The Zero Hour and the Notices
Chapter -One
Syllabus topic 6, "Legislative Control"
Pages 655 to 659 of 1033
In one line
Between a question, which the Government answers on its own terms, and a motion of no-confidence, which ends a Government, lie five devices of graduated severity, and knowing which fits which situation is what an examiner is testing.
In the wording a student can write in an exam: after Question Hour a member has a series of devices of increasing gravity, the zero hour, which is not provided for in any rule and is the period immediately following Question Hour in which members raise matters without notice at the discretion of the Chair; the calling attention notice, by which a member with the Speaker's permission calls the attention of a Minister to a matter of urgent public importance and the Minister makes a statement on which clarifications may be sought; the half-an-hour discussion on a matter of sufficient public importance arising out of an answer already given at Question Hour; the short duration discussion on a matter of urgent public importance, in which there is no formal motion and no vote; and the adjournment motion, which seeks to set aside the business of the House to discuss a definite matter of urgent public importance involving a recent grave failure of the Government, and which carries an element of censure.
The zero hour, and the fact worth knowing
It appears in no rule book. The expression is not found in the Rules of Procedure of either House. It is a name given by usage to the period immediately following Question Hour, when members raise matters of urgent public importance without notice, at the discretion of the Chair.
Which means three things, and all three are examinable.
There is no right to be heard in it. Everything depends on the Chair permitting the member to speak.
There is no procedure and no consequence. A member makes his point; the Minister may or may not respond; nothing is decided; no vote is taken.
And it exists because the formal devices are hard to obtain. Chapter 1160 showed the ordinary period of notice for a question. The zero hour is the House's own answer to the fact that its rules require notice and events do not.
The assessment, and it is a fair one either way. It is defended as a safety valve which lets a matter reach the floor the day it arises. It is criticised as disorderly, as consuming the time of the House without producing anything, and as existing precisely because the formal devices are too slow to be used. A candidate should give both, and note that a device with no rule behind it is a poor instrument of control, whatever it is as an instrument of expression.
The Zero Hour and the Notices
The calling attention notice
What it is. A member, with the Speaker's permission, calls the attention of a Minister to a matter of urgent public importance, and the Minister makes a statement or asks for time to make one; members may then seek clarifications.
It is distinctively Indian, being a procedure of the Indian Houses rather than an inheritance from Westminster, and it is worth saying so because MU's questions often invite a comparison.
What it achieves. It compels a statement on the record on a matter the Government might not otherwise address, and the clarifications that follow are like supplementaries at Question Hour, chapter 1160.
What it does not achieve. There is no motion and no vote, so nothing is decided; and it is wholly in the Speaker's discretion.
The half-an-hour discussion
What it is. A discussion on a matter of sufficient public importance which has been the subject of a question already answered at Question Hour, and on which the answer needs elucidation on a matter of fact.
Its significance is the link with chapter 1160. It is the device for the case where the answer was inadequate. A member who is dissatisfied with an answer does not simply complain; he has a procedure for pursuing it, and this is it.
Its limits. It is confined to a matter arising out of an answer; it is short; and there is no motion and no vote.
The short duration discussion
What it is. A discussion on a matter of urgent public importance, ordinarily on the support of other members and with the Chair's admission, in which the House debates the matter and the Minister replies.
The defining feature. There is no formal motion before the House and no vote. The House discusses; nothing is put.
Which is exactly why it is used. A Government will allow a discussion it would resist as a motion, because a motion divides the House and records a result and a discussion does not. The absence of a vote is what makes it obtainable, and also what makes it weak.
The adjournment motion
What it is. A motion to set aside the ordinary business of the House in order to discuss a definite matter of urgent public importance.
The conditions, which are strict and are the point. The matter must be definite, factual, urgent and of public importance; it must relate to a recent occurrence; it must involve a matter of primary concern to the Government of India; and it must involve a grave situation, ordinarily a serious failure of the Government.
The Zero Hour and the Notices
And the feature that separates it from everything above. An adjournment motion carries an element of censure, because to set aside the business of the House is to say that the Government's failure is grave enough that nothing else should be discussed. That is why Governments resist it and why the Chair admits it rarely.
Note also what it does not do. It does not unseat a Government. Its adoption is a censure in substance; the instrument that ends a Government is the motion of no-confidence, chapter 1180.
The ladder, which is the answer to the question
Set the devices in order of gravity and the structure of the sixth label appears:
Unstarred question: a written answer, no supplementary, no discussion. Starred question: an oral answer and supplementaries. Zero hour: a matter raised without notice, at the Chair's discretion, no procedure and no consequence. Calling attention notice: a statement by the Minister and clarifications. Half-an-hour discussion: pursuit of an inadequate answer already given. Short duration discussion: a debate on an urgent matter, no motion, no vote. Adjournment motion: business set aside, and an element of censure. Censure motion: chapter 1180, a vote, against a Minister or the Council, on stated grounds. Motion of no-confidence: chapter 1180, the Government falls.
Notice the two thresholds on that ladder. The first is the vote: everything up to and including the short duration discussion produces no decision at all. The second is collective responsibility: only the last two rungs engage article 75(3), and only the last removes the Government.
