Parliament Winter Session: What is Rule 267 of Rajya Sabha and why has it been in focus

New Delhi: The ongoing winter session of the Parliament not only witnessed sardonic crossovers between the ruling government and opposition parties but the recent protests by opposition members in the Rajya Sabha pressing for a discussion on various important issues repeatedly disrupted proceedings on the Floor of the House. All the notices have been submitted under Rule 267.

However the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar has been rejecting all the notices repeatedly, and recently he stated that attention cannot be given to any notice that is "deficient" or that "miserably fails minimum requirement of the fulfilment of rules."

In fact, on Tuesday, Congress again submitted a notice under Rule 267 on Chinese incursion on Indian borders, Trinamool Congress on price rise, JDU and its ally party in Bihar RJD over the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in probing the Bihar liquor tragedy. Other opposition parties, including Samajwadi Party, and CPI-M also submitted respective notices in the Upper House to discuss important issues, but all of them got rejected by the Rajya Sabha Chairman.

However, at the same time, it is also important to understand the essence of Rule 267, which states, "Any member, may, with the consent of the Chairman, move that any rule may be suspended in its application to a motion related to the business listed before the Council of that day and if the motion is carried, the rule in question shall be suspended for the time being.

It means that under Rule 267, where, members of Parliament can issue notice to take up a discussion on urgent issues of public importance setting aside the Upper House's listed business of the day."

It further states, "The Chairman alone has the power to give consent for moving of a motion for suspension of a rule and it is for the House to decide whether a particular rule should be suspended or not." But, this rule will not apply "where specific provisions already exist for suspension of a rule under a particular chapter of the Rules."

The last time notices under Rule 267 were accepted in November 2016, when the Upper House invoked Rule 267 to discuss demonetisation. For the last six years, the Rajya Sabha has not allowed debates or discussions for nearly five years.

Hence, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien referred in his speech on Tuesday to "precedence" and mentioned, "Recently, the

Honourable Chairman quite correctly said that your predecessor, Venkaiah Naidu ji did not accept a single 267 notice from 2016 to 2022, whereas, to the precedence of 267 notices, erstwhile Chairpersons accepted 267 notices."

From 1990 to 1992, Shankar Dayal Sharma accepted four 267 notices- the Jammu and Kashmir situation, the 66th Constitution Amendment Bill, (Land Reforms- Ninth Schedule), the Gulf War situation and the demolition of the Ayodhya temple. Bhairon Singh Shekhavat accepted three 267 notices in 2004 - Issues of corruption, consideration and return of the Appropriation (Railways) No. 3

Bill and consideration and return of the Appropriation (No.3)

Bill, 2004. From 2013 to 2016, Hamid Ansari accepted four 267 notices, the role of CBI in the Coalgate scam, the attack on the secular fabric of the country, the Agrarian crisis and farmer suicides and the demonetisation of currency.