A Quick Guide on Bill and law-Making Procedure

A Bill is a draft statute that becomes law after it is passed by both the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President this is the Lawmaking procedure in India. All legislative proposals are brought before Parliament in the form of Bills. A recent bill that has been passed by both the houses i.e the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha is The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 this bill replaced the Identification of Prisoners Act, of 1920 and allows law enforcement agencies to collect, store and analyze physical and biological samples of convicted individual and other persons.

Law Making Procedure

Following is the Law making process in India,

1. Every Bill has to undergo three readings in each House of Parliament. 
2. The first Reading consists of the introduction of the Bill; in the House of Parliament.
3. The Second Reading is the next stage of a Bill; this starts only after the Committee submits its report on the Bill to the Houses. The Second Reading consists of two stages,
4. The ‘second stage’ signifies the clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill as introduced or reported by the Select/Joint Committee. Amendments given by members to various clauses are moved at this stage. 
5. The ‘first stage’ consists of discussion on the principles of the Bill and its provisions generally.
6. The discussion on the motion of that Bill or the Bill as amended is held in the Third Reading; it is discussed whether the Bill should be passed or returned to the Lok Sabha.

After a Bill has been passed by one house, it is sent to the other house, where it goes through the same Lawmaking procedure.

1. Once the Bill is passed in both the Houses, it is presented to the President for his assent. 
2. A Bill became an Act of Parliament after being passed by both the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President.

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7 steps of Law-making 

Indian democracy has a federal structure of government. Here laws are made and interpreted at different levels by the Union and State governments. The lawmaking process in India is a seven-step law-making procedure. The legislative process in India is as below,

Introduction Stage,

A minister or a member in charge of the Bill seeks the leave of the house to introduce a Bill.

Discussion Stage

At this stage, three options are open to the house, 

• The Bill may be taken straight to consideration, or it may be referred to any of the Standing Committees or circulated for eliciting general opinion.
• The next stage consists of clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill reported by the Committee.
• Changes or amendments to the Bill can be made only at this stage.
  
  Voting Stage

The next stage is the third reading. The debate on the third reading of a bill is of a restricted character. It is confined only to arguments either in support of the bill or for its rejection.

Rajya Sabha

At this stage, the Bill transmitted to Rajya Sabha; it goes through all the stages is in this house same as in the previous house

Joint Session

In case of deadlock between the two Houses or in the case where more than six months lapse in the other house, the President may summon a joint session.

President

When a bill has been passed, it is sent to the President for his/her assent. The President can assent or withhold his/her assent to a Bill, or he/she can return a Bill with his/her recommendation. 

Bill returned

If the President returns it for reconsideration, the Parliament must do so, but if it is passed again and returned to him/her, he/she must give his/her assent on it. In the case of the Constitutional Amendment Bill, the President is bound to give his/her assent.

These 7 steps of Law-Making lead to an Act formation.

President’s role in the Lawmaking procedure

According to article 111 of the Indian constitution, once the Bill has been passed by both Houses of Parliament, the Bill comes to the President. The President can assent or withhold his assent to the Bill or return the bill with his recommendation. The President also has the power to refuse the Bill, this power of the President is called Pocket Veto.

Also see 

• UPSC Question Paper
• How to Prepare for UPSC without Coaching

Conclusion

The basic function of Parliament is to make laws. All legislative proposals have to be brought in the form of Bills before Parliament. A Bill is a statute in the draft and cannot become law unless it has received the approval of both the Houses of Parliament and the assent of the President of India. Various types of bills are introduced in either house of the Parliament to enact a law. It is the duty of the President and the Members of both the Houses, the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, to work in the interest of the Nation.