And notice what that means for the criticism in chapter 1270. Most of legislative control over the executive consists of devices that produce no decision. Their value is the value that runs through this whole paper: the answer is on the record.
A worked example
A bridge under construction with Central funds collapses, killing workers.
The same day. A member raises it in the zero hour, without notice, if the Chair permits. Nothing follows.
With a notice. A calling attention notice: the Minister makes a statement and members seek clarifications.
If a question on the project had already been answered and the answer was misleading. A half-an-hour discussion on the matter arising out of that answer.
If the House wants to debate the safety regime generally. A short duration discussion: a debate, a reply by the Minister, no motion and no vote.
If the failure is recent, definite, urgent and grave, and of primary concern to the Government of India. An adjournment motion, which sets aside the day's business and carries an element of censure.
The Zero Hour and the Notices
If the Minister is personally responsible. A censure motion against him, chapter 1180.
If the House has lost confidence in the Government. A motion of no-confidence, chapter 1180, under article 75(3).
And if the member wants the file rather than a statement? None of these gets it. A committee does, chapter 1070, which is why the fifth and sixth labels belong to one module.
What beginners get wrong
That the zero hour is a rule of procedure. It appears in no rule book; it is a usage, at the Chair's discretion.
That a calling attention notice produces a decision. It produces a statement and clarifications. No motion, no vote.
That a half-an-hour discussion is a short debate on anything. It is confined to a matter arising out of an answer already given at Question Hour.
That a short duration discussion is voted on. There is no formal motion and no vote, which is why Governments concede it.
That an adjournment motion removes a Government. It carries censure; the motion of no-confidence removes.
Quick revision
Zero hour: in no rule book; the period after Question Hour; matters raised without notice, at the Chair's discretion; no procedure, no consequence; a safety valve and also evidence that the formal devices are too slow.
Calling attention: with the Speaker's permission, calls a Minister's attention to a matter of urgent public importance; the Minister makes a statement; clarifications may be sought. Distinctively Indian.
Half-an-hour discussion: on a matter of sufficient public importance arising out of an answer already given at Question Hour, needing elucidation on a matter of fact.
Short duration discussion: on a matter of urgent public importance; no formal motion and no vote.
Adjournment motion: sets aside the ordinary business to discuss a definite, factual, urgent, recent and grave matter of primary concern to the Government of India; carries an element of censure; does not unseat the Government.
The ladder and its two thresholds: the vote (nothing below the censure motion decides anything) and collective responsibility (only the last two rungs engage art 75(3)).
Test yourself
1. What is the zero hour and what is unusual about it? It is the name given by usage to the period immediately following Question Hour, in which members raise matters of urgent public importance without notice, at the discretion of the Chair. What is unusual is that it appears in no rule book: the expression is not found in the Rules of Procedure of either House, so there is no right to be heard in it, no procedure governing it and no consequence flowing from it. It exists because the rules require notice for the formal devices while events do not wait, and it is therefore both a safety valve that lets a matter reach the floor on the day it arises and evidence that the formal devices are too slow to be used. As an instrument of expression it has value; as an instrument of control, a device with no rule behind it and no consequence attached to it is a weak one.
The Zero Hour and the Notices
2. Distinguish the calling attention notice, the half-an-hour discussion and the short duration discussion. A calling attention notice is used where a member wishes to draw a Minister's attention to a matter of urgent public importance; with the Speaker's permission he does so and the Minister makes a statement or asks for time to make one, after which clarifications may be sought. A half-an-hour discussion is used where an answer already given at Question Hour on a matter of sufficient public importance requires elucidation on a matter of fact, and it is therefore the device for pursuing an inadequate answer. A short duration discussion is a debate on a matter of urgent public importance in which the House discusses and the Minister replies. None of the three involves a formal motion or a vote, and the absence of a vote is both what makes them obtainable, since a Government will concede a discussion it would resist as a motion, and what makes them weak.
3. What is an adjournment motion and what distinguishes it from the devices below it? It is a motion to set aside the ordinary business of the House in order to discuss a definite matter of urgent public importance. Its conditions are strict: the matter must be definite, factual, urgent and of public importance, must relate to a recent occurrence, must be of primary concern to the Government of India, and must involve a grave situation, ordinarily a serious failure of the Government. What distinguishes it is that it carries an element of censure, because to set aside the business of the House is to assert that the Government's failure is grave enough that nothing else should be discussed. It does not, however, unseat a Government; that is the function of a motion of no-confidence.
4. Arrange the devices of control over the executive in order of gravity and identify the thresholds. Unstarred question, starred question with supplementaries, zero hour, calling attention notice, half-an-hour discussion, short duration discussion, adjournment motion, censure motion, motion of no-confidence. Two thresholds matter. The first is the vote: everything up to and including the short duration discussion produces no decision at all, so that the value of those devices is only that the answer is on the record, which is the sanction that runs through this entire paper. The second is collective responsibility: only the censure motion and the motion of no-confidence engage article 75(3) directly, and only the latter, if carried, ends the Government. It is also worth noting that none of these devices produces a document: a member who wants the file rather than a statement must go to a committee, which is why the fifth and sixth labels of this syllabus belong in one module.
The rest of this subject
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