Parliament's monsoon session yet to be prorogued, raising doubts over winter sitting

The Monsoon Session, which was adjourned sine die on August 13, has yet to be prorogued. While the constitutional validity of the decision cannot be challenged, it has raised questions about whether the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament will be on track.

The delay in proroguing the House has exacerbated friction between the government and the opposition and set off speculation that a special session could be in the offing to pass the crucial 131st Constitution Amendment Bill and the Delimitation Bill, which are required to roll out the 33% reservation for women in legislatures.

The government has kept everyone guessing but defended the decision, pointing out there is no illegality or irregularity.

In a detailed letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday, Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said there was no impropriety or irregularity in Parliament not being prorogued since the monsoon session ended in August, as there was "no constitutional requirement" prescribing a specific period within which a House must be prorogued following its adjournment sine die.

Typically, there are three sessions every year, starting with the Budget Session, which begins at the end of January and winds up by April; followed by the Monsoon session that begins in July and extends till August; and the Winter session that begins in November and winds up with the calendar year in December. This calendar is conventional and not constitutionally bound.

According to people aware of the details, if the government does not recommend proroguing the House to the President, the upcoming session will be considered part of the Monsoon session. Simply put, there will be no Winter Session.

"If the House is not prorogued, then it is considered a continuation of the previous session..." said a person familiar with Parliamentary procedures.

Article 85 of the Constitution, which lays down the rules for convening sessions, does not specify any cut-off date for proroguing the House. It only prescribes that the gap between two consecutive sessions of Parliament cannot exceed six months. This means Parliament has to meet at least twice a year.

"The three sessions are a convention, not a rule...There have been instances in the past when one session was skipped on account of an exigency; the most recent example is that of 2020, when COVID was at its peak, and the Winter Session could not be convened," said the person quoted above.

In the past, Parliament did not convene for the Winter session four times since 1952: in 1975, during the Emergency; in 1979, because the Lok Sabha had been dissolved; in 1984, after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; and finally in 2020, owing to the pandemic.

Per Article 85(2)(a) of the Constitution, the President has the power to prorogue either House acting on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.

The tenure of a session ends with the House being adjourned sine die by the Presiding Officer- Speaker of the Lok Sabha or Chairman of the Rajya Sabha- which is followed by the parliamentary affairs ministry sending a proposal to the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) to prorogue the House. This proposal is then sent to the President by the Union Cabinet. The House is prorogued once the President signs the order, and a notification is issued.

The government has defended the delay, pointing out that there are several instances in the past when the House was kept unprorogued for as many as 87 days.

Former secretary general of the Lok Sabha and Constitutional expert PDT Achary, however, said the government needs to explain the reason for the delay.

"For better and smooth parliamentary functioning, the government must tell the Opposition why it has not recommended the proroguing... In the past, when the House was not prorogued, there were reasons for it, and those were stated," he said.