With reference to the parliament of India, consider the following statements:

1. A private member's bill is a bill presented by a Member of Parliament who is not elected but only nominated by the President of India.

2. Recently, a private member's bill has been passed in the Parliament of India for the first time in its history.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct answer is option Neither 1 nor 2.

Key Points

• The process of law-making begins with the introduction of a Bill in either House of Parliament.
  • A Bill can be introduced either by a Minister or by any Member of Parliament other than Ministers.
  • In the former case, it is called a Government Bill and in the latter case, it is known as a Private Member's Bill. 
• Private Member Bill:
  • A private member bill is introduced by any member of parliament other than ministers. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
  • It requires a one-month prior notice to introduce in the house of parliament.
  • Every Friday of the week is assigned or reserved for private bill discussion.
  • Private member bill reflects the stand of the opposition party on public matters.
  • The first private member bill was passed on the Muslim wakfs bill introduced by Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kasmi in 1952.
  • Till now, 14 private member bills were passed in the parliament since independence. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
  • The last private member bill passed by the parliament was the Supreme Court (enlargement of criminal appellate jurisdiction) bill in 1970.
• Wakf:
  • Wakf refers to donating property or building for charitable purposes/ institutions / religious activities with no intention to reclaim it again.