List of State Legislative Councils of India

India follows a bicameral system at both the centre and state levels. Under this system, the state’s legislature is divided into two parts – Legislative Assembly or Vidhan Sabha and Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad. Vidhan Parishad or Legislative Council is a permanent body, which can be formed or abolished under the provisions of the Constitution of India.

In other words, the Legislative Council is the upper house of the state. Its institution is outlined in Article 169 of the Constitution of India. 

At present, only six states of our country have a legislative council. They are  Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. These states have bicameral legislatures, i.e. both the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly.

Learn about state legislature in the linked article.

Why is the legislative council in the news?

In the recent past, the Supreme Court of India had refused to entertain a petition seeking orders for issuing specific directions to prepare norms for nominations of Maharashtra Legislative Council by the state governor. Similarly, the West Bengal Assembly had also passed a resolution, with a two-thirds majority, to set up a Legislative Council in the state.

This is important from the perspective of the UPSC civil service examination on many fronts. Keeping in view the importance of such a legislative body, we shall be discussing various dimensions of the topic.

Further, this article covers other important aspects, keeping in mind the demands of the preliminary as well as the Main Examination of the IAS Exam.

Legislative Council & Constitutional Provisions

• Article 169 of the Constitution of India makes provision for abolition or creation of Legislative Councils in States.
• The article states – Notwithstanding anything in Article 168, Parliament may by law provide for the abolition of the legislative council of a state having such a council or for the creation of such a council in a State having no such council, if the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting.
• Any law referred to in the above clause shall contain such provisions for the amendment of this Constitution as may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the law and may also contain such supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions as Parliament may deem necessary.
• No such law as aforesaid shall be deemed to be an amendment of this Constitution for Article 368.

Find information about types of majorities in the Indian Parliament in the linked article.

Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council

• The term of the Legislative Assembly is five years unless it is dissolved earlier on the request of the chief minister.
• The tenure of the members of the council is six years, and a third of the members of the House retire after every two years.
• The Legislative Assembly is the lower house, much like the Lok Sabha of the Parliament. 
• While the Legislative Council is a permanent House like the Rajya Sabha, it can be dissolved. 
• Under Article 169 of the Indian constitution, Parliament may create or abolish the Council in a state if the Legislative Assembly of that state passes a resolution to that effect by a special majority. 
• For example, Parliament abolished the Vidhan Parishad in Andhra Pradesh in 1985, but in March 2007, it was reinstated.

Please visit this linked page to read more about the Difference between Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council in detail and for comprehensive notes, discussions, helpful for the IAS examination.

How is the legislative council created?

• The members of the Council are either nominated by the Governor of the state or are indirectly elected.
• The legislative Council elects its Chairman, who plays the role of presiding officer and Deputy Chairman from amongst its members
• One-third of the members of this House are elected by the Legislative Assembly.
• One-third are elected by the local bodies like a municipality or other local authorities.
• One-twelfth of the members are elected by graduates. 
• One-twelfth of the members are elected by teachers. 
• About one-sixth of the members are nominated by the Governor. 
• The total number of members in the Legislative Council of a State having such a Council shall not exceed one-third of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly of that State.
• The above principle acts in conformity with the provision that the total number of members in the Legislative Council of a State shall in no case be less than forty.

Who is eligible to be a member of the legislative council?

• The person must be an Indian citizen and at least attained 30 years of age.
• No person can simultaneously be a Member of Parliament and State legislature.

What is the role of the legislative council?

• The Constitution of India gives limited power to the Legislative Council. 
• It cannot make or break a government. 
• It cannot say ‘no’ to Finance Bills.
• The Council has its Chairman and Deputy Chairman who enjoy the status of Cabinet Ministers in the state.

What is its importance?

• Functions as a deliberative body, bringing in the issues and problems in large, diverse states, where some issues might have escaped the attention of the Legislative Assembly of the state 
• Brings into the table wisdom and expertise, the experience of noted personalities in various fields such as Science, Arts, Literature, Public service, who otherwise could have been kept out due to the dynamics of the regular election process to the Legislative assemblies of the state.
• It acts as a forum to scrutinize the decisions taken by the Legislative Assembly, suggesting corrective steps if needed, and thereby debates to evolve a consensus in the larger public interest.

Conclusion

The provision of the legislative council, application of checks and balances attests to the wisdom and foresight of the founding fathers of the constitution. Through its various functions, cater to the needs of legislative mechanism and wisdom, that is called for when issues and challenges across different states are evolving. It is a great forum to take into account the issues, local and persisting on the ground affecting the development and progress. 

Although this form of legislative mechanism shares some criticism as being unnecessary and unrepresentative of common people, a burden to the state exchequer, causing delays in the passage of legislation, its role as a constitutional body to debate, discuss issues, bring to the fore the challenges, and bring broader consensus is well recognized. The divergence of opinion is indeed healthy for our democracy, while responsible and accountable leadership is the need of the hour, and the body duly fulfils that role by bringing in diversity and accommodating a wider range of voices.

This article is relevant for the sections of the Polity part of the UPSC Syllabus prescribed for the Preliminary and Main Stages of Civil Services Exam.

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