Joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha can take place to resolve deadlock over

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — A, Ordinary Legislation. Article 108 empowers the President to summon a joint sitting of the two Houses to break a deadlock, but ONLY over an ordinary Bill — one that has been passed by one House and rejected by the other, or on which the Houses have finally disagreed over amendments, or which has lain with the other House for more than six months. At the joint sitting (presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha), the Bill is decided by a simple majority of members present and voting. Because the Lok Sabha is the larger House, its will usually prevails. Only three joint sittings have ever been held: the Dowry Prohibition Bill (1961), the Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill (1978) and the Prevention of Terrorism Bill/POTA (2002) — all ordinary legislation.

Why the other options are wrong — (b) Wrong — a Money Bill is governed by Article 109. The Rajya Sabha can only recommend changes and must return it within 14 days; the Lok Sabha may accept or reject those recommendations, so there is no deadlock to resolve and hence no joint sitting.  (c) Wrong — a Constitution Amendment Bill under Article 368 must be passed by EACH House separately by the prescribed special majority. Article 368 makes no provision for a joint sitting, so a deadlock cannot be broken this way.  (d) Wrong — an Appropriation Bill is a Money Bill (Article 114), so it follows the Article 109 route where the Lok Sabha prevails; a joint sitting does not apply to it.

Concept: Article 108 of the Constitution provides the joint-sitting mechanism to resolve a legislative deadlock between the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over an ordinary Bill. The joint sitting is summoned by the President, presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and the Bill is passed by a simple majority of those present and voting. Money Bills (Art. 109) and Constitution Amendment Bills (Art. 368) are deliberately excluded from this mechanism.

State PCS 2020 Q128 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2020 Q128 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer