Indian Constitution Part VI
Indian Constitution Part VI
Indian Constitution Part VI
THE STATES
CHAPTER I.—GENERAL
152. Definition.—In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, the
expression “State” does not include the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
CHAPTER II.—THE EXECUTIVE
The Governor
153. Governors of States.—There shall be a Governor for each State:
Provided that nothing in this article shall prevent the appointment of the
same person as Governor for two or more States.
154. Executive power of State.—(1) The executive power of the State
shall be vested in the Governor and shall be exercised by him either directly or
through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution.
(2) Nothing in this article shall—
(a) be deemed to transfer to the Governor any functions conferred by
any existing law on any other authority; or
(b) prevent Parliament or the Legislature of the State from conferring
by law functions on any authority subordinate to the Governor.
155. Appointment of Governor.—The Governor of a State shall be
appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
156. Term of office of Governor.—(1) The Governor shall hold office
during the pleasure of the President.
(2) The Governor may, by writing under his hand addressed to the
President, resign his office.
(3) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this article, a Governor shall
hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his
office:
Provided that a Governor shall, notwithstanding the expiration of his
term, continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his office.
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Council of Ministers
163. Council of Ministers to aid and advise Governor.—(1) There shall
be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the
Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is by or under this
Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.
(2) If any question arises whether any matter is or is not a matter as
respects which the Governor is by or under this Constitution required to act in
his discretion, the decision of the Governor in his discretion shall be final, and
the validity of anything done by the Governor shall not be called in question on
the ground that he ought or ought not to have acted in his discretion.
(3) The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by
Ministers to the Governor shall not be inquired into in any court.
164. Other provisions as to Ministers.—(1) The Chief Minister shall
be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the
Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister, and the Ministers shall hold
office during the pleasure of the Governor:
Provided that in the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh
and Odisha, there shall be a Minister in charge of tribal welfare who may in
addition be in charge of the welfare of the Scheduled Castes and backward
classes or any other work.
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(1A) The total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the
Council of Ministers in a State shall not exceed fifteen per cent. of the total
number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that State:
Provided that the number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister in a
State shall not be less than twelve:
Provided further that where the total number of Ministers including the
Chief Minister in the Council of Ministers in any State at the commencement of
the Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003 exceeds the said fifteen
per cent. or the number specified in the first proviso, as the case may be, then
the total number of Ministers in that State shall be brought in conformity with
the provisions of this clause within six months from such date as the President
may by public notification appoint.
(1B) A member of the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of
the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council belonging to any political
party who is disqualified for being a member of that House under paragraph 2
of the Tenth Schedule shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a Minister
under clause (1) for duration of the period commencing from the date of his
disqualification till the date on which the term of his office as such member
would expire or where he contests any election to the Legislative Assembly of
a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council,
as the case may be, before the expiry of such period, till the date on which he is
declared elected, whichever is earlier.
(2) The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the
Legislative Assembly of the State.
(3) Before a Minister enters upon his office, the Governor shall
administer to him the oaths of office and of secrecy according to the forms set
out for the purpose in the Third Schedule.
(4) A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a
member of the Legislature of the State shall at the expiration of that period
cease to be a Minister.
(5) The salaries and allowances of Ministers shall be such as the Legislature
of the State may from time to time by law determine and, until the Legislature of the
State so determines, shall be as specified in the Second Schedule.
The Advocate-General for the State
165. Advocate-General for the State.—(1) The Governor of each State
shall appoint a person who is qualified to be appointed a Judge of a High Court
to be Advocate-General for the State.
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7-1-2004, vide Notification S.O. No. 21(E), dated 7-1-2004.
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1. No date has been appointed under s. 8(2) of the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, for the
insertion of the words “Madhya Pradesh” in this sub-clause.
2. Ins. by Act 16 of 2010, s. 3 (Date yet to be notified).
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(2) For the purposes of clause (1), each State shall be divided into
territorial constituencies in such manner that the ratio between the population
of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it shall, so far as
practicable, be the same throughout the State.
Explanation.—In this clause, the expression “population” means the
population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant
figures have been published:
Provided that the reference in this Explanation to the last preceding
census of which the relevant figures have been published shall, until the
relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been
published, be construed as a reference to the 2001 census.
(3) Upon the completion of each census, the total number of seats in the
Legislative Assembly of each State and the division of each State into territorial
constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in such manner as
Parliament may by law determine:
Provided that such readjustment shall not affect representation in the
Legislative Assembly until the dissolution of the then existing Assembly:
Provided further that such readjustment shall take effect from such date
as the President may, by order, specify and until such readjustment takes effect,
any election to the Legislative Assembly may be held on the basis of the
territorial constituencies existing before such readjustment:
Provided also that until the relevant figures for the first census taken
after the year 2026 have been published, it shall not be necessary to readjust—
(i) the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State
as readjusted on the basis of the 1971 census; and
(ii) the division of such State into territorial constituencies as may be
readjusted on the basis of the 2001 census,
under this clause.
171. Composition of the Legislative Councils.—(1) The total number
of members in the Legislative Council of a State having such a Council shall
not exceed one third of the total number of members in the Legislative
Assembly of that State:
Provided that the total number of members in the Legislative Council of
a State shall in no case be less than forty.
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183. Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of
Chairman and Deputy Chairman.—A member holding office as Chairman or
Deputy Chairman of a Legislative Council—
(a) shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the Council;
(b) may at any time by writing under his hand addressed, if such
member is the Chairman, to the Deputy Chairman, and if such member is
the Deputy Chairman, to the Chairman, resign his office; and
(c) may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Council
passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council:
Provided that no resolution for the purpose of clause (c) shall be moved unless
at least fourteen days' notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution.
184. Power of the Deputy Chairman or other person to perform the
duties of the office of, or to act as, Chairman.—(1) While the office of
Chairman is vacant, the duties of the office shall be performed by the Deputy
Chairman or, if the office of Deputy Chairman is also vacant, by such member
of the Council as the Governor may appoint for the purpose.
(2) During the absence of the Chairman from any sitting of the Council
the Deputy Chairman or, if he is also absent, such person as may be determined
by the rules of procedure of the Council, or, if no such person is present, such
other person as may be determined by the Council, shall act as Chairman.
185. The Chairman or the Deputy Chairman not to preside while a
resolution for his removal from office is under consideration.—(1) At any
sitting of the Legislative Council, while any resolution for the removal of the
Chairman from his office is under consideration, the Chairman, or while any
resolution for the removal of the Deputy Chairman from his office is under
consideration, the Deputy Chairman, shall not, though he is present, preside,
and the provisions of clause (2) of article 184 shall apply in relation to every
such sitting as they apply in relation to a sitting from which the Chairman or, as
the case may be, the Deputy Chairman is absent.
(2) The Chairman shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take
part in the proceedings of, the Legislative Council while any resolution for his
removal from office is under consideration in the Council and shall,
notwithstanding anything in article 189, be entitled to vote only in the first
instance on such resolution or on any other matter during such proceedings but
not in the case of an equality of votes.
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193. Penalty for sitting and voting before making oath or affirmation
under article 188 or when not qualified or when disqualified.—If a person
sits or votes as a member of the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative
Council of a State before he has complied with the requirements of article 188,
or when he knows that he is not qualified or that he is disqualified for
membership thereof, or that he is prohibited from so doing by the provisions of
any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of the State, he shall be liable in
respect of each day on which he so sits or votes to a penalty of five hundred
rupees to be recovered as a debt due to the State.
Powers, Privileges and Immunities of State Legislatures
and their Members
194. Powers, privileges, etc., of the Houses of Legislatures and of the
members and committees thereof.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this
Constitution and to the rules and standing orders regulating the procedure of the
Legislature, there shall be freedom of speech in the Legislature of every State.
(2) No member of the Legislature of a State shall be liable to any
proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in
the Legislature or any committee thereof, and no person shall be so liable in
respect of the publication by or under the authority of a House of such a
Legislature of any report, paper, votes or proceedings.
(3) In other respects, the powers, privileges and immunities of a House
of the Legislature of a State, and of the members and the committees of a
House of such Legislature, shall be such as may from time to time be defined
by the Legislature by law, and, until so defined, shall be those of that House
and of its members and committees immediately before the coming into force
of section 26 of the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978.
(4) The provisions of clauses (1), (2) and (3) shall apply in relation to
persons who by virtue of this Constitution have the right to speak in, and
otherwise to take part in the proceedings of, a House of the Legislature of a State
or any committee thereof as they apply in relation to members of that Legislature.
195. Salaries and allowances of members.—Members of the
Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council of a State shall be entitled to
receive such salaries and allowances as may from time to time be determined,
by the Legislature of the State by law and, until provision in that respect is so
made, salaries and allowances at such rates and upon such conditions as were
immediately before the commencement of this Constitution applicable in the
case of members of the Legislative Assembly of the corresponding Province.
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Legislative Procedure
196. Provisions as to introduction and passing of Bills.—(1) Subject
to the provisions of articles 198 and 207 with respect to Money Bills and other
financial Bills, a Bill may originate in either House of the Legislature of a State
which has a Legislative Council.
(2) Subject to the provisions of articles 197 and 198, a Bill shall not be
deemed to have been passed by the Houses of the Legislature of a State having
a Legislative Council unless it has been agreed to by both Houses, either
without amendment or with such amendments only as are agreed to by both
Houses.
(3) A Bill pending in the Legislature of a State shall not lapse by reason
of the prorogation of the House or Houses thereof.
(4) A Bill pending in the Legislative Council of a State which has not
been passed by the Legislative Assembly shall not lapse on a dissolution of the
Assembly.
(5) A Bill which is pending in the Legislative Assembly of a State, or
which having been passed by the Legislative Assembly is pending in the
Legislative Council, shall lapse on a dissolution of the Assembly.
197. Restriction on powers of Legislative Council as to Bills other
than Money Bills.—(1) If after a Bill has been passed by the Legislative
Assembly of a State having a Legislative Council and transmitted to the
Legislative Council—
(a) the Bill is rejected by the Council; or
(b) more than three months elapse from the date on which the Bill is
laid before the Council without the Bill being passed by it; or
(c) the Bill is passed by the Council with amendments to which the
Legislative Assembly does not agree;
the Legislative Assembly may, subject to the rules regulating its procedure, pass the
Bill again in the same or in any subsequent session with or without such amendments,
if any, as have been made, suggested or agreed to by the Legislative Council and then
transmit the Bill as so passed to the Legislative Council.
(2) If after a Bill has been so passed for the second time by the
Legislative Assembly and transmitted to the Legislative Council—
(a) the Bill is rejected by the Council; or
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(b) more than one month elapses from the date on which the Bill is
laid before the Council without the Bill being passed by it; or
(c) the Bill is passed by the Council with amendments to which the
Legislative Assembly does not agree;
the Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by the Houses of the Legislature of the
State in the form in which it was passed by the Legislative Assembly for the second
time with such amendments, if any, as have been made or suggested by the Legislative
Council and agreed to by the Legislative Assembly.
(3) Nothing in this article shall apply to a Money Bill.
198. Special procedure in respect of Money Bills.—(1) A Money Bill
shall not be introduced in a Legislative Council.
(2) After a Money Bill has been passed by the Legislative Assembly of a
State having a Legislative Council, it shall be transmitted to the Legislative
Council for its recommendations, and the Legislative Council shall within a
period of fourteen days from the date of its receipt of the Bill return the Bill to the
Legislative Assembly with its recommendations, and the Legislative Assembly
may thereupon either accept or reject all or any of the recommendations of the
Legislative Council.
(3) If the Legislative Assembly accepts any of the recommendations of
the Legislative Council, the Money Bill shall be deemed to have been passed
by both Houses with the amendments recommended by the Legislative Council
and accepted by the Legislative Assembly.
(4) If the Legislative Assembly does not accept any of the
recommendations of the Legislative Council, the Money Bill shall be deemed
to have been passed by both Houses in the form in which it was passed by the
Legislative Assembly without any of the amendments recommended by the
Legislative Council.
(5) If a Money Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly and transmitted
to the Legislative Council for its recommendations is not returned to the
Legislative Assembly within the said period of fourteen days, it shall be
deemed to have been passed by both Houses at the expiration of the said period
in the form in which it was passed by the Legislative Assembly.
199. Definition of “Money Bills”.—(1) For the purposes of this
Chapter, a Bill shall be deemed to be a Money Bill if it contains only provisions
dealing with all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;
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(b) the expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State but
not exceeding in any case the amount shown in the statement previously
laid before the House or Houses.
(2) No amendment shall be proposed to any such Bill in the House or
either House of the Legislature of the State which will have the effect of
varying the amount or altering the destination of any grant so made or of
varying the amount of any expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of
the State, and the decision of the person presiding as to whether an amendment
is inadmissible under this clause shall be final.
(3) Subject to the provisions of articles 205 and 206, no money shall be
withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of the State except under appropriation
made by law passed in accordance with the provisions of this article.
