New book explores India’s legislative processes, highlights ‘golden period’ for Pvt Members’ Bills

NEW DELHI, May 18: The first two decades of Indian parliamentary democracy were the “golden period” for Private Members’ Bills — introduced by an individual member that may or may not be enacted into law — with 14 such bills being passed between 1952 and 1970.
A chapter of a new book by a senior Rajya Sabha official notes that this period not only witnessed 14 Private Members’ Bills (PMB) being enacted into law but also accounted for nearly half of all such bills discussed in Parliament until 2014.
In “Democratic Contestations and Legislative Process in India”, Raghab P Dash, a joint secretary in the Rajya Sabha, explores the executive-legislature relationship in the context of law-making.
Highlighting that only 14 Private Members’ Bills had become law — the last one in 1970 — since Independence, the senior Rajya Sabha official stresses in a chapter that the then-government, despite having a brute majority, gave space to this tool in the initial years of India’s parliamentary democracy.
Drawing a comparison between the number of Private Members’ Bills considered in both Houses during the first four Lok Sabhas (1952-70) and the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Lok Sabha (1998-2014), Dash states that the first four Lok Sabhas were “lively” from the perspective of private members’ legislative initiatives.
The Lok Sabha considered 239 Private Members’ Bills during 1952-70 — 52 per cent of the total 460 such bills considered from the beginning of the First to the end of the Fifteenth Lok Sabha.
In contrast, only 44 such bills were taken up for consideration between 1998 and 2014.
The golden period in the context of Private Members’ Bills coincided, in large measure, with the tenure of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which is often referred to as the “golden era of India’s parliamentary democracy”, the senior official notes in his book.
“Despite the scale of his parliamentary majorities, Nehru sought to create an atmosphere of trust and consultation with the opposition. He treated the leaders of the tiny non-Congress parties in Parliament as if they were genuine opposition leaders, in order to instill the habits of parliamentary democracy in India,” Dash says in the book.
He notes that during 1952-70, successive Congress governments created enabling conditions for the consideration of these Private Members’ Bills by making available parliamentary time.
“Apparently, the government of the day encouraged MPs to initiate legislative proposals and ensured their passage in both Houses. Prime minister Nehru took a personal interest in strengthening the PMB system and made himself available during discussion and at times responded to the debate,” the author observes.
He cites Nehru responding to debates during discussions on the Indian Cattle Preservation Bill, 1952, piloted by Seth Govind Das (Congress) in the Lok Sabha; Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Bill, 1953, piloted by Rukmini Devi Arundale (Independent) in the Rajya Sabha; and the Indian Converts (Regulation and Registration) Bill, 1954, introduced by Jethalal Harikrishna Joshi (Congress) in the Lok Sabha.
The 14 Private Members’ Bills that became law had the government’s active support, he notes. “However, ever since 1970, the PMB process has lost its sheen and not a single bill through this route has seen the light of day.”
Of the fourteen Private Members’ Bills passed in Parliament, five originated in the Rajya Sabha and nine in the Lok Sabha.
The first successful Private Members’ Bill was introduced on July 16, 1952 (First Lok Sabha), and the last on November 15, 1968 (Fourth Lok Sabha).
Barring two Independent MPs from the Lok Sabha, the rest of the members sponsoring these bills were from the ruling Congress.
Not a single Private Member’s Bill from any member of the opposition has been brought on the statute book.
The chapter highlights the significance of Private Members’ Bills as an alternative legislative mechanism. The subject matter of these bills have ranged from Waqf to women and children to orphanages to history and archaeology to insurance to penal law and legal issues.
Some of the Private Members’ Bills enacted into law are the Proceeding of Parliament (Protection of Publication) Bill, 1956, introduced by the Congress’ Feroze Gandhi in 1956; Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains (Declaration of National Importance) Bill, 1954, introduced by Balwant Singh Mehta of the Congress; Women’s and Children’s Institutions (Licensing), Bill, 1954, introduced by Independent MP Rajmata Kamlendu Mati Shah; and the Enlargement of Appellate (Criminal) Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court Bill, 1968, introduced by Independent MP Anand Narain Mulla.
Amid a debate over the recent Waqf (Amendment) Act, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court, the book highlights that the first-ever Private Members’ Bill to be adopted into law was the Muslim Wakfs Bill, 1952, introduced by the Congress’ Syed Mohammad Ahmed.
It was debated by the Lok Sabha and sent to a select committee, eventually becoming law on May 21, 1954.
According to data compiled by think tank PRS Legislative Research, 999 Private Members’ Bills were introduced in the Sixteenth Lok Sabha. However, fewer than 10 were taken up for discussion for a total of 50 hours.
In the Seventeenth Lok Sabha, 729 Private Members’ Bills (PMBs) were introduced but only two were discussed in the Lok Sabha.
During the same period, 705 such bills were introduced in the Rajya Sabha and 14 discussed.
According to the book, despite great potential, Private Members’ Bills achieved limited success due to a number of factors such as executive inflexibility, procedural vulnerability, as well as lack of resources and support at the disposal of the private members to pilot quality legislative proposals, besides their failure to mobilise requisite support for the bills’ passage.
“Admittedly, the PMB, as a legislative procedure, has not been able to enlarge the scope of the private members in the sphere of legislation,” it said. (PTI)

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