Explainer: Difference between a Bill and an Act; how a draft legislation becomes a law after multiple readings in Parliament

Legislative proposals are brought before either House of the Parliament of India in the form of a bill. A bill is the draft of a legislative proposal, which when passed by both houses of Parliament and assented to by the President, becomes an Act of Parliament.

A bill may be introduced in the Parliament by ministers or private members. The former are called government bills and the latter, private members’ bills. Bills may also be classified as public bills and private bills. A public bill is one referring to a matter applying to the public in general, whereas a private bill relates to a particular person or corporation or institution.

A bill introduced in Lok Sabha, pending for its approval, lapses when the Lok Sabha is dissolved. Similarly, a bill passed in the Lok Sabha but pending for approval in the Rajya Sabha also lapses if the Lok Sabha is dissolved.

How a Bill becomes an Act in the Parliament

There are three stages through which a bill has to pass in one House of Parliament. The procedure is similar for the Legislative Assemblies of States.

First Reading

The legislative process begins with the introduction of a Bill in either House of Parliament, i.e. the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. It is necessary for the member-in-charge of the Bill to ask for the leave of the House to introduce the Bill. If leave is granted by the House, the Bill is introduced. This stage is known as the First Reading of the Bill.

If the motion for leave to introduce a Bill is opposed, the Speaker may, in his discretion, allow a brief explanatory statement to be made by the member who opposes the motion and the member-in-charge who moved the motion. And in case, a motion for leave to introduce a Bill is opposed on the ground that the Bill initiates legislation outside the legislative competence of the House, the Speaker may permit a full discussion thereon.

Thereafter, the question is put to the vote of the House. However, the motion for leave to introduce a Finance Bill or an Appropriation Bill is forthwith put to the vote of the House. Money/Appropriation Bills and financial bills can be introduced only in Lok Sabha per Articles 109, 110 and 117 and the Speaker of Lok Sabha decides whether a bill is Money Bill or not. Similarly, Chairman of Rajya Sabha decides whether a bill is finance bill or not when the bill is introduced in the Rajya Sabha.

Reference of Bill to a Standing Committee

After a Bill has been introduced, the Presiding Officer of the concerned House (Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or anyone acting on their behalf) can refer the Bill to the concerned Standing Committee for examination. If a Bill is referred to a Standing Committee, the Committee shall consider the general principles and clauses of the Bill referred to them and make a report thereon. The Committee can also seek expert opinion or public opinion of those interested in the measure. After the Bill has thus been considered, the Committee submits its report to the House.

Second Reading

The Second Reading consists of consideration of the Bill which occurs in two stages.

First stage

The first stage consists of a general discussion on the Bill as a whole when the principle underlying the Bill is discussed. At this stage, it is open to the House to refer the Bill to a Select Committee of the House or a Joint Committee of the two Houses or to circulate it for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon or to straight away take it into consideration.

If a Bill is referred to a Select/Joint Committee, the Committee considers the Bill clause-by-clause just as the House does. Amendments can be moved to the various clauses by members of the Committee. The Committee can also take evidence of associations, public bodies or experts who are interested in the measure. After the Bill has thus been considered, the Committee submits its report to the House which considers the Bill again as reported by the Committee. Opinions so received are laid on the Table of the House and the next motion in regard to the Bill must be for its reference to a Select/Joint Committee. It is not ordinarily permissible at this stage to move the motion for consideration of the Bill.

Second Stage

The second stage of the Second Reading consists of clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill as introduced or as reported by the Select/Joint Committee. A discussion takes place on each clause of the Bill and amendments to clauses can be moved at this stage. Amendments moved but not withdrawn are put to the vote of the House before the relevant clause is disposed of by the House. The amendments become part of the Bill if they are accepted by a majority of members present. After the clauses, the Schedules if any, the ‘Enacting Formula’ and the ‘Long Title of the Bill’ are adopted by the House, the Second Reading is deemed to be over.

