Procedure in State Legislature with Respect to Estimates
Official heading: “Procedure in Legislature with respect to estimates.”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part VI, Article 203, printed pages 92–93
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
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1. In One Sentence
Article 203 governs voting on budget estimates in the State Legislature, providing that charged expenditure is not submitted to vote, while other expenditure is submitted as Demands for Grants to the Assembly.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 203 outlines the parliamentary voting procedure for the State Budget, paralleling Article 113 for Parliament.
Non-Votable Estimates: Under Clause (1), estimates relating to expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of the State are not submitted to the vote of the Legislative Assembly, though either House may discuss them.
Demands for Grants: Under Clause (2), so much of the estimates as relates to other expenditure is submitted in the form of Demands for Grants to the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly has the power to assent, refuse to assent, or reduce the amount specified in any demand (through Policy, Economy, or Token Cut Motions).
Governor Recommendation Required: Clause (3) mandates that no demand for a grant shall be made except on the recommendation of the Governor, preserving executive control over public spending.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
Opposition MLAs move an "Economy Cut Motion" to reduce a department's budgetary grant by ₹10 crore during budget discussions.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 203 secures legislative control of the purse strings in State government.
- Charged expenditure is non-votable but open to legislative discussion.
- Voting on demands for grants is the exclusive prerogative of the Legislative Assembly.
- Cut motions allow MLAs to scrutinize and check departmental spending.
- No expenditure demand can originate without the Governor's recommendation.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part VI, Article 203, printed pages 92–93 • 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.