Article 101 of the Indian Constitution

Article 101 discusses whether selected individuals can become members of both Parliament Houses. Government elects these individuals to represent their respective constituencies. For instance, in Lok Sabha elections, an individual can hold a seat for five years or until the selected body is dissolved by the President or minister council.

However, this article comes with certain restrictions to justify the seat vacancy.

Individuals preparing for competitive exams like UPSC prelims can go through this piece to learn about Article 101.

What are the Regulations Under Article 101 of the Indian Constitution?

• The 101 amendment article states that individuals can’t become members of both Houses of Parliament.
• The Parliament can make provisions based on the law. However, they will assess the person chosen by both houses.
• No individual will be a member of the House of the Legislature of a State and Parliament. However, if a person is selected as a member, his/her seat in Parliament will remain till the term period. The President can also set this time period. This seat will also remain empty when the person resigns his seat in the State Legislature.
• There are also provisions specified-

1. They become subject to disqualification mentioned in Clause (1) and (2) of Article 102.
2. When a member resigns from his seat by writing a letter addressed to the Chairman or the Speaker. The seat automatically becomes vacant with the acceptance of resignation. However, if the Chairman or the Speaker finds the letter unsatisfactory and the reason involuntary, a hard inquiry may be conducted. In such instances, Chairman or the Speaker can deny the resignation.

• If a member of either of the Parliament houses remains absent for 60 days without permission, the House will declare the seat vacant. However, no actions will be taken if the calculation shows this vacancy was due to scenarios like when a  House is adjourned for four days or more.

Also, read:

should know that Clause 2 of Article 101 was added later.  The Chairman of the Drafting Committee added this section through an amendment.

A member requested to add recollection of the Parliament by electors as a reason for seat vacancy. There were also requests to make reading and writing of the National Language mandatory for elected members.

However, the Assembly disregarded these demands. Instead, it adopted the draft article with minor changes.

Hopefully, this article will help students preparing for the IAS exam and UPSC exam find relevant information. Checking news portals and educational sites will help find detailed information on Article 101.