Question

How are private member’s Bills introduced and discussed? What chance does such a Bill have of becoming law?

Answer 1

Any MP who is not a Minister is referred to as a private member. Private member’s bills are piloted by non-Minister MPs. Their purpose is to draw the government’s attention to what individual MPs see as issues and gaps in the existing legal framework, which require legislative intervention.

Introduction in the House

• The admissibility of a private member’s Bill is decided by the Rajya Sabha Chairman. In the case of Lok Sabha, it is the Speaker; the procedure is roughly the same for both Houses. The Member must give at least a month’s notice before the Bill can be listed for introduction; the House secretariat examines it for compliance with constitutional provisions and rules on legislation before listing.
• private member’s Bills can be introduced and discussed only on Fridays.

Procedure for Introduction and discussion of the Private members bill

• On the scheduled Friday, the private member moves a motion for the introduction of the Bill, which is usually not opposed.
• Only a fraction of private member’s bills that are introduced, are taken up for discussion. Rajya Sabha draws a ballot to decide the sequence of discussion of Bills. If a Bill is successful in the ballot, it has to wait for the discussion to conclude on a Bill currently being debated by the House.
• A private member’s Bill that is introduced but not discussed in Rajya Sabha, lapses when Member retires.
• Upon conclusion of the discussion, the Member piloting the Bill can either withdraw it on the request of the Minister concerned, or he may choose to press ahead with its passage. In the latter case, the Bill is put to vote and, if the private member gets the support of the House, it is passed.

Chances of passing the bill

• The last time a private member‘s Bill was passed by both Houses was in 1970, which was the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Bill, 1968.
• Fourteen private member‘s Bills, five of which were introduced in Rajya Sabha, have become law so far.
• Some of the important legislations among them include 26th amendment, which related to abolition of privy purses and 61st amendment, which reduced the voting age from 21 to 18.