Context

The Winter Session of the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die (indefinitely), six days ahead of schedule, with the Opposition parties forcing repeated adjournments in the final days over their demand for a discussion on the border issue with China at Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The Winter Session commenced on December 7 and was scheduled to conclude on December 29, but it was cut short. This is the eight straight session to conclude before the schedule date

Sessions of the Parliament:

• A session of Indian Parliament is the time period during which a House meets almost every day continuously to transact business.
• There are usually three sessionsin a year:
  • The Budget Session (February to May)
  • The Monsoon Session (July to September)and
  • The Winter Session (November to December).

Part-V (Article 79 – 122) of the Constitution deals with the organization, composition, duration, officers, procedures, privileges and powers of the Parliament.

• A session contains many meetings. Each meeting has two sittings – morning sitting from 11 am to 1 pmand post-lunch sitting from 2 pm to 6 pm.
• A sitting of Parliament can be terminated by adjournment, adjournment sine die, prorogation or dissolution.
• The period between the prorogation of a House and its reassembly in a new session is called ‘recess’.

Summoning:

• Summoning is the process of calling all members of the Parliament to meet.
• It is the duty of Indian President to summon each House of the Parliament from time to time.
• The maximum gap between two sessions of Parliament cannot be more than six months. In other words, the Parliament should meet at least twice a year.

Adjournment:

• An adjournment suspends the work in a sitting for a specified time, which may be hours, days or weeks. In this case, the time of reassembly is specified.
• An adjournment only terminates a sitting and not a session of the House.
• The power of adjournment lies with the presiding officer of the House.

Adjournment Sine Die:

• Adjournment sine die means terminating a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period.
• In other words, when the House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly, it is called adjournment sine die.
• The power of adjournment sine die lies with the presiding officer of the House.

Prorogation:

• Prorogation means the termination of a session of the House by an order made by the President under article 85(2) (a) of the Constitution.
• Prorogation terminates both the sitting and session of the House.
• Usually, within a few days after the House is adjourned sine die by the presiding officer, the President issues a notification for the prorogation of the session.
• However, the President can also prorogue the House while in session.

Dissolution:

• Dissolution ends the very life of the existing House, and a new House is constituted after general elections are held.
• Rajya Sabha, being a permanent House, is not subject to dissolution. Only the Lok Sabha is subject to dissolution.
• The dissolution of the Lok Sabha may take place in either of two ways:
• Automatic dissolution
• Order of President

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