What is State Legislature?

By Ayush Chandra 12 Minutes Read

Introduction

The Constitution of India is considered as one of the longest written constitutions in the whole world. Our Constitution provides us with a federal structure where the powers between the Central Government and the State Government are divided. Most maximum of us knows about the operation of the Central Legislature and the authorities related to the Central Legislature. Part VI of the Constitution distributes with the State Legislature. In this article, we will consider this part of the Indian Constitution in detail. Here we will explain the unicameral and bicameral government. The qualification of a person to be a member of the State Legislature. It is much complicated to learn the working and procedure of work in State Legislature, but later going through the Constitution of India, it fits more comfortably for one to learn it.

Bicameral and Unicameral Legislature

Before explaining what a bicameral and unicameral legislature is, let us first address what is the legislature. The legislature is the law-making body of the state. It is chief amongst the three organs of the state. It can make laws as well as determines the government. As specified in Article 168 of the Indian Constitution[1], a state can have a unicameral legislature (It should be Legislative Assembly) as well as a bicameral legislature (Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly). According to Article 168 of the Indian Constitution, there shall be legislature in every state, and it shall consist of the Governor.

Unicameral Legislature

Unicameral legislature [2]regards to holding only one legislative chamber which operates all the duties like establishing laws, legislating a budget, and addressing concerns of national and international attention. It is prevalent in the world as most nations have a unicameral legislature. It is an efficient form of the legislature as the law-making method matches more comfortably and decreases the chance of obstruction in the law-making process. Another benefit is that it is economically feasible to support a single chamber of the legislature. It is the prevailing popular system in India as the largest of the States of India have a unicameral legislature. The members of the unicameral legislature (Legislative Assembly) selected straight by the citizens of the state.

Bicameral Legislature

By bicameral legislature[3], we relate to the state holding two different law-making Houses to complete the duties like passing the budget and establishing laws. India has a bicameral legislature at the Centre level while the state can make the bicameral legislature. In India, only 7 States have a bicameral legislature. It may be understood that a bicameral legislature may not be as powerful as a unicameral legislature. Nevertheless, it serves as a barrier in some cases as it anyhow performs the law-making method further confusion.

Composition of the Houses

Article 170 of the Indian Constitution[4] speaks about the arrangement of the Legislative Assemblies. This article solely put importance on what will be the structure of the Legislative Assemblies in the state. On the other hand, the arrangement of the Legislative Council is provided in Article 171 of the Indian Constitution[5].

Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha)

According to Article 170, there should be a Legislative Assembly in every State of India. Though, these assemblies should be according to the requirements of Article 333 of the Indian Constitution[6]. The Legislative Assembly of the state can hold at most 500 constituencies and at least 60 constituencies. These constituencies would be served by the members who would be elected through the means of direct election. Though, the division of territorial constituencies would be managed in such a manner that it converts dependent on the population of that constituency. At this moment, the expression “population,” we intend population which has been written in the precedent census. The creation of the Legislative Assembly in any state can vary according to the change in the population of that state. The census of the population defines it. Nevertheless, there are some limitations to the creation of the Legislative Assembly. Let’s take the example of Mizoram, Sikkim, and Goa, which has less than 60 constituencies.     

The tenure or continuation of the Legislative Assembly is mentioned in Article 172 of the Indian Constitution[7]. The Legislative Assembly should operate for five years. Its security begins from the day of its first conference. But, it can be terminated before the particular procedure authorized by the law. Though, there can be an increase in the tenure of the Legislative Assembly. This can be made throughout the National Emergency. During the period of the National Emergency, the Parliament can increase the tenure of the Legislative Assembly for a period of height one year. Also, this extension should not be longer than six months after the announcement has terminated to work.

Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)

The composition of the Legislative Council is given in Article 171 of the Indian Constitution. The total members in the Legislative Council should not surpass one-third of the total members in the state Legislative Assembly. There are several guidelines for the creation of the Legislative Council. The member in the Legislative Council should not be less than 40 in any case. There is an exemption in the composition of Vidhan Parishad. The Legislative Council of Jammu and Kashmir has only 36 Member in Legislative Council, unlike the different Legislative Council.

The composition of the Legislative Council can be further divided in the following way:

• One-third of the members of the Legislative Council should be selected from the district boards, municipalities and other local authorities which is designated by the Parliament according to law.
• One-twelfth of its members shall be selected from the person who has been continuing in the same state for at least three years and finished from the university, which is in the territory of India.
• One- twelfth of its total member should be selected from the person who is interested in the education profession for at least three years in the educational institution of the state itself.
• Legislative Assemblies should select one third, and none of them should be a member of the Legislative Assembly.
• The Governor should decide the rest of the members according to the established law.

Qualifications of Membership

After this enough of knowledge on both the Houses of Legislations, we can proceed further on the next topic. Here we will discuss what the qualifications that one needs for holding a member of the Legislative Assembly/Council are. The qualification of membership is given in Article 173 of the Indian Constitution[8]. For the membership or for appointing a seat in the legislature of the state, a person needs to be a citizen of India. A person will not be allowed membership if he/ she is not a citizen of that nation. Also, the qualification of the membership is slightly related to the qualification to the membership of the center legislature. The member of the Legislative Assembly should be higher than 25 years. For being a member of the Legislative Council, one should be more than 30 years. Also, a mandatory requirement for being a member of legislatures holds that he/she must be a voter from either of the constituencies of the state.

Disqualifications of Membership

After being elected/ chosen as a member of the legislature, one cannot be a constant member of the legislature. There are several purposes specified in the Constitution by which a person may be disqualified from his/her membership to the legislature. Article 191 reports [9]about the unfitness of the members of the legislature.

Disqualification of MLA/ MLC can be made on the following grounds

1. If one continues the office of profit below the state or central government.
2. If one is of an unstable mind and is indicated so by the competent court.
3. If one is an undercharged insolvent.
4. If one is not a resident of the country anymore or when he/ she intentionally took the citizenship of another country.
5. Suppose the law of the Parliament excludes one. Example- Anti defection law.

[1] Constitution of Legislatures in States
[2] In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house.
[3] A bicameral legislature has legislators in two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single group, and from some legislatures that have three or more separate assemblies, chambers, or houses.
[4] Composition of the Legislative Assemblies
[5] Composition of the Legislative Councils
[6] Representation of the Anglo Indian community in the Legislative Assemblies of the States
[7] Duration of State Legislatures
[8] Qualification for membership of the State Legislature
[9]  Disqualifications for membership

Ayush Chandra