Topic 5 of 20
GS Paper 2 State Legislature Article 169 optionality and the delaying power of State Legislative Councils (Articles 171, 197 and 198)

A Chamber That Exists at the Majority's Pleasure: The Case for a National Policy on Legislative Councils

Source Election Commission of India, Indian Express, Constitution of India, PGurus, UPSC Geeks, Indian Kanoon, Jagran Josh, Navbharat Live, Wikipedia, IndiasWorld, Lotus Arise, Self Study History, Anantam IA

What does a second chamber add when it can only delay? A State Legislative Council can hold up an ordinary Bill for four months at most and can only advise on a Money Bill. Even its existence depends on whichever party happens to control the Assembly.

| | Topic 5 of 20

Summary

Voting was held on 23 October 2026 for 28 Legislative Council seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka, mostly in Graduates' and Teachers' constituencies, with counting scheduled for 27 October. Only six States have a Council: these four, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Under Article 169, Parliament can create or abolish a Council by ordinary law once a State Assembly passes a resolution by a special majority. Members are elected indirectly by single transferable vote from local bodies, graduates, teachers and MLAs, with some nominated by the Governor.

The Council's powers are limited: it can delay ordinary Bills but not block them and can only recommend changes to Money Bills. The Constituent Assembly was split on whether such chambers were needed and their existence has since swung with State politics, as Tamil Nadu's 1986 abolition shows.

WHY IT MATTERS FOR UPSC & STATE PCS

Polls for 28 Council seats across four States on 23 October 2026 have reopened the question of what State upper houses are for. Their elections are read as a political barometer among graduates and teachers, even though the chambers themselves have limited powers.

Standard News

A Chamber at the Majority's Pleasure

The weakness of State Legislative Councils is not mainly about the powers they lack. It is that Article 169 allows any State's ruling majority to create or abolish one. The Constitution made the second chamber optional and set no test for when a State actually needs one.

The rule as written:

a deliberately weak chamber The Constitution gives the Council a narrow role:

  • Article 197: on an ordinary Bill, the Council can only delay. Once the Assembly passes a Bill again, the Council can hold it back for at most four months in all. It cannot defeat it.
  • Article 198: a Money Bill cannot start in the Council. The Council may only suggest changes within 14 days, which the Assembly is free to reject.
  • Article 171: the Council's size is capped at one-third of the Assembly's, with a minimum of 40. Its members come from local bodies, graduates, teachers and MLAs, with some nominated by the Governor for their expertise. This is a revising chamber by design, built to review rather than to rule.

The rule as practised:

a chamber that can be switched on and off Article 169 sets the procedure for creating or abolishing a Council:

  • The State Assembly passes a resolution by a majority of its total membership and two-thirds of members present and voting.
  • Parliament then passes an ordinary law. That law is expressly not treated as a constitutional amendment under Article 368. What the Article does not do is ask why. It sets no criteria based on a State's size, diversity or legislative workload. In practice, then, a Council's existence depends on the politics of the moment. Tamil Nadu abolished its Council in 1986, reportedly to keep opposition figures out of the legislature and the DMK has tried to bring it back ever since. Andhra Pradesh passed a resolution to abolish its Council in 2020 and withdrew it in November 2021. Proposals for new Councils in Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha and West Bengal are pending.

Intentional silence, unintended result The silence was deliberate.

The Constituent Assembly was divided:

  • Brajeshwar Prasad argued that with adult franchise it was risky to give all power to a lower house and that the literate and experienced also needed a voice.
  • K.T. Shah saw such chambers as expensive and undemocratic, a place to park defeated politicians. The framers resolved the disagreement by making the chamber optional. What they could not foresee was optionality becoming a tool of the State's ruling party. A chamber meant to check majorities now exists only when a majority allows it.

Why a

national policy A national framework would not force every State to have a Council. It would answer the question Article 169 leaves open, by setting out:

  • the conditions in which a State needs a second chamber; - a role for it that is more than delay, such as scrutiny of delegated legislation or committee review; - protection against abolition purely to suit one government's convenience.
For the exam, the key point is that the Councils' weakness lies in Article 169's permission for majorities to create or abolish them at will, more than in Article 197's limited delaying power.

Quick Facts

Key numbers & takeaways — revise these first

  • Polling for 28 Legislative Council seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka on 23 October 2026.

  • Counting is scheduled for 27 October 2026.

  • States with Legislative Councils: Uttar Pradesh (100), Maharashtra (78), Bihar (75), Karnataka (75), Andhra Pradesh (58), Telangana (40).

  • Article 169: Parliament may create or abolish a Council by law if the State Assembly passes a resolution by a majority of its total membership and two-thirds of members present and voting.

  • Such a law is not treated as a constitutional amendment under Article 368.

  • Article 171: total membership not more than one-third of the Assembly's strength and not less than 40.

  • Composition: one-third elected by local bodies, one-twelfth by graduates of three years' standing, one-twelfth by teachers of three years' standing, one-third by MLAs and the rest nominated by the Governor.

  • Members must be over 30, serve six-year terms and one-third retire every two years.

  • Article 197: a Council can delay an ordinary Bill for at most four months.

  • Article 198: a Money Bill cannot be introduced in the Council; it can only make recommendations within 14 days.

  • Origins: the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms created a Council of State in 1919; the Government of India Act, 1935 introduced bicameralism in six provinces; Bengal's Council began functioning in 1937.

  • Tamil Nadu's Legislative Council was abolished in 1986.

Beyond The Headlines
GS Paper 2 Article 169 optionality and the delaying power of State Legislative Councils (Articles 171, 197 and 198)

Connect the dots for your UPSC preparation.

Standard news covers the event. Log in to read our comprehensive analysis and uncover the hidden constitutional, structural, and ethical dimensions of this topic:

1

The full arc from the 1919 Council of State to the 1935 provincial Councils and why the Constituent Assembly left State bicameralism optional.

2

A close reading of Articles 197 and 198 showing how a Council can only delay and how this differs from the Rajya Sabha's powers.

3

The record of abolitions and revivals, from Tamil Nadu's 1986 abolition to Andhra Pradesh's 2020 resolution and its 2021 withdrawal and what it shows about Article 169.

4

The outline of a national policy that sets criteria for creating Councils and gives them a meaningful role in reviewing legislation.

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Legislative Council Article 169 Article 171 Article 197 Article 198 Bicameralism State Legislature Graduates Constituency Teachers Constituency Single Transferable Vote Tamil Nadu Legislative Council 1986 Andhra Pradesh Council Constituent Assembly Debates Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms GS2 Polity

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