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Question 20 of 98 · Parliament
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State PCS

The provision that the presiding officer may permit a member of Parliament who cannot adequately express himself or herself in Hindi or English to address the House in his or her mother tongue is contained in:

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Answer: Option A — Article 120(1)

Detailed Solution

Article 120(1) provides that business in Parliament shall be transacted in Hindi or in English, but the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (or the person acting as such) may permit any member who cannot adequately express himself or herself in either of these languages to address the House in his or her mother tongue.

The original time limit:

  • Article 120(2) provided that, after fifteen years from the commencement of the Constitution, the words "or in English" would be omitted, unless Parliament by law provided otherwise.
  • The Official Languages Act, 1963, allowed English to continue to be used in Parliament.

Simultaneous interpretation:

  • Today, members of Parliament can speak in any of the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule, if they give prior notice.
  • Parliament provides simultaneous interpretation of speeches into Hindi and English, and from Hindi and English into other languages.

State legislatures:

Article 210 makes a similar provision for the state legislatures, where business is transacted in the official language of the state, Hindi or English, and members may be allowed to speak in their mother tongue.

Related provisions on Parliament's procedure:

Article 118: Each House may make rules for regulating its procedure and the conduct of its business.

Article 121: No discussion shall take place in Parliament with respect to the conduct of any judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court in the discharge of his or her duties, except upon a motion for the removal of the judge.

Article 122: The validity of any proceedings in Parliament shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Article 118 deals with the rules of procedure; Article 121 with the restriction on discussion of the conduct of judges; Article 122 with the bar on courts inquiring into the proceedings of Parliament.

Quick tip

Remember: Article 120(1) = language to be used in Parliament (Hindi or English; members may speak in their mother tongue with the presiding officer's permission).

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Parliament — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Parliament, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the Parliament of India: the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, their composition, powers and officers, sessions, the law-making process, money bills, joint sittings, parliamentary committees, and devices such as question hour, zero hour and the various motions. Typical questions ask about the maximum strength of each house, the minimum age for members, who certifies a money bill (the Speaker), who presides over a joint sitting, and which committee is chaired by a member of the opposition (the Public Accounts Committee, by convention). Note the special powers of the Rajya Sabha under Articles 249 and 312. Practise the Parliament questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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