Parliamentary Procedures: Sessions

Sessions of the Parliament

Terms What is it?
Summoning
  • Summoning is the process of calling all members of the Parliament to meet.
  • The President summons each House of the Parliament from time to time.
  • However, the maximum gap between two sessions of Parliament cannot be more than six months.
Sessions
  • Parliament meets for three sessions in a year.
  • Budget Session: Longest session, starts towards the end of January, and concludes by the end of April.
  • Monsoon Session: Second session, usually begins in July and finishes in August.
  • Winter Session: Third session, held from November to December.
Adjournment
  • An adjournment suspends the work in a sitting for a specified time, which may be hours, days or weeks.
Adjournment sine die
  • When the meeting is terminated without any definite time/date fixed for the next meeting, it is called Adjournment sine die.
  • The power of adjournment as well as adjournment sine die lies with the presiding officer of the House.
Prorogation
  • Prorogation terminates a sitting as well as the session of the House.
  • It is done by the President of India.
Dissolution
  • Only the Lok Sabha is subject to dissolution.
  • A dissolution ends the very life of the existing House, and a new House is constituted after general elections are held.
  • Two ways for dissolution
    • On the expiry of its tenure of five years.
    • Whenever the President decides to dissolve the House

Lame-Duck Session

  • It refers to the last session of the existing Lok Sabha, after a new Lok Sabha has been elected.
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