Pvt Members' Bills return to spotlight, even as history shows rare success

Despite rarely becoming law, these have left a lasting imprint on India's legislative journey

With MPs introducing a clutch of private members’ Bills (PMBs) on issues ranging from digital harms to workplace rights, attention has once again turned to a legislative route that has historically played a limited but symbolically important role in India’s law-making process. 

PMBs are introduced by MPs who are not part of the government. While they follow the same formal procedure as legislation placed in Parliament by the government, their chances of enactment are slim. Parliamentary records show that only 14 PMBs have been enacted, the last in 1970. 

Shumsher K Sheriff, former secretary general, Rajya Sabha, said: “PMBs play a role in bringing issues into the public domain. They often help shape future legislation and serve as an important check in law making.” He emphasised the PMB introduced by DMK’s Tiruchi Siva in 2014, and it got the nation the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. 

Most of the successful PMBs belong to the early decades of Parliament. Among them was the Parliamentary Proceedings (Protection of Publication) Act, 1956, which provided legal protection for the publication of fair and accurate reports of parliamentary debates. Another was the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, 1970, which expanded the apex court’s criminal appellate powers. 

Beyond those that became law, some PMBs are remembered for their long-term impact. A notable example is the Women’s Reservation Bill, first introduced as a PMB by communist leader Geeta Mukherjee in 1996. It marked the first legislative attempt to seek reservation for women in legislatures, an idea that remained part of parliamentary debate for decades before the government-led legislation was finally passed in 2023. 

Siva’s PMB in 2015 on the rights of transgender persons was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the first such instance in over four decades, though it did not clear the Lok Sabha test. However, it paved the way for the government’s own legislation: the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. 

Congress MP Manish Tewari has introduced a PMB in the Lok Sabha, seeking to amend the anti-defection law to allow legislators greater freedom in voting. The Bill, moved on December 5, proposes that MPs be permitted to take an independent stand on Bills and motions other than those affecting the stability of the government, including confidence and no-confidence motions, money Bills, and other key financial matters. Introduced for the third time, Tewari said the proposal aimed to end what he described as “whip-driven tyranny”. 

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule’s PMB proposes giving workers the right to disengage from work-related communication outside official working hours except in emergencies, and seeks to place obligations on employers to frame clear after-hours communication policies. 

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in the recent winter session introduced three PMBs in the Lok Sabha. They aim at criminal justice reform, labour protections, and federal restructuring. One Bill seeks to amend the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to criminalise marital rape by removing the existing legal exception, arguing that marriage cannot negate consent. The second proposes amendments to the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, to curb excessive working hours, introduce a statutory right to disconnect, and strengthen mental health and grievance-redress mechanisms for workers. 

Despite these instances, the overall trend has been one of declining space for private members’ business. The data from Parliament shows hundreds of PMBs are pending in each House. 

Chakshu Roy of PRS Legislative Research said: “PMBs are an expression of what lawmakers think about social issues and the gaps in the system. Recent PMBs addressing mental health, a work-life balance, capital punishment and marital rape may not become law, but they play a role in highlighting these concerns and influencing future legislation.” 

Former Lok Sabha Secretary General P D T Achary underscored the importance of PMBs as a tool that enabled non-ministerial MPs to introduce their own ideas and raise issues through legislation, drawing attention to important subjects. Citing a notable example, he referred to the PMB introduced by Feroze Gandhi, leading to the enactment of the Parliamentary Proceedings (Protection of Publication) Act, 1956, and subsequently the insertion of Article 361A in the Constitution, granting protection to the publication of substantially true reports of parliamentary and state legislative proceedings. 

As lawmakers continue to introduce fresh PMBs, the contrast between contemporary activism and historical outcomes underlines a familiar reality: While PMBs rarely altered the statute book, some have left a lasting imprint on India’s legislative journey.

 

 

Overview

• Over 5,400 private member Bills introduced in Parliament since Independence
• Help highlight overlooked issues, paving the way for possible govt intervention 
• Only 14 of these have been enacted, most recently in 1970: the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act
• Some of these influenced later government legislation, like Tiruchi Siva’s Bill on transgender rights