Legislative Procedure for Ordinary Bills

The ordinary bill procedure governs how Parliament enacts the vast bulk of its legislation — every bill that is not a Money Bill or other financial bill covered separately by Articles 109 and 117. Article 107 of the Constitution lays down this basic procedure, and it is built on two simple ideas: a bill can start in either House, and it only becomes law once both Houses have agreed to it in the same form.

Constitutional Basis: Article 107

Article 107(1) provides that, subject to Articles 109 and 117 (which carve out special procedures for Money Bills and other financial Bills), a Bill may originate in either House of Parliament — the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. Article 107(2) then lays down the core passing requirement: a Bill is not deemed to have been passed by the Houses of Parliament unless it has been agreed to by both Houses, either without amendment, or with only such amendments as both Houses have agreed to. In other words, an ordinary bill cannot become law on the strength of one House alone — both Houses must converge on an identical text.

The Stages a Bill Passes Through

An ordinary bill moves through a defined sequence before it can receive the President's assent: introduction and a first reading, a second reading in which the bill is discussed and examined in detail (often with reference to a select or standing committee), a third reading at which the House votes on the bill as a whole, consideration and passage in the other House following the same stages, and finally the President's assent. A bill may be introduced in either House by a minister (a government bill) or by a private member (a private member's bill), and both Houses possess equal legislative powers over an ordinary bill — unlike the position for a Money Bill, where the Rajya Sabha's role is only recommendatory.

Continuity of a Pending Bill: Prorogation and Dissolution

Article 107 also settles what happens to a bill that has not finished its journey through Parliament when a session ends or a House is dissolved:

• A Bill pending in Parliament does not lapse merely because of the prorogation of the Houses — prorogation only ends a session, not the bill's pendency (Article 107(3)).
• A Bill pending in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), which has not been passed by the House of the People (Lok Sabha), does not lapse on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha (Article 107(4)) — because the Rajya Sabha, as a permanent body, is never dissolved.
• By contrast, a Bill that is still pending in the Lok Sabha, or one that the Lok Sabha has passed but which is still pending in the Rajya Sabha, does lapse when the Lok Sabha is dissolved, since its fate remains tied to the House whose membership has just ended.

Resolving a Deadlock: Joint Sitting under Article 108

When the two Houses cannot agree on an ordinary bill, the Constitution provides a resolution mechanism through a joint sitting, summoned by the President. This applies where a bill has been rejected by the other House, where the Houses have finally disagreed on the amendments to be made, or where more than six months elapse without the other House passing the bill. In reckoning this six-month period, any time during which the other House is prorogued or adjourned for more than four consecutive days is left out of the count. If the disputed bill has already lapsed because the Lok Sabha was dissolved, no joint sitting can be summoned — but a joint sitting can still go ahead if the Lok Sabha is dissolved only after the President has already notified an intention to summon one. This joint-sitting mechanism is available for ordinary bills and financial bills, but not for Money Bills (where the Lok Sabha's will simply prevails) or for Constitution amendment bills (which must be passed by each House separately, with no joint-sitting option at all).

How an Ordinary Bill Differs from Other Types of Bills

Bill type	Where it can originate	President's recommendation	Rajya Sabha's power	Joint sitting on deadlock
Ordinary Bill (Art. 107)	Either House	Not required	Full — can reject or amend	Yes (Art. 108)
Money Bill (Art. 109)	Lok Sabha only	Required for introduction	Only recommendatory; cannot reject/amend	No
Financial Bill I	Lok Sabha only	Required for introduction	Can reject or amend (except tax-reduction amendments need no recommendation)	Yes
Financial Bill II	Either House	Required before it can be passed (at consideration stage, not introduction)	Otherwise treated like an ordinary bill	Yes
Constitution Amendment Bill (Art. 368)	Either House	Not required	Must pass separately, special majority	No

A Financial Bill II is a useful contrast to keep straight: it contains provisions involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India but none of the matters listed in Article 110 (the Money Bill definition), and in every other respect it is governed by the same procedure as an ordinary bill — its only special feature is that neither House can pass it unless the President has recommended that House to consider it.

Significance

By requiring the concurrence of both Houses while still allowing a bill to start in either one, Article 107 keeps ordinary legislation genuinely bicameral — the Rajya Sabha is a real check on the Lok Sabha for this category of bills, unlike for Money Bills. The Article 108 joint-sitting mechanism then ensures that this bicameral check does not degenerate into permanent deadlock, since Parliament (with its larger Lok Sabha strength) can ultimately resolve a genuine impasse.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims: Article numbers matter here — Article 107 (ordinary bills), Article 108 (joint sitting), Article 109 (Money Bills), Article 117 (financial bills), Article 110 (definition of Money Bills). Also remember the six-month rule for triggering a joint sitting, and which bill categories are excluded from joint sittings (Money Bills, Constitution amendment bills).

Mains: A frequent theme for questions on bicameralism, the relative powers of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and the design of deadlock-resolution mechanisms in a parliamentary system.

FAQ

Can an ordinary bill be introduced in the Rajya Sabha? Yes. Article 107(1) allows an ordinary bill to originate in either House of Parliament.

What makes a bill "passed" under Article 107? It must be agreed to by both Houses, either in identical form or with amendments that both Houses have accepted.

Does a pending bill lapse if Parliament is prorogued? No. Article 107(3) specifically provides that a pending bill does not lapse merely because of prorogation.

What happens to a bill pending in the Rajya Sabha if the Lok Sabha is dissolved? If the Lok Sabha has not yet passed it, the bill does not lapse — the Rajya Sabha is a continuing body and is never dissolved.

How is a deadlock between the two Houses on an ordinary bill resolved? Through a joint sitting summoned by the President under Article 108, available when a bill is rejected by the other House, when the Houses cannot agree on amendments, or when six months pass without the other House acting on it.

Quick Revision

• Article 107 — ordinary bill may originate in either House; needs agreement of both Houses to be "passed."
• Prorogation does not lapse a pending bill (Art. 107(3)).
• A bill pending only in the Rajya Sabha does not lapse on Lok Sabha dissolution (Art. 107(4)).
• Deadlock resolved by joint sitting under Article 108 — not available for Money Bills or Constitution amendment bills.
• Six-month trigger for a joint sitting excludes periods of prorogation/adjournment beyond four days.
• Financial Bill II is procedurally an ordinary bill, except it needs the President's recommendation before being passed.

Sources

• Constitution of India, Articles 107, 108, 109, 110, 117, 368 — 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.

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