Vacation of seats

Quick Summary (TL;DR)

Article 101 (Vacation of seats): Regulates the composition, procedures, privileges, and law-making rules of Parliament under Part V.

In Simple Citizen Words

Article 101 governs 'Vacation of seats' in Part V, Chapter II (Parliament). It lays down the constitutional rulebook for how Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are constituted, how presiding officers (Speaker/Chairman) function, member qualifications/disqualifications, quorum, passage of ordinary and financial Bills, budget grants, and parliamentary privileges. Specifically: (1) No person shall be a member of both Houses of Parliament and provision shall be made by Parliament by law for the vacation by a person who is chosen a member of both Houses of his seat in one House or the other. (2) No person shall...

Key Constitutional Provisions

Constitutional Mandate (Art. 101): Directly codifies the legal rule for 'Vacation of seats' under Part V

Structured across 6 clause(s) and 3 sub-clause(s) with explicit constitutional provisos/safeguards

Requires transparent Parliamentary law-making and democratic accountability rather than arbitrary executive action

Exceptions & Reasonable Restrictions

All Parliamentary legislation and rules of procedure are subject to the provisions of the Constitution, Fundamental Rights (Article 13), and the Basic Structure doctrine.

Why This Matters in Daily Life

Protects democratic representation by ensuring national laws and public budgets are passed only through transparent parliamentary rules.

Want deeper legal & historical context? Explore the official Bare Act or Supreme Court Precedents & CAD Debates:

⚖️

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar & G. V. Mavalankar

Drafting Chairman & Speaker of Assembly • January 3 – May 20, 1949

🏛️ Constituent Assembly Debates (1946–1949)

Core Constitutional Debate & Dilemma

Framing context for Article 101: Designing a bicameral Parliament (Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha) with daily executive accountability, transparent Money Bill controls, and independent legislative secretariat.

“

"In a parliamentary democracy, the assessment of responsibility of the Executive is both daily and periodic. The daily assessment is done by members of Parliament through questions, resolutions, no-confidence motions, and debates."

Assembly Resolution & Final Synthesis

Constitutional resolution in Article 101: Codified Articles 79–123 establishing bicameral legislative procedures, Lok Sabha supremacy over Money Bills (Arts 109–110), and Parliamentary appropriation control over the Consolidated Fund.

🏛️ Constitutional Significance: During the Constituent Assembly deliberations, Article 101 was codified as an integral pillar of India's constitutional governance.

Official Constitutional Text (Gazette Bare Act)

Authoritative statutory text as enacted and amended by Parliament • Clause-by-Clause Statutory Breakdown

India Code • Govt. of India Archive

Clause (1)

No person shall be a member of both Houses of Parliament and provision shall be made by Parliament by law for the vacation by a person who is chosen a member of both Houses of his seat in one House or the other.

Clause (2)

No person shall be a member both of Parliament and of a House of the Legislature of a State and if a person is chosen a member both of Parliament and of a House of the Legislature of a State, then, at the expiration of such period as may be specified in rules made by the President, that person's seat in Parliament shall become vacant, unless he has previously resigned his seat in the Legislature of the State.

Clause (3)

If a member of either House of Parliament —

Sub-clause (a)

becomes subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause (1) or clause (2) of article 102, or 5

Sub-clause (b)

resigns his seat by writing under his hand addressed to the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be, and his resignation is accepted by the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be, his seat shall thereupon become vacant:

his seat shall thereupon become vacant:

Provided that in the case of any resignation referred to in sub-clause (b), if from information received or otherwise and after making such inquiry as he thinks fit, the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be, is satisfied that such resignation is not voluntary or genuine, he shall not accept such resignation.

Clause (4)

If for a period of sixty days a member of either House of Parliament is without permission of the House absent from all meetings thereof, the House may declare his seat vacant:

Provided that in computing the said period of sixty days no account shall be taken of any period during which the House is prorogued or is adjourned for more than four consecutive days.

Public Domain & Statutory Authenticity Notice

Under Section 52(1)(q) of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, the Constitution of India, Bare Acts of Parliament, Gazette Notifications, and Judicial Judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts are in the Public Domain. Text is reproduced from the official Legislative Department, Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India (India Code) archives.

Then vs Now: Constitutional Evolution & Visual Diff

Vacation of seats

🟡 Textually Amended Since 1950 Baseline: Jan 26, 1950 → Today

ORIGINAL BASELINE (1950)

Enacted on 26 January 1950 by the Constituent Assembly as part of the original 395 Articles (Vacation of seats). Subsequently refined through 1 Constitutional Amendment(s) to meet evolving democratic and governance needs.

CURRENT ENFORCEABLE STATUS (TODAY)

Enforceable Today with Amended Clauses: Article 101 (Vacation of seats): Regulates the composition, procedures, privileges, and law-making rules of Parliament under Part V.

Key Amendment Milestones & Textual Modifications

33rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1974 — Protected MPs & MLAs from Forced Resignations

Year 1974

Why it happened: Empowered the Speaker/Chairman to verify that an MP or MLA’s resignation is voluntary and genuine before accepting it.

                                    Amended (101, 190): Protected MPs & MLAs from Forced Resignations                                

Article 100 Ask Nyaya Saarthi AI About This Article Article 102

Emergency Citizen Helplines

Vacation of seats

Official Constitutional Text (Gazette Bare Act)

Then vs Now: Constitutional Evolution & Visual Diff

Key Amendment Milestones & Textual Modifications