Q. Consider the following statements with reference to the Joint Sitting of the Parliament:
1. It is governed by the Rules of Procedure of Rajya Sabha.
2. No new amendments can be proposed to a bill at a joint sitting.
3. The bill is deemed to have been passed only if it is passed by a majority of the total membership of both the houses of parliament.
How many of the above given statements are correct?
Exp) Option d is the correct answer.
As per Article 108 of Constitution a Joint sitting is an extraordinary mechanism provided by the Constitution of India to resolve a deadlock between the two Houses over the passage of a bill.
Statement 1 is incorrect: The joint sitting is governed by the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha and not of Rajya Sabha. The quorum to constitute a joint sitting is one-tenth of the total number of members of the two Houses.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The Constitution has specified that at a joint sitting, new amendments to the bill cannot be proposed except in two cases:
- those amendments that have caused final disagreement between the Houses; and
- those amendments that might have become necessary due to the delay in the passage of the bill.
Statement 3 is incorrect: The bill in dispute in joint sitting of the two houses is deemed to have been passed by a majority of the total number of members of both the Houses present and voting (and not by a majority of the total membership of both the houses of parliament).
