Previous Year Question
With reference to the post's in Secretariate of the Parliament, which of the following statement/s is/are correct?
Common posts may be created for the Secretariate of each House of Parliament.
The Parliament has right to regulate the service conditions of Secretariate staff of either House of it.
Select the correct answer from the code given below.
Code:
Only 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Only 1
Both 1 and 2
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
Article 98 of the Indian Constitution deals with the Secretariat of Parliament. It contains provisions relating to the secretarial staff of both Houses of Parliament, common posts, and the regulation of their recruitment and conditions of service.
Statement 1 is correct.
According to Article 98(1), each House of Parliament shall have a separate secretarial staff.
This means that the Constitution provides for separate Secretariats for the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
However, the proviso to the same Article clarifies that posts common to both Houses of Parliament may be created.
Thus, even though the two Houses have separate Secretariats, certain posts may be common to both. Therefore, Statement 1 is correct.
Statement 2 is correct.
Article 98(2) empowers Parliament to regulate, by law, the recruitment and conditions of service of the secretarial staff of either House.
It grants Parliament the constitutional power to enact laws governing the appointment and service-related arrangements of these employees.
According to Article 98(3), until Parliament makes a law under Article 98(2), the President may frame rules governing recruitment and conditions of service after consulting the Presiding Officer of the respective House.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is consulted in matters concerning the Lok Sabha Secretariat, while the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is consulted in matters concerning the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
Thus, Article 98 provides for separate Secretariats for both Houses of Parliament while permitting the creation of common posts and the regulation of the service conditions of their employees.