In the execution of which of the following functions, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have equal powers?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, passage of a Constitution Amendment Bill. Under Article 368 an amendment must be passed in each House separately by a special majority — a majority of the total membership of that House plus at least two-thirds of the members present and voting. There is no joint-sitting mechanism to break a deadlock on an amendment bill (Article 108 covers only ordinary bills), so if the Rajya Sabha does not pass it, the amendment simply fails. On this function the two Houses stand exactly equal, and the Rajya Sabha holds an effective veto.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Powers here are deliberately unequal. A money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha can neither reject nor amend it — it may only return the bill with recommendations within 14 days, which the Lok Sabha is free to accept or ignore (Articles 109 and 110).  (b) This is an exclusive power of the Rajya Sabha, not a shared one. Under Article 312, Parliament may create a new All India Service only if the Rajya Sabha has first passed a resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting, declaring it necessary in the national interest.  (c) Only the Lok Sabha can pass a no-confidence motion. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of the People alone (Article 75(3)), so the Rajya Sabha cannot remove a government.

Concept: The two Houses of Parliament are equal in most legislative and constituent business, but deliberately unequal wherever the government's survival or the public purse is at stake. Equal powers cover ordinary bills, constitutional amendment bills, the election and impeachment of the President, the election of the Vice-President, the removal of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, and the approval of proclamations of Emergency. The Lok Sabha alone controls money bills and can pass a no-confidence motion; the Rajya Sabha alone can act under Article 249 (authorising Parliament to legislate on a State List subject in the national interest) and Article 312 (creating a new All India Service).

State PCS 2026 Q13 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2026 Q13 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer