Joint Sitting of the Two Houses of Parliament

A joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament is an extraordinary mechanism, provided for under Article 108 of the Constitution, that allows the President to summon the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to meet and vote together in order to break a legislative deadlock over a Bill. It exists because a bicameral Parliament can, in principle, reach an impasse that neither House alone can resolve.

When a Deadlock Arises

Article 108 identifies three situations that count as a deadlock, once a Bill has been passed by one House and transmitted to the other:

In any of these three situations, the President may notify the Houses — by message if they are sitting, or by public notification if not — of an intention to summon them to a joint sitting to deliberate and vote on the Bill. This power is not automatic; it is an option the President may exercise. In reckoning the six-month period in the third situation, certain periods during which a House is not actually transacting business are left out of account.

What Article 108 Does Not Cover

The joint sitting mechanism has firm limits:

• Money Bills are excluded. Article 108 itself contains a proviso that none of this applies to a Money Bill — since a Money Bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha cannot reject or indefinitely delay it, no deadlock of the Article 108 kind can arise for such Bills.
• Constitution Amendment Bills are excluded. A Bill to amend the Constitution follows a special procedure with a special majority requirement, and has no joint-sitting route if the two Houses disagree.
• Financial Bills carrying non-Money-Bill provisions can go to a joint sitting, since, unlike a Money Bill, they are not confined to the Article 110 list of purely financial matters and are treated broadly like an ordinary Bill for deadlock purposes.

Procedure Once the President Notifies

Once the President notifies an intention to hold a joint sitting, neither House may proceed further with the Bill on its own. If the Lok Sabha is dissolved after such notification, the Bill does not lapse — the joint sitting can still be held, which is a notable exception to the general rule that pending business lapses on dissolution.

Who Presides, and the Quorum

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over a joint sitting. In the Speaker's absence, the Deputy Speaker presides; if the Deputy Speaker is also absent, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha takes the chair; and if even the Deputy Chairman is unavailable, any other person determined by the members present at the joint sitting presides. Notably, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha never presides over a joint sitting, since the Chairman (the Vice-President of India) is not a member of either House. The quorum required to constitute a joint sitting is one-tenth of the total membership of the two Houses combined, and the sitting is conducted under a set of Rules of Procedure for joint sittings.

Voting and What Happens to the Bill

At the joint sitting, the Bill — along with any amendments agreed to at the sitting, which may include amendments made necessary by the delay in passage — is put to vote. If it is passed by a majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting, the Bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses. It then goes to the President, who may give assent, withhold assent, or return it for reconsideration.

How Often Has It Been Used?

Since 1950, the joint sitting provision has been invoked only three times:

This rarity underlines that a joint sitting is meant as a last resort for breaking a genuine deadlock, not a routine legislative device.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Article 108 governs joint sittings; the proviso excludes Money Bills.
• The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over a joint sitting — never the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• Quorum for a joint sitting is one-tenth of the total membership of both Houses.
• Only three Bills have been passed at a joint sitting since 1950.

Mains

• Discuss Article 108 as a constitutional safeguard against legislative deadlock, and evaluate why it has been so rarely invoked.
• Examine why Money Bills and Constitution Amendment Bills are kept outside the joint sitting mechanism.

FAQ

Q1. What is a joint sitting of Parliament? A joint sitting is a meeting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha together, summoned by the President under Article 108, to resolve a deadlock over a Bill other than a Money Bill.

Q2. Can a Money Bill be sent to a joint sitting? No. Article 108 explicitly excludes Money Bills from its scope, since the Rajya Sabha cannot reject or indefinitely hold up a Money Bill in the first place.

Q3. Who presides over a joint sitting? The Speaker of the Lok Sabha, or in their absence the Deputy Speaker, or in their absence the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, or failing all three, a person chosen by the members present.

Q4. Does dissolution of the Lok Sabha end a pending joint sitting? No, provided the President had already notified an intention to summon the joint sitting before the dissolution — in that case the Bill does not lapse.

Q5. How many times has a joint sitting actually been held? Only three times since 1950: for the Dowry Prohibition Bill (1960), the Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill (1977), and the Prevention of Terrorism Bill (2002).

Quick Revision

• Article 108 — joint sitting to resolve deadlock over a Bill (not a Money Bill).
• Three deadlock triggers: rejection, disagreement on amendments, six months' inaction.
• Speaker of Lok Sabha presides; Chairman of Rajya Sabha cannot (not a House member).
• Quorum: one-tenth of the combined membership of both Houses.
• Used only thrice since 1950 — Dowry Prohibition Bill, Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill, Prevention of Terrorism Bill.
• Constitution Amendment Bills have no joint-sitting route.

Sources

• The Constitution of India, Article 108 — Ministry of Law and Justice, legislative.gov.in.

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.