Finding Legislation As Passed / As Made / Sessional Acts
Very few Indian databases contain Acts as passed - most contain up-to-date compilations, including amendments.
For Central Acts as passed, use the following:
- The Gazette of IndiaFrom 1947 to current, all Central Acts as passed are published in the official The Gazette of India (open access).
- India Code: Digital Repository of All Central and State ActsOpen access official legislation website. Includes full-text Central Acts from 1834 to date (about 6 months out of date). Can be browsed by Act title, Act number, enactment date, year and ministry.
- South Asia Archive(UniMelb staff & student access) includes PDF replicas of Acts as passed from 1835 to 1948. The Acts are contained in Annual volumes of sessional Acts. These had several name changes, so it's best to select Explore Content from the home page, then select Act from the left-hand menu. You can then select the volume and year from the list supplied.
Note: this platform works best in Firefox.
Finding Up-to-Date Legislation (compilations, including all amendments to date)
Subscription Databases
- Manupatra : India Legal Law DatabaseIncludes Central and State:
~ Bare Acts, Rules and Regulations
~ consolidated (incorporating amendments)
~ repealed - with repealing Acts
~ amending Acts since 1860. The history of amendments in Acts is tracked in footnotes
~ Brief Facts – statement of objective, date of assent, effective date
~ Annotations (explanatory notes to sections of the Acts) in most frequently used Central Acts
~ Acts arranged alphabetically, chronologically and by subject
~ Bills, Drafts, Ordinances
~ Notifications and Circulars
Note: Manupatra requires login with a unique username and password (separate to your UniMelb login) - see the Manupatra catalogue record.
You can either search for an Act or words in an Act by using the blue Act Search button in the top menu, or browse to the relevant Act etc by using the menu on the left of the page. - SCC OnlineIncludes:
~ in force compilations of Central (Federal) Acts, as amended, and repealed Acts
~ in force compilations of important State Statutes
~ in force compilations of important Rules, Regulations, etc.
~ Important Circulars, Notifications, Instructions
~ Bills in Central Parliament
Note: The first time you access SCC Online you will need to login with your University of Melbourne email address in the login box marked 'IP Access' in the top right of the screen and then click the red 'sign in' button. Once you have registered your email address you will not be asked again, and no password is required. - Foreign Law Guide (Brill)Laws alphabetically arranged by topic. Provides links to relevant legislation on SCC Online.
Central Legislation
- Ministry of Corporate Affairs: Acts, Bills, RulesUseful as a source for consolidated/compiled legislation and Bills. Some Acts also contain commentary on judicial consideration of the Acts.
- Advocate KhojThe Advocate Khoj Library website includes access to the full text of all Central bare Acts passed by the Indian Parliament since 1834. This compilation consists of over 300 acts which are listed in alphabetical order and contains all the Sections, Schedules, Short Title, Enactment Date, and Footnotes. It also provides access to the full text of regularly updated 55 major Rules under the Acts.
State Legislation
- Laws of IndiaOnline access to laws enacted by all State legislatures within India. This is a work in progress, with the aim of eventually including the laws of all 30 state legislatures. It does NOT include Central legislation.
~ Note that some of the Acts are compilations (up to date, including all amendments) and some are as passed. Be careful that you read the introductory information to see which you are viewing.
Open Access Databases
Central and State Legislation
- Legal Information Institute of India (LiiofIndia)Central and State legislation. The databases tend to be some years out of date.
- NyaayaThis database is aimed at non-lawyers and aims to provide all Central and State Acts and explain them simply. To see all Acts, click on Catalogue in the top menu. You can then find Acts either by alphabetical Topic ('Category'), or by Jurisdiction. The database does not yet contain all Acts, particularly at the State level, but it is up to date. You can also access:
~ 'Explainers' which explains the law on various topics such as Right to Information, Sedition and Terror-related Crimes and 'Unnatural Offences'.
~ Guides - such as the Victim's Guide to Criminal Law and the Accused's Guide to Criminal Law, Guide to Marriage, Divorce and Maintenance and Guide to Traffic Rules.
Finding commentary and cases on Legislative Provisions
- Manupatra : India Legal Law Database(UniMelb staff & student acess), major Acts have extensive explanatory commentary and lists of cases on each provision - for example, on the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure.
~ Navigate to the Legislation - from the TOC menu on the left, select the legislation (eg: Bare Acts), and select Table of Contents
~ click on the red 'Commentary' button on the right of each provision.
- Indian Law Research Guide - Books and JournalsUse journal article databases to search for articles on specific Acts and other legislation - see the the 'Finding Journal Articles on Indian Law' box on the Books and Journals page of this Guide.
How Legislation is Made - Central Legislature
A Bill undergoes three readings in each House, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, before it is submitted to the President for assent and becomes an Act of Parliament.
Rajya Sabha Debates: the readings, debates, Committee Reports etc on all Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha are availably freely online from the first sitting of the House on 13 May 1952 to the present on the Official Debates website. For current debates, see the Verbatim / uncorrected Debates.
Lok Sabha Debates: the readings, debates, Committee Reports etc on all Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha are availably freely online from 22nd May 1996 to the present on the Lok Sabha Debate Search database. For current debates, see the Uncorrected Debates and Text of Debates.
- The Gazette of IndiaAfter a Bill has been introduced, it is published in The Gazette of India.
Finding Bills:
- Rajya Sabha Debatesthe Parliamentary Bills Information System searchable database which provides the following details for each Bill introduced in either / both houses from 1952 to the present - Bill Number & Year, Short Title of Bill, whether a government or private member’s Bill, the name of the member, the Act number if assented, the status of the Bill (eg: assented, withdrawn, pending) and the full text of the Bill (although the links to the full text Bills often do not work).
- Lok Sabha Debatesthe Parliamentary Bills Information System searchable database on the Lok Sabha website provides the following details for each Bill introduced in either / both houses from 1952 to the present - Year, Bill Number, Short Title, Date of Introduction, House, Debate / Passed in Lok Sabha, Debate / Passed in Rajya Sabha, Referred to Committee / Report Presented, Assent Date/ Gazette Notification, Act Number, and the full text of the Bills (the links seem to be quite reliable on this database)
- Parliamentary Research Studies India (PRSIndia)(open access) provides bills, including summaries, reports on bills introduced and final text of bills passed in both houses of Parliament.
- SCC Online(UniMelb staff & student access) includes a completely up to date collection of important Bills, as introduced in Lok Sabha (from 1987+) and Rajya Sabha (from 1990+) and as passed by Rajya Sabha (from 2006+). Bills are arranged by House, then year, then alphabetically. They can only be browsed, not searched.
~ Go to SCC Online and login with your University of Melbourne email address in the login box marked 'IP Access' in the top right of the screen and then click the red 'sign in' button. Note: the first time you login, you will be asked to register your email address. You will not be asked to do this again, and no password is required.
~ From the SCC homepage, click on the red 'Browse Secondary Material' to access the Bills menu.
Legislative Process in Detail
First Reading
The legislative process begins with the introduction of a Bill in either House of Parliament, i.e. the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. A Bill can be introduced either by a Minister or by a private member. In the former case it is known as a Government Bill and in the latter case it is known as a Private Member's Bill. It is necessary for a member-in-charge of the Bill to ask for the leave of the House to introduce the Bill. If leave is granted by the House, the Bill is introduced. This stage is known as the First Reading of the Bill.
Publication in the Official Gazette of India
- The Gazette of IndiaAfter a Bill has been introduced, it is published in The Gazette of India.
Reference of Bill to a Standing Committee
After a Bill has been introduced, the Presiding Officer of the House in which the Bill has been introduced (Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) can refer the Bill to a Standing Committee. This Committee examines the general principles and all clauses of the Bill and submits a report to the House.
Second Reading
The Second Reading consists of consideration of the Bill which occurs in two stages.
First stage
The first stage consists of general discussion on the Bill as a whole. At this stage it is open to the House to refer the Bill to a Select Committee of the House or a Joint Committee of the two Houses or to circulate it for the purpose of eliciting public opinion.
If a Bill is referred to a Select/Joint Committee, the Committee considers the Bill clause-by-clause just as the House does. Amendments can be moved to the various clauses by members of the Committee. The Committee can also take evidence of associations, public bodies or experts who are interested in the measure. The Committee then submits a report to the House which considers the Bill again as reported by the Committee.
If a Bill is circulated for the purpose of eliciting public opinion, such opinions are tabled in the House and the next motion in regard to the Bill must be for its reference to a Select/Joint Committee.
Second Stage
The second stage of the Second Reading consists of clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill as introduced or as reported by Select/Joint Committee. Discussion takes place on each clause of the Bill and amendments to clauses can be moved at this stage. Amendments to a clause that have been moved but not withdrawn are put to the vote of the House before the relevant clause is disposed of by the House. The amendments become part of the Bill if they are accepted by a majority of members present and voting. After the clauses, the Schedules if any, the Enacting Formula and the Long Title of the Bill have been adopted by the House, the Second Reading is deemed to be over.
Third Reading
The member-in-charge can now move that the Bill be passed. This stage is known as the Third Reading of the Bill. At this stage the debate is confined to arguments either in support or rejection of the Bill without referring to the details further than that are absolutely necessary. Only formal, verbal or consequential amendments are allowed to be moved at this stage. In passing an ordinary Bill, a simple majority of members present and voting is necessary. But in the case of a Bill to amend the Constitution, a majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting is required in each House of Parliament. If the number of votes in favour and against the bill are tied, then the Presiding officer of the concerned House can cast his/her vote, referred to as a Casting Vote Right.
Bill in the other House
After the Bill is passed by one House, it is sent to the other House for concurrence with a message to that effect, and there it goes through the same stages as in the House in which it was introduced, except the introduction stage. If a Bill passed by one House is amended by the other House, it is sent back to the originating House for approval. If the originating House does not agree with the amendments, then the two houses have disagreed. The other House may keep a money bill for 14 days and an ordinary Bill for three months without passing (or rejecting) it. If it fails to return the Bill within the fixed time, the Bill is deemed to be passed by both the houses and is sent for the approval of the President.
President's Assent
When a bill has been passed, it is sent to the President for his/her approval. The President can assent or withhold assent to a Bill or return a Bill, other than a money Bill which is recommended by the President to the Houses. If the President assents to the Bill, it is published in The Gazette of India and becomes an Act from the date of assent. The President can refuse assent on advice of the council of ministers - this is known as absolute veto. The President may also effectively withhold assent in his/her own discretion - this is known as pocket veto. The president can return the Bill to Parliament for reconsideration. Once reconsidered and passed again by Parliament, the Bill is returned to him, he must give his assent to it. In the case of a Constitutional Amendment Bill, the President is bound to give his assent. In case of the State Governments, the consent of the State's Governor has to be obtained.
Entry into force
Most Acts come into force, or become legally enforceable in a manner as prescribed in the Act itself ie: from the date of assent by the President (mostly in the case of Ordinances which are later approved by the Parliament), or on a specific date stated in the Act itself (mostly in the case of Finance Bills), or on a date as per the wish of the Central or the State Government as the case may be. In case the commencement of the Act is as made as per the wish of the government, a separate Gazette notification is made, which is usually accompanied by the Rules or subordinate legislation in another Gazette notification.
- The Gazette of IndiaAll Central Acts as passed are published in The Gazette of India
Central Parliament - Parliamentary Links