Parliament & judiciary: General Awareness & Current Affairs Notes for Uttar Pradesh PSC

📚 Study Notes – Parliament & Judiciary

Uttar Pradesh PSC – General Awareness & Current Affairs

These notes are designed to give you a clear, concise understanding of India’s Parliament and judiciary, with recent developments that can help you score high in the exam.

1️⃣ Simple Explanation

Institution	What It Is	Key Role
Parliament	The supreme law‑making body of India – Lok Sabha (House of the People) & Rajya Sabha (Council of States).	Draft, debate, and pass laws; oversee the executive; approve budgets.
Judiciary	Independent system that interprets the Constitution & laws – Supreme Court (highest), High Courts (state level), and Subordinate courts (district, magistrate).	Protect the Constitution, adjudicate disputes, protect citizens’ rights.

Both institutions are separate and co‑equal under the Indian Constitution – a hallmark of a separation of powers.

2️⃣ Key Points

2.1 Parliament

Feature	Details
Composition	Lok Sabha: 543 members (plus 1–2 members of the Anglo‑Indian community, now abolished). Rajya Sabha: 245 members (including 12 nominated).
Term	Lok Sabha 5 years (unless dissolved earlier). Rajya Sabha is a permanent body; one‑third retire every 2 years.
Powers	Legislative (Articles 101‑108), Financial (Articles 112‑115), Oversight (Question Hour, Parliamentary Committees).
Special Powers	Money Bills – only Lok Sabha can introduce; Rajya Sabha can only recommend.
Recent Developments	• 2024: Parliament passed the "Cyber‑Security & Digital Privacy Bill" (passed Lok Sabha 2023, Rajya Sabha 2024). • 2023: Parliamentary Committees extended to 24 to improve oversight.

2.2 Judiciary

Feature	Details
Supreme Court	14 judges (including Chief Justice). Appointed by the President after consultation with the collegium (Chief Justice + 4 senior judges).
High Courts	One per state/union territory; 30+ in total. Appointed similarly to Supreme Court judges.
Subordinate Courts	District courts (Judges), Magistrate courts (lower).
Key Functions	• Constitutional Review – powers to strike down laws violating the Constitution. • Judicial Review – review executive actions. • Protection of Fundamental Rights – Article 32.
Recent Landmark Cases	• Supreme Court (2023) – upheld the National Boycott of Foreign Goods Act. • Supreme Court (2024) – declared the "Aadhaar-based AI monitoring" measure unconstitutional (privacy concerns).
Judicial Reforms	• 2023: Judicial Accountability Bill – creation of a national judiciary oversight council. • 2024: Supreme Court’s “Judicial Efficiency Committee” set up to reduce case backlog.

2.3 Constitutional Provisions

Area	Constitution Article(s)
Parliament	52‑151 (Articles 52–151).
Judiciary	124‑147 (Articles 124–147).
Amendment Process	Article 368 (constitutional amendments).

3️⃣ Worked Example

📌 How a Bill Becomes an Act (Using the Digital Privacy Bill 2023 as a case study)

Step	Description	Example from Digital Privacy Bill
1. Drafting	Bill prepared by the Ministry of Electronics & IT.	Draft introduced by the Ministry in Jan‑2023.
2. First Reading (Lok Sabha)	Bill is introduced & published.	Bill presented on 5 Jan 2023.
3. Committee Stage	Bill referred to a parliamentary committee (e.g., Committee on Information Technology).	Committee reports ready by 15 Jan.
4. Second Reading	Debate on principles, amendments considered.	Debate lasted 3 days; 12 amendments suggested.
5. Third Reading	Final version voted.	Bill passed Lok Sabha on 20 Jan with 350/543 votes.
6. Rajya Sabha	Referred to Rajya Sabha; may recommend amendments.	Rajya Sabha passed on 10 Feb with 120/245 votes.
7. Presidential Assent	President signs the bill (or can return it).	President signed on 15 Feb 2023.
8. Coming into Force	Bill becomes law on the date specified (or 30 days after assent).	Law effective from 1 Mar 2023.

Take‑away:

Money Bills can only be introduced in Lok Sabha.
Regular Bills can be introduced in either house, but Rajya Sabha has limited power to amend.