Third and the last Reading

Thereafter, the member-in-charge can move that the Bill be passed. This stage is known as the Third Reading of the Bill. At this stage, the debate is confined to arguments either in support or rejection of the Bill without referring to the details thereof further than that are absolutely necessary. Only formal, verbal or consequential amendments are allowed to be moved at this stage. In passing an ordinary Bill, a simple majority of the members present and voting is necessary. But in the case of a Bill to amend the Constitution, a majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting is required in each House of Parliament as per Article 368. If the number of votes in favour and against the bill are tied, then the presiding officer of the concerned House can cast his/her vote, referred to as a Casting Vote Right.

Bill in the other House

After the Bill is passed by one House of the Parliament, it is sent to the other House for concurrence with a message to that effect, and there also it goes through the same stages, except the introduction stage. If a Bill passed by one House is amended by the other House, it is sent back to the originating House for approval. If the originating House does not agree with the amendments, it shall be that the two houses have disagreed. The other House may keep a money bill for 14 days and an ordinary Bill for three months without passing (or rejecting) it. If it fails to return the Bill within the fixed time, the Bill is deemed to be passed by both the houses and is sent for the approval of the president.

Joint session of both Houses

In case of a deadlock between the two houses or in a case where more than six months lapse in the other house, the President may summon, though is not bound to, a joint session of the two houses which is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the deadlock is resolved by simple majority. Until now, only three bills: the Dowry Prohibition Act (1961), the Banking Service Commission Repeal Bill (1978) and the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (2002) have been passed at joint sessions.

President’s approval

When a bill has been passed, it is sent to the President for his approval per Article 111. The President can assent or withhold his assent to a bill or he can return a bill, other than a money bill which is recommended by the president himself to the Houses. However, Article 255 says that prior recommendation of president or governor of a state wherever stipulated is not compulsory for an Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a State but the final consent of president or governor of a state is mandatory.

President may be of the view that a particular bill passed under the legislative powers of Parliament is violating the Constitution, he can send back the bill with his recommendation to pass the bill under the constituent powers of parliament following the Article 368 procedure. President shall not withhold constitutional amendment bill duly passed by Parliament per Article 368.

If the President gives his assent, the bill is published in The Gazette of India and becomes an Act from the date of his assent. If he withholds his assent, the bill is dropped, which is known as an absolute veto. The President can exercise an absolute veto on aid and advice of the Council of Ministers per Article 111 and Article 74. The president may also effectively withhold his assent as per his own discretion, which is known as pocket veto.

The pocket veto has only been exercised once by President Zail Singh in 1986, over the postal act where the government wanted to open postal letters without warrant by amending the Indian Post Office Act, 1898.

If the president returns it for reconsideration , the Parliament must do so, but if it is passed again and returned to him, he must give his assent to it. If parliament is not happy with the President for not assenting a bill passed by it under its legislative powers, the bill can be modified as a constitutional amendment bill and passed under its constituent powers for compelling the President to give assent.

In case a constitutional amendment act is violating the basic structure of the constitution, the constitutional bench of Supreme Court would quash the Act. When parliament is of the view that the actions of the President are violating the constitution, impeachment proceedings against president could be taken up to remove him under Article 61 where at least two — thirds of total membership of each house of Parliament should vote in favour of the impeachment when charges against the president are found valid in an investigation.

In case of a bill passed by the Legislative Assembly of a state, the consent of that state’s Governor has to be obtained. Some times the governor may refer the bill to the president anticipating clash between other central laws or constitution and the decision of the president is final per Articles 200 and 201.

Coming into force

Usually, most Acts come into force or become legally enforceable in a manner as prescribed in the Act itself. Either it would come into effect from the date of assent by the President (mostly in case of Ordinances which is later approved by the Parliament), or a specific date is mentioned in the Act itself (mostly in case of Finance Bills) or on a date as per the wish of the Central or the State Government as the case may be. In case the commencement of the Act is as made as per the wish of the government, a separate gazette notification is made, which is mostly accompanied by the Rules or subordinate legislation in another gazette notification.