Explain the constitutional provisions under which Legislative Councils are established. Review the working and current status of Legislative Councils with suitable illustrations.
Approach · directive: “explain / review”
What it asks · State how Councils are created, abolished and composed (Articles 168 to 172), review their powers and usefulness, and give the present position with examples.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Explain the constitutional provisions under which Legislative Councils are established (Articles 168, 169, 171, 172)
- Review the working of Legislative Councils: powers, usefulness and criticism
- Give their current status with suitable illustrations
Open with · Article 168 permits a bicameral State legislature, but Article 169 leaves creating or abolishing a Legislative Council to Parliament on the Assembly's special-majority resolution.
Cover
- Article 169: Parliament creates or abolishes a Council by ordinary law after a special-majority Assembly resolution; such a law is not an Article 368 amendment.
- Article 171: at most one-third of the Assembly and never fewer than 40; elected by local bodies, MLAs, graduates and teachers, with Governor's nominees.
- Article 172: a permanent House; one-third of members retire every second year.
- Powers (Articles 197–198): it can hold an ordinary Bill three months, then one; a Money Bill cannot be introduced there and it may only recommend.
- Working: a revising chamber and a forum for graduates and teachers, but criticised as costly, delaying and a shelter for defeated politicians.
- Status (as of 2022): six States have Councils; J&K's ended in 2019; Punjab and West Bengal (1969) and Tamil Nadu (1986) abolished theirs; Andhra Pradesh abolished (1985) and revived (2007).
- Pending: Rajasthan and Assam proposals await Parliament, and the West Bengal Assembly voted in 2021 to seek a Council; a national policy would end ad hoc cycles.
Close with · Councils add deliberative depth but little power; a consensus national policy under Article 169 would judge them by their revising record, not the ruling party's arithmetic.
Add value (verified)
- Article 169 lets Parliament create or abolish a State's Legislative Council by law if the Assembly resolves by a majority of its total membership and by two-thirds of the members present and voting.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 169(1) - Legislative Department ↗“the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting”
- Article 171 caps a Legislative Council at one-third of the Assembly's strength and sets a floor of 40 members.Constitution of India (as on 2024), Legislative Department, Government of India ↗“Provided that the total number of members in the Legislative Council of a State shall in no case be less than forty.”
- Under Article 197, an Assembly can override a Council that sits on an ordinary Bill for more than three months, or one month after the Bill's second passage.Constitution of India (as on 2024), Legislative Department, Government of India ↗“more than three months elapse from the date on which the Bill is laid before the Council without the Bill being passed by it”
- Article 198 bars the introduction of a Money Bill in a Legislative Council.Constitution of India (as on 2024), Legislative Department, Government of India ↗“198. Special procedure in respect of Money Bills.—(1) A Money Bill shall not be introduced in a Legislative Council.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 372words · Minimalist IAS
Article 168 permits a State to have a bicameral legislature, but Article 169 leaves the creation or abolition of a Legislative Council to Parliament, on the initiative of the State Assembly. The Council is thus the one optional chamber in India's federal design.
Constitutional provisions for Legislative Councils
- Creation and abolition (Article 169): Parliament acts by ordinary law after the Assembly resolves by a majority of its total membership and two-thirds of members present and voting; this is not an Article 368 amendment.
- Size (Article 171): at most one-third of the Assembly's strength, and in no case fewer than 40 members.
Composition (Article 171): One-third by local bodies; One-third by MLAs; One-twelfth by graduates; One-twelfth by teachers; One-sixth nominated by Governor
- Permanence (Article 172): a continuing House; one-third of members retire every second year.
Working of Legislative Councils
- Limited powers: under Article 197 it can hold an ordinary Bill for three months, and one month on its second passage; under Article 198 a Money Bill cannot be introduced there, and it may only recommend within 14 days.
- Merits: a revising chamber for hasty laws, a voice for graduates, teachers and local bodies, and a route for experts into government.
- Criticism: costly, a delaying chamber the Assembly can override, and a shelter for defeated politicians.
- Hostage to politics: because the Assembly majority initiates abolition, Councils rise and fall with ruling parties.
Current status and illustrations
- Six States (as of 2022): Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh; Jammu and Kashmir's Council ended with the Reorganisation Act, 2019.
- Abolitions: Punjab and West Bengal (1969) and Tamil Nadu (1986); Andhra Pradesh abolished its Council in 1985 and revived it in 2007.
- Pending demands: the Rajasthan and Assam proposals await Parliament, and the West Bengal Assembly voted in 2021 to seek a Council again.
Way forward
- National policy: agreed criteria for creating or abolishing Councils, so the decision does not swing with each election.
- Real revising role: committee scrutiny of Bills and a review of the outdated graduates' and teachers' electorates.
Councils add deliberative depth but little power; a consensus national policy under Article 169 would let Parliament judge them by their record of revising laws, not by the arithmetic of the ruling party.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