205. Supplementary, additional or excess grants.—(1) The Governor
shall—
(a) if the amount authorised by any law made in accordance with the
provisions of article 204 to be expended for a particular service for the
current financial year is found to be insufficient for the purposes of that
year or when a need has arisen during the current financial year for
supplementary or additional expenditure upon some new service not
contemplated in the annual financial statement for that year, or
(b) if any money has been spent on any service during a financial
year in excess of the amount granted for that service and for that year,
cause to be laid before the House or the Houses of the Legislature of the State
another statement showing the estimated amount of that expenditure or cause to
be presented to the Legislative Assembly of the State a demand for such excess,
as the case may be.
(2) The provisions of articles 202, 203 and 204 shall have effect in
relation to any such statement and expenditure or demand and also to any law
to be made authorising the appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated
Fund of the State to meet such expenditure or the grant in respect of such
demand as they have effect in relation to the annual financial statement and the
expenditure mentioned therein or to a demand for a grant and the law to be
made for the authorisation of appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated
Fund of the State to meet such expenditure or grant.
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(3) A Bill which, if enacted and brought into operation, would involve
expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of a State shall not be passed by a
House of the Legislature of the State unless the Governor has recommended to
that House the consideration of the Bill.
Procedure Generally
208. Rules of procedure.—(1) A House of the Legislature of a State
may make rules for regulating, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, its
procedure and the conduct of its business.
(2) Until rules are made under clause (1), the rules of procedure and
standing orders in force immediately before the commencement of this
Constitution with respect to the Legislature for the corresponding Province shall
have effect in relation to the Legislature of the State subject to such modifications
and adaptations as may be made therein by the Speaker of the Legislative
Assembly, or the Chairman of the Legislative Council, as the case may be.
(3) In a State having a Legislative Council the Governor, after
consultation with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the Chairman of
the Legislative Council, may make rules as to the procedure with respect to
communications between the two Houses.
209. Regulation by law of procedure in the Legislature of the State in
relation to financial business.—The Legislature of a State may, for the purpose
of the timely completion of financial business, regulate by law the procedure of,
and the conduct of business in, the House or Houses of the Legislature of the
State in relation to any financial matter or to any Bill for the appropriation of
moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of the State, and, if and so far as any
provision of any law so made is inconsistent with any rule made by the House or
either House of the Legislature of the State under clause (1) of article 208 or with
any rule or standing order having effect in relation to the Legislature of the State
under clause (2) of that article, such provision shall prevail.
210. Language to be used in the Legislature.—(1) Notwithstanding
anything in Part XVII, but subject to the provisions of article 348, business in
the Legislature of a State shall be transacted in the official language or
languages of the State or in Hindi or in English:
Provided that the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or Chairman of
the Legislative Council, or person acting as such, as the case may be, may
permit any member who cannot adequately express himself in any of the
languages aforesaid to address the House in his mother-tongue.
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(2) Unless the Legislature of the State by law otherwise provides, this
article shall, after the expiration of a period of fifteen years from the
commencement of this Constitution, have effect as if the words “or in English”
were omitted therefrom:
Provided that in relation to the Legislatures of the States of Himachal
Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura this clause shall have effect as if for
the words “fifteen years” occurring therein, the words “twenty-five years” were
substituted:
Provided further that in relation to the Legislatures of the States of
Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Mizoram, this clause shall have effect as if for the
words "fifteen years" occurring therein, the words "forty years" were
substituted.
211. Restriction on discussion in the Legislature.—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.
212. Courts not to inquire into proceedings of the Legislature.—(1)
The validity of any proceedings in the Legislature of a State shall not be called
in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure.
(2) No officer or member of the Legislature of a State in whom powers
are vested by or under this Constitution for regulating procedure or the conduct
of business, or for maintaining order, in the Legislature shall be subject to the
jurisdiction of any court in respect of the exercise by him of those powers.
CHAPTER IV.—LEGISLATIVE POWER OF THE GOVERNOR
213. Power of Governor to promulgate Ordinances during recess of
Legislature.—(1) If at any time, except when the Legislative Assembly of a
State is in session, or where there is a Legislative Council in a State, except
when both Houses of the Legislature are in session, the Governor is satisfied
that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate
action, he may promulgate such Ordinances as the circumstances appear to
him to require:
Provided that the Governor shall not, without instructions from the
President, promulgate any such Ordinance if—
(a) a Bill containing the same provisions would under this
Constitution have required the previous sanction of the President for the
introduction thereof into the Legislature; or
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