Collective Responsibility

Notes

Art. 75(3): "The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People." It is the foundation of the parliamentary system.

Meaning

All ministers share joint responsibility for the policies and decisions of the Government; they sink or swim together.
If the Lok Sabha passes a vote of no confidence against the Government (even against a single minister), the whole Council must resign.
A minister who disagrees with a Cabinet decision must either support it publicly or resign. Cabinet discussions are confidential (oath of secrecy).
The Council is responsible only to the Lok Sabha, not the Rajya Sabha.
If the Council loses the Lok Sabha's confidence, the PM may resign or advise dissolution of the House.

Individual responsibility

Art. 75(2): Ministers hold office during the pleasure of the President, so the President can remove a minister on the PM's advice. Each minister is individually responsible for his own department; the PM can ask him to resign or be dismissed.
No legal responsibility: Unlike Britain, there is no requirement that a minister countersign the President's orders, and the Constitution does not make ministers legally liable for official acts; Art. 74(2) bars courts from inquiring into the advice given to the President.

Parliamentary devices to enforce responsibility

Question Hour, Zero Hour, Calling Attention, Adjournment Motion, Half-an-Hour Discussion, discussion on Budget and demands for grants, Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Cut motions, and No-confidence motion.
No-confidence motion: under Rule 198 of the Lok Sabha Rules; must be supported by at least 50 members to be admitted. Reasons need not be stated. The first was moved by J.B. Kripalani against the Nehru Government in 1963.
The Motion of Confidence is moved by the Government itself, and is not found in the Rules but is a convention.
Censure motion needs reasons and can be moved against a single minister or the Council.
Governments that lost confidence: V.P. Singh (1990), Deve Gowda (1997), and the Vajpayee Government in 1999 (lost by a single vote). Vajpayee also resigned in 1996 before facing the vote.
S.R. Bommai v Union of India (1994): the strength of a government must be tested on the floor of the House, not on the Governor's assessment.

Key Points

Art. 75(3): collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha.
No-confidence in any minister amounts to no-confidence in the whole Council.
Cabinet solidarity: public support or resignation.
No countersignature or legal responsibility of ministers in India (Art. 74(2)).
Floor test: Bommai (1994).

MCQs

Q1. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to: (a) President (b) Lok Sabha (c) Rajya Sabha (d) Parliament as a whole Ans: (b). Art. 75(3).

Q2. Who moved the first no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, against the Nehru Government in 1963? (a) A.B. Vajpayee (b) J.B. Kripalani (c) Ram Manohar Lohia (d) Hiren Mukherjee Ans: (b).

Q3. A no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha requires the support of at least: (a) 25 members (b) 50 members (c) 100 members (d) One-tenth of the House Ans: (b). Under Rule 198.