Legislative Council

Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) serves as the upper chamber of a state’s bicameral legislature in India, a structure sanctioned by Article 169 of the Constitution of India, which was adopted on 26 January 1950. Unlike the lower house, the Council is a permanent body whose membership is staggered so that one‑third of its members retire every two years, providing institutional continuity. Its principal function is to review, amend, and occasionally delay legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, thereby adding a layer of deliberative scrutiny. The Council’s existence is limited to those states that have chosen to retain a bicameral system, a decision that must be approved by a resolution of the Assembly passed by a special majority. As of 2023, six states—Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh—maintain a Legislative Council, collectively comprising 245 members. ## Origins / Historical Background The concept of a legislative council in the Indian subcontinent traces its roots to the Indian Councils Act 1861, which created the first appointed legislative body for British India under Governor‑General Lord Canning. Subsequent reforms, notably the Government of India Act 1935, expanded the council’s elected component to 30 percent of its strength, laying groundwork for a bicameral legislature at the provincial level. After independence, the framers of the Constitution incorporated the council model into the federal structure, granting each state the option to adopt a bicameral legislature through Article 169, a provision first exercised by the state of Bihar in 1935 under the colonial framework and later revived in independent India. The Legislative Councils Act 1950 codified the procedural rules for these bodies, but the act was superseded by state‑specific statutes after the 1976 amendment to the Constitution that clarified the dissolution process. ## How It Works / Mechanism Members of a Legislative Council serve six‑year terms, with elections staggered every two years for one‑third of the seats, a schedule stipulated in Section 3 of the Legislative Councils (Election) Rules 1975. The composition is defined by Article 171, which mandates that not more than one‑third of the members may be nominated by the Governor, while the remaining seats are filled through four distinct electorates: 1) members elected by the Legislative Assembly (approximately 30 percent), 2) representatives elected by local authorities such as municipalities and district boards (about 25 percent), 3) graduates holding a university degree who register in designated constituencies (roughly 15 percent), and 4) teachers of secondary schools and higher educational institutions (approximately 15 percent). The Council convenes in a chamber separate from the Assembly, typically located within the state capital’s legislative complex, and its sessions are presided over by a Chairman appointed by the Governor under Article 178. Legislative business follows a procedural hierarchy: a bill first introduced in the Assembly may be transmitted to the Council for consideration, where it can be amended, sent back, or, after a stipulated period of three months, passed without Council consent under the “override” provision of Article 197. ## Key Provisions Article 169 empowers a state to create or abolish its Legislative Council by a resolution passed by a special majority—two‑thirds of the total membership of the Assembly and a majority of the total number of members present and voting. Article 172 outlines the Council’s powers, granting it the ability to delay ordinary bills for a maximum of fourteen days, while financial bills may be delayed for only fourteen days in total. The Constitution also reserves the Council’s authority to initiate non‑financial legislation, as codified in Article 197, which allows the Council to suggest amendments that the Assembly may accept or reject. The Legislative Councils (Amendment) Act 2007, enacted by the Parliament of India, clarified the nomination process, specifying that the Governor may nominate individuals distinguished in fields such as literature, science, art, the cooperative movement, and social service, thereby ensuring expertise within the chamber. ## India’s Journey Andhra Pradesh became the first state to re‑establish a Legislative Council in 2007, following a resolution passed by its Assembly on 30 December 2006 and subsequent approval by the President of India on 23 March 2007, a move championed by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Karnataka followed suit in 2006, while Maharashtra reinstated its Council in 2001 after a period