Select Committee

Select Committee

News: After at least four MPs complained that their names had been included in a proposed Select Committee for the Delhi Services Bill without their consent.

What is a Select Committee?
•  India’s Parliament has several types of committees which discharge different functions. There are 12 Standing Committees that are permanent in nature, with their members nominated from time to time by the Chairman. For example, Privileges Committee.
• Then there are ad hoc or temporary committees, which are set up for a specific purpose, such as examining a particular Bill, and are dissolved once that purpose has been served. A Select Committee belongs to this category.
• According to the Rajya Sabha rules, “The Select/Joint Committees on Bills are constituted by the House(s) on specific motion moved by the Minister in-charge of the Bill or any member and adopted by the House to consider and report on Bills as referred to them from time to time.” A Joint Committee has members from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
• The Committee’s role is to go through the text of the Bill, clause by clause, in order to see that the Bill “reflects clearly the intention behind the measure and the object proposed to be achieved is adequately brought out”.

How are Select Committee members selected?
• According to the Rajya Sabha rules, Bills are from time to time referred to Select Committees, the members on which are specifically named in the motion.
• The members of the Select Committee on a Bill are appointed by the House when the motion that the Bill be referred to a Select Committee is made.
• No member is appointed to a Select Committee if he is not willing to serve on the Committee.
• The mover has to ascertain whether the member proposed by him is willing to serve on the Committee.
• The actual number of membership of the Select Committee is not fixed. It varies from Committee to Committee.
• The Chairman of the Committee is appointed by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha from among the members of the Committee.
• The member or Minister in-charge of the Bill is generally included as a member of the Committee.

How does the committee work?
 • The quorum for each sitting needs to be one-third of the total number of members of the committee. In case of equality of votes on any matter, the chairman (or any other person presiding) will have a second or casting vote.

What happens when the Committee’s report is submitted?
• The report of the committee is of a recommendatory nature. The government can choose to accept or reject its recommendations.
• A Select Committee can also include its version of the Bill. If they do so, the minister in charge of that particular Bill can move for the committee’s version of the Bill to be discussed and passed in the House.