Article 108

Joint Sitting of Both Houses in Deadlock Cases

Official heading: “Joint sitting of both Houses in certain cases”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part V, Article 108, printed pages 48–49
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

Open official PDF at this article Report a text or source error

AI-assisted source comparisons are noted with the citations below; the check date remains pending until a human confirms the link. The report link opens your email app; you choose whether to send it.

1. In One Sentence

Article 108 empowers the President to summon a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament to resolve deadlocks on ordinary Bills when the Houses disagree or more than six months elapse.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 108 provides an exceptional constitutional mechanism to resolve legislative deadlocks between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha over ordinary legislation.

A deadlock arises if, after a Bill is passed by one House and transmitted to the other: (a) the second House rejects the Bill; (b) the Houses finally disagree on amendments; or (c) more than six months elapse from the date of reception without the Bill being passed (excluding periods of prorogation or adjournments over four days).

In such cases, the President may notify an intention to summon the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to a joint sitting. Once notified, neither House can proceed separately with the Bill, and dissolution of the Lok Sabha cannot prevent the joint sitting from taking place.

At the joint sitting, the Bill is voted upon by all members present and voting. Because the Lok Sabha has more than double the membership of the Rajya Sabha, the popular House generally wields decisive numerical advantage.

Vital Constitutional Limitation: Joint sittings apply ONLY to ordinary Bills. A joint sitting CANNOT be summoned for a Money Bill (Article 109) or a Constitutional Amendment Bill under Article 368.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

The Lok Sabha passes a major banking reform bill, but the Rajya Sabha rejects it in its entirety.

Core takeaway: The President may summon a joint sitting under Article 108, where the combined membership of both Houses votes on the bill by simple majority.

Illustrative Notice: If the bill were a Constitutional Amendment Bill, a joint sitting would be unconstitutional; both Houses must pass constitutional amendments separately by special majorities.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 108 provides a deadlock-breaking mechanism preserving legislative progress on ordinary bills.

Three deadlock triggers: total rejection, amendment disagreement, or six-month inaction.
Presidential notification freezes separate consideration and survives subsequent Lok Sabha dissolution.
Simple majority voting: Decided by combined majority of members present and voting.
Strict exceptions: Completely inapplicable to Money Bills and Constitutional Amendments.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) If after a Bill has been passed by one House and transmitted to the other House— (a) the Bill is rejected by the other House; or (b) the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the Bill; or (c) more than six months elapse from the date of the reception of the Bill by the other House without the Bill being passed by it, the President may, unless the Bill has elapsed by reason of a dissolution of the House of the People, notify to the Houses by message if they are sitting or by public notification if they are not sitting, his intention to summon them to meet in a joint sitting for the purpose of deliberating and voting on the Bill: Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to a Money Bill. (2) In reckoning any such period of six months as is referred to in clause (1), no account shall be taken of any period during which the House referred to in sub-clause (c) of that clause is prorogued or adjourned for more than four consecutive days. (3) Where the President has under clause (1) notified his intention of summoning the Houses to meet in a joint sitting, neither House shall proceed further with the Bill, but the President may at any time after the date of his notification summon the Houses to meet in a joint sitting for the purpose specified in the notification and, if he does so, the Houses shall meet accordingly. (4) If at the joint sitting of the two Houses the Bill, with such amendments, if any, as are agreed to in joint sitting, is passed by a majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting, it shall be deemed for the purposes of this Constitution to have been passed by both Houses: Provided that at a joint sitting— (a) if the Bill, having been passed by one House, has not been passed by the other House with amendments and returned to the House in which it originated, no amendment shall be proposed to the Bill other than such amendments (if any) as are made necessary by the delay in the passage of the Bill; (b) if the Bill has been so passed and returned, only such amendments as aforesaid shall be proposed to the Bill and such other amendments as are relevant to the matters with respect to which the Houses have not agreed, and the decision of the person presiding as to the amendments which are admissible under this clause shall be final. (5) A joint sitting may be held under this article and a Bill passed thereat, notwithstanding that a dissolution of the House of the People has intervened since the President notified his intention to summon the Houses to meet therein.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

•
Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part V, Article 108, printed pages 48–49 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource