Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Tuesday said that uniformity in legislative procedures is no longer merely desirable, but it has become an institutional necessity in times of digital legislatures and technology-driven governance.
During an important meeting of the “Committee of Presiding Officers to frame the Uniform Model of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Legislative Bodies” held in Mysore, Karnataka, Gupta endorsed the proposal to evolve a Uniform Model of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business for legislative bodies.
Speaking at the meeting, under the chairmanship of UP Assembly speaker Satish Mahana, Gupta said the Harmonised Rules of Procedure will strengthen transparency, executive accountability, and coherence across country’s democratic institutions.
Notably, the conference is being attended by the Speakers of Maharashtra, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Delhi, as part of a coordinated national initiative aimed at evolving a broad procedural framework for legislatures across the country.
Welcoming the decision taken at the 85th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference held in Patna, the Delhi Speaker called the move historic and forward-looking institutional reform capable of bringing greater coherence, transparency, and efficiency to legislative functioning across India.
Referring to the constitutional framework governing legislative procedures, he observed that Article 118 of the Constitution empowers both Houses of Parliament to frame rules regulating their procedure and conduct of business, while Article 208 grants similar powers to State Legislatures.
He noted that Section 33 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 empowers the Delhi Legislative Assembly to frame its Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, provided such rules remain consistent with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha.
Gupta stated that these constitutional provisions establish the sovereignty of legislatures in regulating their internal functioning while also enabling legislatures to voluntarily adopt tested parliamentary practices, conventions and procedural innovations in the larger democratic interest.
He noted that most of the state legislatures have historically followed the broad framework of the Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha, subject to local modifications and contextual requirements, resulting in substantial procedural uniformity.
He further observed that harmonised procedures would enhance transparency and public understanding of legislative functioning while contributing towards greater judicial clarity by reducing conflicting procedural interpretations.
Gupta added that the adoption of a Uniform Model of Rules of Procedure would mark a significant step towards strengthening India’s democratic institutions and fostering a more transparent, accountable and coherent parliamentary culture.