Question

At the joint sitting of parliament, a bill has to be passed ____________
A. By the simple majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting.
B. By a simple majority of the total number of members of both Houses
C. By the two-thirds majority of the total number of members of both Houses
D. By the two-thirds majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting

Answer 1

Hint: India has a bicameral Parliament. The two houses (the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha) must consent to pass any bill. Before the President may give his/her consent, both houses have to approve the bill. The founding fathers foresaw conditions where a deadlock between both Houses of Parliament might occur. They then provided for a constitutional mechanism to break this deadlock in the form of joint sessions.

Complete answer:
Option A) By a simple majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting.
In a joint session of Parliament, a bill that requires a special majority of both houses (e.g., the Constitution Amendment Bill) will not be introduced. In a Joint Session of Parliament, only bills that involve a simple majority in both houses and where the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are in dispute can be introduced/approved.
A bill is passed quickly by a vote of both the members of the house present and voting in a joint sitting of Parliament. In contrast to Rajya Sabha, because Lok Sabha has more members, its influence therefore prevails.
Option B) By a simple majority of the total number of members of both Houses
A joint sitting of Parliament is not passed by a simple majority of the total number of members of both Houses.
Option C) By a two-thirds majority of the total number of members of both Houses
A joint sitting of Parliament is not passed by a two-thirds majority of the total number of members of both Houses.
Option D) By a two-thirds majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting. A joint sitting of Parliament is not passed by the two-thirds majority of total number of members of both Houses present and voting.

Thus, option (A) By a simple majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting is correct.

Note:To date, only three bills that have been passed at joint meetings have been called for at Joint Session of the Parliament of India:- the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, the Repeal Bill of the Banking Service Commission, 1978, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002.