House of the People (Extension of Duration) Amendment Act, 1976. However, the
House was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of five years, ten
months and six days.
9. Resigned.
10. House was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of two years, four
months and twenty eight days.
11. Resigned.
12. Dissolved twenty days before expiry of its term.
13. Dissolved forty eight days before expiry of its term.
14. Dissolved after having been in existence for a period of one year, two months and
twenty five days.
15. House was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of one year, six
months and thirteen days.
16. House was dissolved after having been in existence for a period of one year, one month
and four days.
17. Died.
18. Dissolved two hundred fifty three days before expiry of its term.
Functions and Powers of Parliament
The Parliament in India has the cardinal functions of legislation, overseeing of
administration, passing of the budget, ventilation of public grievances and discussing various
subjects like development plans, national policies and international relations. The distribution of
powers between the Union and the states, followed in the Constitution, emphasizes in many ways
the general predominance of Parliament in the legislative field. The Parliament can, under certain
circumstances, assume legislative power with respect to a subject falling within the sphere
exclusively reserved for the states. It can impeach the President and remove the judges of
Supreme Court and High Courts, the Chief Election Commissioner and the Comptroller and
Auditor General in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Constitution.
All legislation requires consent of both the Houses of Parliament. In the case of money bills,
however, the ‘will’ of the Lok Sabha prevails. Delegated legislation is also subject to review and
control by Parliament. Besides the power to legislate, the Constitution vests in Parliament the
power to initiate amendment of the Constitution.
Parliamentary Committees
The functions of Parliament are varied in nature. The time at its disposal is limited. It cannot
make very detailed scrutiny of all legislative and other matters that come up before it. A good
deal of Parliamentary business is, therefore, transacted in the committees. Both Houses of
Parliament have a similar committee structure, with few exceptions. Their appointment, terms of
office, functions and procedure of conducting business are also more or less similar and are
regulated as per rules made by the two Houses under Article 118(1) of the Constitution.
Broadly, Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds—Standing Committees and Ad Hoc
Committees. The former are elected or appointed every year or periodically and their work goes
on, more or less, on a continuous basis. The latter are appointed on an ad hoc basis as need arises