Adjourned sine die

Why is in news? Monsoon Session of Parliament which commenced on 20th of July, 2023 has been adjourned sine die

The Monsoon Session, 2023 of Parliament which commenced on 20th of July, 2023 has been adjourned sine die the 11th of August, 2023. The Session provided 17 sittings spread over a period of 23 days.

During the Session 20 Bills were introduced in Lok Sabha and 5 Bills were introduced in Rajya Sabha. 22 Bills were passed by Lok Sabha and 25 Bills were passed by Rajya Sabha. One Bill each was withdrawn with the leave of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively. Total number of Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament during the Session is 23.

Termination of the session:

A sitting of Parliament can be terminated by adjournment or adjournment sine die or prorogation or dissolution (in the case of the Lok Sabha).

Adjournment: It suspends the work in a sitting for a specified time, which may be hours, days or weeks.

Adjournment sine die: It means terminating a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period.

In other words, when the House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly.

The power of adjournment as well as adjournment sine die lies with the presiding officer (Speaker or Chairman) of the House.

Prorogation: The President issues a notification for prorogation of the session after the business of a session is completed and the presiding officer declares the House adjourned sine die. The President can also prorogue the House while in session.

Dissolution: Only the Lok Sabha is subject to dissolution. Rajya Sabha, being a permanent House, is not subject to dissolution.

A dissolution ends the life of the existing House, and a new House is constituted after general elections are held.

The President is empowered to dissolve the Lok Sabha.