Crucial bills getting less airtime in House

NEW DELHI: If you thought lawmakers seriously debate bills before turning them into laws, here’s a statistic that will make you gawk. Until this point of the NDA government’s tenure, both the houses of Parliament have passed 17 bills after debating them for less than five minutes each.

Let’s look at a few examples. On July 28, Lok Sabha MPs amended the anti-graft Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act to exempt public servants — including themselves — from declaring their assets by July 31. The amendment was passed without a discussion. On March 16, the RS passed an amendment to the Gurudwara Act-1925 to disenfranchise around 70 lakh Sehajdari Sikhs without even taking a minute out for talks.

Earlier, on December 21, the Rajya Sabha passed the SCs and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill in the same manner. Despite the importance of the legislation, the house rushed through the process because it was meeting after four adjournments forced by disruptions.

Experts say hasty (and shoddy) legislating often yields laws that need amending within a few years of enactment, or – at times – fail the test of judicial scrutiny. The IT Amendment Act was passed by the Lok Sabha in 2008 after a debate of just 40 minutes. In March 2015, the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A inserted by the amendment because it was found “vague” and “unconstitutional”.

Experts also cite the example of the Companies Act-2013, an omnibus law to consolidate and amend provisions relating to firms, to drive home their point about hasty legislation. The law was amended less than two years after its enactment.

“The legislature’s job is not just to legislate, but to legislate well,” says Chakshu Roy, head of outreach at the PRS Legislative Research – a think tank that analyses parliamentary procedures. “The legislative process is sacrosanct, and it must ensure that a mechanism of complete scrutiny is adopted.” 30 min-1 hr