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11th November 2023 (8 Topics)

Winter Session of Parliament

Context:

Winter Session of Parliament to start on December 4.

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 sessions in 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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