacted in Parliament: https://prsindia.org/theprsblog/how-is-a-law-enacted-in-parliament
- PRS Legislative Research — Importance of Parliamentary Committees: https://prsindia.org/theprsblog/importance-parliamentary-committees
- Business Standard — Rushed laws, reduced debate (April 2026): https://www.business-standard.com/politics/rushed-laws-reduced-debate-is-parliament-losing-its-deliberative-core-126041900362_1.html