Article 189 of Constitution of India – Voting in Houses, power of Houses to act notwithstanding vacancies and quorum.
Article 189 of Constitution of India deals with Voting in Houses, power of Houses to act notwithstanding vacancies and quorum.
Original Text of Article 189 of Constitution of India
(1) Save as otherwise provided in this Constitution, all questions at any sitting of a House of the Legislature of a State shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and voting, other than the Speaker or Chairman, or person acting as such. The Speaker or Chairman, or person acting as such, shall not vote in the first instance, but shall have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
(2) A House of the Legislature of a State shall have power to act
notwithstanding any vacancy in the membership thereof, and any proceedings in the Legislature of a State shall be valid notwithstanding that it is discovered subsequently that some person who was not entitled so to do sat or voted or otherwise took part in the proceedings.
(3) Until the Legislature of the State by law otherwise provides, the
quorum to constitute a meeting of a House of the Legislature of a State shall be ten members or one-tenth of the total number of members of the House, whichever is greater.
(4) If at any time during a meeting of the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council of a State there is no quorum, it shall be the duty of the Speaker or Chairman, or person acting as such, either to adjourn the House or to suspend the meeting until there is a quorum.]
Questions related to Article 189 of Constitution of India
Article 189 lays down the rules for voting in State Legislatures, the validity of proceedings despite vacancies, and the minimum quorum required for conducting business, under the Constitution of India.
The quorum is 10% of the total membership of the House. If this number isn’t met, the House must be adjourned or suspended, as per the Articles of Indian Constitution.
No, Article 189 clearly states that the House can function even with vacancies, and any act or decision remains valid, a principle supported in various judgments on Indian Kanoon.
The Speaker or person presiding has a casting vote to break a tie, but they usually don’t vote in the first round, unless there’s a tie—as explained under Article 189 of the Indian Constitution.
You can visit Indian Kanoon to explore legal interpretations, Assembly rulings, and judicial precedents related to quorum, voting rights, and legislative powers under Article 189.
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