RAS question
The maximum permissible gap between two sessions of Parliament is:
Correct answer: (A) 6 months.
The maximum permissible gap between the last sitting of one Parliament session and the first sitting of the next is six months.
Explanation
Article 85(1) of the Constitution of India fixes the relevant limit by looking at actual sittings, not just calendar labels for sessions. It says the President summons each House of Parliament to meet at the time and place he thinks fit, but six months must not intervene between the last sitting in one session and the date appointed for the first sitting in the next session. Therefore, the constitutional ceiling between two parliamentary sessions is six months. The rule matters because it prevents Parliament from being kept out of session for longer than that interval and, in practical terms, ensures that Parliament meets at least twice in a year.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) One year is too long because Article 85(1) does not allow six months to intervene between the last sitting of one session and the first sitting of the next.
- (C) Three months may be a possible shorter interval in practice, but it is not the constitutional maximum stated in Article 85(1).
- (D) Nine months exceeds the constitutional ceiling, since the permitted gap cannot cross six months between the relevant sittings.
Concept
This tests the Parliament chapter of Indian Polity, especially Article 85 on summoning, prorogation and dissolution. RAS repeats it because session rules are a direct constitutional control on executive discretion and legislative accountability.