A significant point of difference between the relationship of the two Houses of Parliament and that of the two Houses of the State Legislature (wherever the two Houses exist) is the comparatively less important role which the Legislative Council plays in contrast to that of the Council of States.
As we have already seen, the Council of States has, excepting in the field of Money Bills, co-equal powers with the House in all legislative matters. When there is an irreconcilable conflict between the two, the deadlock is resolved in a joint sitting of the two Houses. In the State Legislature, on the contrary, the Council is designed to play a definitely inferior role.
Its functions are of an advisory nature only. Ambedkar pointed out in the Constituent Assembly that the provisions adopted by the Constitution to resolve conflicts between the two Houses of the State Legislature were based on the provisions of the (British) Parliament Act of 1911.
According to this, a Bill can have only two journeys from the Assembly to the Council. When a Bill goes to the Council for the first time from the Assembly the Council has four alternative courses of action: (1) it may reject the Bill; (2) it may amend the Bill; (3) it may take no action on it; (but when three months have elapsed since its receipt by the Council and the Council does not inform the Assembly as to what action it has taken on the Bill, it is deemed to have been rejected by the Council); and (4) it may pass the Bill as sent by the Assembly.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In the first three cases the Assembly takes up the consideration of the Bill for a second time. It may or may not accept the amendments made by the Council and pass the Bill.
It now goes for the second time to the Council which can adopt any of the above alternative courses of action except that it can delay the Bill only for a month instead of the three months in the first instance.
The Assembly acts again according to the same procedure as before, if the Council does not again agree with it. Thus, only twice will the Bills travel from the Assembly to the Council and the latter has only the power of a suspensors veto, the first time for a period of three months and the second time for a month.
These provisions clearly establish the absolute superiority of the Assembly over the Council. In respect of Money Bills, the powers of the State Assembly are the same as those of the House of the People, which we have already dealt with. There is also a special procedure prescribed for financial matters on the same pattern as what obtains in Parliament.