Parliament session formally open for record 88 days after August adjournment

Parliament’s Monsoon session has remained formally open for a record 88 days since both Houses were adjourned indefinitely on August 13, leaving room for the government to reconvene them at short notice.Neither the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha had been prorogued as of Monday morning. The gap has surpassed the previous record of 87 days in 2008.The delay has fuelled speculation about an extended sitting to consider a constitutional amendment linked to implementing women’s reservation. The proposal seeks to increase the Lok Sabha’s strength from 543 seats to a maximum of 850 through delimitation.WHY THE SESSION REMAINS OPENAdjournment and prorogation are separate steps. While adjournment indefinitely ends scheduled sittings without fixing a date for the next meeting, prorogation formally ends the session. An extended or special sitting within the existing session requires a minimum notice of two days, compared with at least 14 days for a fresh session.Keeping the Monsoon session open therefore allows Parliament to meet sooner. However, no decision to reconvene the Houses had been announced. A similar constitutional amendment failed to secure the required numbers in the Lok Sabha during a special sitting of the Budget session on April 17.NO DEADLINE FOR PROROGATIONThe Constitution does not prescribe a deadline for proroguing a House after it has been adjourned indefinitely. A prolonged gap does not, by itself, constitute a constitutional or procedural violation.Records show that Parliament remained unprorogued for 87 days in 2008, 76 days in 1987, 54 days in 1989, 49 days each in 2006 and 2013, and 41 days in 1963.In 2008, the Lok Sabha met on July 21 and 22 for a confidence vote involving the UPA government. The session remained open and the House reconvened on October 17. It was adjourned again on October 24 to meet on December 10.- Ends