Individual Privileges

The privileges belonging to the members individually are:

1. They cannot be arrested during the session of the state legislature and 40 days before the beginning and 40 days after the end of such session. This privilege is available only in civil cases and not in criminal cases or preventive detention cases.

2. They have freedom of speech in the state legislature. No member is liable to any proceedings in any court for anything said or any vote given by him in the state legislature or its committees. This freedom is subject to the provisions of the Constitution and to the rules and standing orders regulating the procedure of the state legislature18 .

3. They are exempted from jury service. They can refuse to give evidence and appear as a witness in a case pending in a court when the state legislature is in session.

Table 33.2 Strength of Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils (2019)

Table 33.3 Seats Reserved for SCs and STs in the Legislative Assemblies (2019)

Name of the State/ Union Territory

Total Reserved for

the Scheduled Castes

Reserved for the

Table 33.4 Articles Related to State Legislature at a Glance

182. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council

183. Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of Chairman and Deputy Chairman

184. Power of the Deputy Chairman or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or to act as, Chairman

185. The Chairman or the Deputy Chairman not to preside while a resolution for his removal from office is under consideration

186. Salaries and allowances of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman

187. Secretariat of State Legislature

Conduct of Business

188. Oath or affirmation by members

189. Voting in Houses, power of Houses to act notwithstanding vacancies and quorum

Disqualifications of Members

190. Vacation of seats

191. Disqualifications for membership

192. Decision on questions as to disqualifications of members

193. Penalty for sitting and voting before making oath or affirmation under Article 188 or when not qualified or when disqualified

Powers, Privileges and Immunities of State Legislatures and their Members

194. Powers, privileges, etc., of the House of Legislatures and of the members and committees thereof

195. Salaries and allowances of members

Legislative Procedure

196. Provisions as to introduction and passing of Bills

197. Restriction on powers of Legislative Council as to Bills other than Money Bills

Table 33.5 Laws made by Parliament under Article 169 of the Constitution

NOTES AND REFERENCES‌

1. The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir had adopted a bicameral legislature by its own state Constitution, which was separate from the Indian Constitution.

2. M.P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law, Wadhwa Fourth edition, P. 159

3. See Table 33.2 at the end of this chapter.

4. An Anglo-Indian means a person whose father or any other male progenitor in the male line is or was of European descent, but who is domiciled within the territory of India and is or was born within such territory of parents habitually resident therein and not established there for temporary purposes only.

5. This means that the number of assembly seats reserved in a state for such castes and tribes is to bear the same proportion to the total number of seats in the assembly as the population of such castes and tribes in the concerned state bears to the total population of the state.

6. The minimum strength fixed at 40 by the Constitution of India was not applicable to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Its council had 36 members under the provisions of its own state Constitution.

7. See Table 33.2 at the end of this chapter.

8. The term of the legislative assembly of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was six years under its own state Constitution.

9. A minister in the union or state government is not considered as holding an office of profit. Also, the state legislature can declare that a particular office of profit will not disqualify its holder from its membership.

10. Kihota Hollohan v. Zachilhu, (1992).

11. However, the Chairman/Speaker need not accept the resignation if he is satisfied that it is not voluntary or genuine.

12. A person can remain a minister for six months, without being a member of either house of the state legislature.

13. For a comparative study of the veto power of the president and the governor, see Chapter 30.

14. For a comparative study of the ordinance-making power of the president and the governor, see Chapter 30.

15. The position, in this regard, is very well analysed by J.C. Johari in the following way: 'The Constitution is not clear on this point whether a bill of constitutional amendment referred to the states for ratification by their legislatures shall include the Vidhan Parishad or not. In practice, it may be understood that the will of the Vidhan Sabha has to prevail. In case the Vidhan Parishad concurs with the view of the Vidhan Sabha, it is all right; in case it differs, the Vidhan Sabha may pass it again and thereby ignore the will of the Vidhan Parishad as it can do in case of a non-money bill’. (Indian Government and Politics, Vishal, Thirteenth Edition, 2001, P. 441).

16. The Parliament Act of 1911, and the Amending Act of 1949,

have curtailed the powers of the House of Lords and established the supremacy of the House of Commons.

17. The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 restored the freedom of the press to publish true reports of state legislature without its prior permission. But, this is not applicable in the case of a secret sitting of the House.

18. Article 211 of the Constitution says that no discussion shall take place in the legislature of a state with respect to the conduct of any judge of the Supreme Court or of a high court in the discharge of his duties. Under the rules of a House(s) of the state legislature, use of unparliamentary

language or unparliamentary conduct of a member is prohibited.

18a. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Act, 2015, increased the number of seats in the Legislative Council of Andhra Pradesh from 50 to 58.

19. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the total number of seats fixed for the Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is 107. But, 24 seats fall in the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). These seats are vacant and are not to be taken into account for reckoning the total membership of the Assembly. In addition, the Lieutenant Governor of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir may nominate two members to the Assembly to give representation to women, if in his opinion, women are not adequately represented in the Assembly.