Article 189 lays down how voting is conducted in a State Legislature, the presiding officer's casting vote, and the quorum needed for a valid sitting.
At a glance
Article 189 rules on how a State Legislature votes, the presiding officer's casting vote, and the minimum quorum for a valid sitting.
Article 189(3): quorum is 10 members or 1/10th of total membership, whichever is greater, until the State Legislature fixes it by law.
Keeps the House functional despite vacancies while ensuring a minimum attendance threshold and impartial tie-breaking by the presiding officer.
Quorum and voting in State Legislature are governed by Article 189 of the Constitution, which lays down how questions are decided in a House of a State Legislature, protects the validity of proceedings against accidental defects, and fixes the minimum attendance needed before a House can transact business at all.
Constitutional Basis: Article 189
Article 189 has three parts. Clause (1) provides that, except where the Constitution says otherwise, all questions at a sitting of a House of the State Legislature are decided by a majority of votes of the members present and voting — excluding the Speaker, Chairman, or the person acting as such. Clause (2) allows a House to act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership, and protects proceedings from being invalidated merely because it later emerges that someone who sat, voted, or otherwise took part was not entitled to do so. Clause (3) fixes the quorum: until the State Legislature provides otherwise by law, the quorum to constitute a meeting of a House is ten members, or one-tenth of the total number of members of the House, whichever is greater.
How Voting Works
Ordinary business before a House of a State Legislature is settled by simple majority of the members present and voting. The presiding officer — the Speaker or Deputy Speaker in the Assembly, the Chairman or Deputy Chairman in the Council — is deliberately excluded from this count in the first instance. The presiding officer does not cast an ordinary vote; instead, he or she holds and exercises a casting vote only when the votes on a question are equally divided. This keeps the presiding officer above ordinary factional voting while still giving the House a mechanism to break a tie.
Business Continuing Despite Vacancies
A House of a State Legislature is not paralysed by vacant seats — Article 189(2) lets it continue to function and transact business notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership. The same clause also shields the House's proceedings retrospectively: if it later turns out that a person who was not actually entitled to sit or vote had taken part in a sitting, that fact alone does not invalidate what the House did. This protects the legislature's day-to-day work from being reopened over disputes about an individual member's eligibility.
The Quorum Requirement
Quorum is the minimum number of members who must be present before a House can validly transact business. Under Article 189(3), until the State Legislature enacts its own law on the subject, this minimum is ten members or one-tenth of the total membership of the House, whichever figure is larger. In a House with a large membership, the one-tenth rule will normally exceed ten members; in a small House, the fixed floor of ten members applies instead. If a sitting proceeds without the required quorum, the presiding officer can adjourn the House or suspend the sitting until quorum is restored.
Comparable Provision at the Union Level
Article 189 for the State Legislature closely mirrors Article 100, which lays down the identical rule of majority voting, casting vote for the presiding officer, and validity of proceedings notwithstanding vacancies for the Houses of Parliament. Parliament's own quorum, fixed under Article 100(3), is likewise one-tenth of the total membership of the House concerned.
| Aspect | State Legislature | Parliament (analogous) |
|---|---|---|
| Governing provision | Article 189 | Article 100 |
| Ordinary voting rule | Majority of members present and voting | Majority of members present and voting |
| Presiding officer's vote | No vote in first instance; casting vote on a tie | No vote in first instance; casting vote on a tie |
| Effect of vacancies | House may act notwithstanding vacancies | House may act notwithstanding vacancies |
| Default quorum | 10 members or 1/10th of total membership, whichever is greater | 10 members or 1/10th of total membership, whichever is greater |
UPSC Relevance
Prelims
- Article 189 and its three clauses: majority voting, casting vote, and quorum.
- The default quorum figure — ten members or one-tenth of total membership, whichever is greater — and that it applies "until the State Legislature by law otherwise provides."
- The rule that the presiding officer does not vote in the first instance.
Mains
- The rationale for keeping presiding officers outside ordinary voting while granting them a casting vote, and how this preserves impartiality.
- How Article 189(2)'s protection of proceedings against later-discovered ineligibility supports institutional stability in a State Legislature.
FAQ
Q1. Which article governs voting and quorum in a State Legislature? Article 189 governs both — voting procedure and casting vote in clause (1), continuation despite vacancies in clause (2), and quorum in clause (3).
Q2. Does the Speaker or Chairman vote like an ordinary member? No. The Speaker, Chairman, or person acting as such does not vote in the first instance, but exercises a casting vote if the votes on a question are equally divided.
Q3. What is the minimum quorum for a sitting of a State Legislature House? Ten members, or one-tenth of the total membership of the House, whichever is greater — unless the State Legislature has fixed a different quorum by law.
Q4. Can a House transact business if some seats are vacant? Yes. Article 189(2) allows a House to act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership.
Q5. Does discovering later that an ineligible person took part in a sitting invalidate the proceedings? No. Article 189(2) specifically protects proceedings from being invalidated on that ground alone.
Quick Revision
- Article 189(1): questions decided by majority of members present and voting; presiding officer votes only on a tie (casting vote).
- Article 189(2): House can act despite vacancies; proceedings valid even if an ineligible person took part.
- Article 189(3): default quorum is 10 members or 1/10th of total membership, whichever is greater.
- Article 189 for states mirrors Article 100 for Parliament.
Sources
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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Constitutional provisions
Questions decided by majority of members present and voting; presiding officer's casting vote on a tie.
House may act notwithstanding vacancies; proceedings valid despite later-discovered ineligibility of a participant.
Default quorum: 10 members or 1/10th of total membership, whichever is greater.
The analogous provision governing voting, casting vote and quorum for the Houses of Parliament.