Articles 88 and 89 of the Constitution of India
Article 88 deals with the right of Ministers and the Attorney-General of India to participate in proceedings of Parliament. Article 89 establishes the constitutional offices of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of States, commonly known as the Rajya Sabha.
Article 88 - Rights of Ministers and Attorney-General as respects Houses
Article 88 is part of the constitutional framework governing Parliament. It permits every Union Minister and the Attorney-General of India to speak and otherwise participate in specified parliamentary proceedings, even where the person is not a member of the House concerned. The Article does not, by itself, confer a right to vote.
Text and effect of Article 88
Every Minister and the Attorney-General of India has the right to speak in and otherwise take part in the proceedings of either House of Parliament, a joint sitting of the Houses and a committee of Parliament of which that person is named a member. Article 88 does not, merely by reason of that right of participation, entitle the Minister or Attorney-General to vote.
Meaning of Article 88
- Minister: A Minister of the Union may participate in proceedings of either House, subject to the Constitution and parliamentary procedure.
- Attorney-General of India: The Attorney-General is the constitutional law officer of the Union under Article 76 and receives a specific right of parliamentary participation under Article 88.
- Joint sitting: The participation right extends to a joint sitting of both Houses where such a sitting is constitutionally held.
- Parliamentary committee: The right extends to a committee of Parliament where the Minister or Attorney-General has been named as a member.
- No voting right under Article 88: Participation under this Article does not itself create an entitlement to vote.
Article 89 - The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of States
Article 89 forms part of the constitutional provisions relating to officers of Parliament. It identifies the Vice-President of India as the ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States and requires the Council to choose one of its members as Deputy Chairman.
Article 89(1) - Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States.
The expression ex-officio means that the chairmanship follows from holding the office of Vice-President; a separate election by the Council of States for the office of Chairman is not required.
Article 89(2) - Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
The Council of States must, as soon as may be, choose one of its members to be Deputy Chairman. Whenever that office becomes vacant, the Council chooses another member as Deputy Chairman.
The constitutional requirement therefore keeps the office of Deputy Chairman tied to membership of the Council of States. The provisions concerning vacation, resignation and removal from that office are contained in Article 90, while Article 91 deals with performance of the duties of the Chairman when required.
Difference between Articles 88 and 89
Article 88 concerns participation by Ministers and the Attorney-General in parliamentary proceedings. Article 89 concerns the presiding offices of the Council of States. The two provisions therefore address different parts of Parliament's constitutional structure: participation in proceedings on the one hand, and institutional leadership of the Rajya Sabha on the other.
Related constitutional provisions
For the surrounding constitutional scheme, see Articles 86 and 87 concerning presidential addresses and messages; Articles 90 and 91 concerning the Deputy Chairman and performance of the Chairman's duties; and Articles 92 and 93 concerning presiding during a removal resolution and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People.
This page is an explanatory legal information article. For authoritative constitutional text, amendments and official material, consult the Government of India sources linked on this page.