Delay in Proroguing Parliament's Monsoon Session Sparks Winter Session Uncertainty

Parliament's Monsoon Session, which ended with an adjournment sine die on August 13, has still not been prorogued, creating doubts about whether the usual Winter Session will take place.

Friction And Speculation

This delay has added to political tension between the government and the opposition. It has also led to rumors that a special session might happen soon to pass the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill and the Delimitation Bill. These two bills are needed to give women a 33% reservation in legislative bodies.

Government Defense

Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju sent a detailed letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday. Rijiju defended the decision, stating there is no illegality, irregularity, or impropriety. He pointed out that no constitutional rule sets a specific time limit for proroguing a House after an adjournment sine die. The government also noted that there have been past times when the House went unprorogued for up to 87 days.

Constitutional Rules

Under Article 85 of the Constitution, the gap between two sessions of Parliament cannot be more than six months. This means Parliament must meet at least twice a year. Article 85(2)(a) gives the President the power to prorogue a House based on recommendations from the Union Cabinet. If the House is not prorogued, the next sitting counts as a continuation of the previous session, meaning there would be no separate Winter Session.

Past Instances

Having three sessions every year—the Budget, Monsoon, and Winter sessions—is just a tradition and not a strict constitutional rule. Parliament has skipped the Winter Session four times since 1952. These skips happened in 1975 during the Emergency, in 1979 because the Lok Sabha was dissolved, in 1984 after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Expert View

Former Lok Sabha secretary general and constitutional expert PDT Achary stated that the government needs to explain its reasons for the delay. He noted that the government should inform the opposition to ensure smoother parliamentary work, especially since past delays always had stated reasons.

Context

Pragmatic parliamentary scheduling relies on the formal steps of adjournment sine die followed by a presidential prorogation order. While skipping a session is rare and usually tied to major national emergencies, the government maintains full legal compliance as long as the six-month gap between sittings is respected.