Joint parliamentary committee

Indian ad hoc committee

Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is one type of ad hoc parliamentary committee constituted by the Indian parliament.[1][2]

## Formation

[edit]

Joint Parliamentary Committee is formed when motion is adopted by one house and it is supported or agreed by the other house.

Another way to form a Joint Parliamentary committee is that two presiding chiefs of both houses can write to each other, communicate with each other and form the joint parliamentary committee.[3]

## Membership

[edit]

The Lok Sabha members are double compared to Rajya Sabha.

for e.g. If Joint Parliamentary committee has 10 Lok Sabha Members then 5 members will be from Rajya Sabha and total member of JPC will be 15.

The strength of a JPC may be different each time.

## Powers

[edit]

A JPC can obtain evidence of experts, public bodies, associations, individuals or interested parties suo moto or on requests made by them. If a witness fails to appear before a JPC in response to summons, his conduct constitutes a contempt of the House.

The JPC can take oral and written evidence or call for documents in connection with a matter under its consideration. The proceedings of parliamentary committees are confidential, but in the case of the joint committee which went into "Irregularities in Securities and Banking Transactions", the committee decided that considering the widespread public interest in the matter, the chairman should brief the press about deliberations of the committees.

Ministers are not generally called by the committees to give evidence. However, in case of the Irregularities in Securities and Banking Transactions probe again, an exception was made, with the JPC, with the permission of the Speaker, seeking information on certain points from ministers and calling Minister of Finance and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The government may withhold or decline to produce a document if it is considered prejudicial to the safety or interest of the State. The Speaker has the final word on any dispute over calling for evidence against a person or production of a document.[4]

## JPCs so far

[edit]

### Bofors scandal (1987)

[edit]

Main article: Bofors scandal

The first JPC was formed in August 1987 to investigate the Bofors scandal. It was chaired by Congress politician B. Shankaranand. It was formed on a motion moved by the then defence minister K.C. Pant in the Lok Sabha on August 6, 1987. The Rajya Sabha endorsed it a week later. The committee, held 50 sittings and gave its report on April 26, 1988. Opposition parties boycotted the committee on the ground that it was packed with Congress members. The JPC report was tabled in the Parliament, but it was rejected by the Opposition.[5]

### Harshad Mehta Stock market scam (1992)

[edit]

Main article: Harshad Mehta

The second JPC was formed in August 1992. It was headed by former Union minister and senior Congress leader Ram Niwas Mirdha. It was set up to probe Irregularities in Securities and Banking Transactions in the aftermath of the Harshad Mehta scandal. The motion was moved by the then minister for parliamentary affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Lok Sabha on August 6, 1992. The Rajya Sabha concurred with it the next day. The recommendations of the JPC were neither accepted in full nor implemented.

### Ketan Parekh share market scam (2001)

[edit]

Main article: Ketan Parekh

The third JPC was formed in April 2001. It was assigned to probe the Ketan Parekh share market scam. Then parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan piloted a motion in the Lok Sabha on April 26, 2001, to put it in place. Senior BJP member Lt Gen Prakash Mani Tripathi (retd) was named the chairman. The committee held 105 sittings and gave its report on December 19, 2002. The committee recommended sweeping changes in stock market regulations. However, many of these recommendations were diluted later.[6]

### Soft drink pesticide issue (2003)

[edit]

The fourth JPC was set up in August 2003 to look into pesticide residues in soft drinks, fruit juice and other beverages and other essential things and to set safety standards. It was headed by Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar. The JPC held 17 sittings and submitted its report to Parliament on February 4, 2004. The report confirmed that soft drinks did have pesticide residues and recommended stringent norms for drinking water.

This JPC made a recommendation about National Standards Body of India which was agreed by Parliament and the Govt. It recommended that Bureau of Indian Standards should be headed by an eminent scientist. No action has however been taken on this recommendation even after 16 years.

### 2G spectrum case (2011)

[edit]

Main article: 2G spectrum case

The fifth JPC has been constituted in February 2011 to probe 2G case. It is headed by P.C. Chacko. It has 30 members.[7] 15 opposition members belonging to BJP, JD (U), CPI, CPM, Trinamool Congress, BJD, DMK and the AIADMK in the 30-member panel accused P.C. Chacko of being "partisan" and demanded his removal (They submitted a memorandum to the Lok Sabha Speaker expressing their “no-confidence”[8]) as they criticised the draft report for giving clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram. So PC Chacko agreed to amend the JPC draft report.[9]

### VVIP Chopper scam (2013)

[edit]

Main article: Choppergate

The Government has moved a motion in the Rajya Sabha on February 27, 2013, which was adopted by voice vote-for formation of a JPC "to inquire into the allegations of payment of bribes in the acquisition of VVIP helicopters by the Ministry of Defence from M/s Agusta Westland and the role of alleged middlemen in the transaction." The JPC will have 10 members from the Rajya Sabha and 20 from the Lok Sabha and shall give its report within three months of its first sitting.

### Land Acquisition (2015)

[edit]

Main article: Land acquisition in India

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015 has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee of both the Houses under the Chairmanship of Shri S.S.Ahluwalia.[10]

### NRC (2016)

[edit]

on hold

### Personal Data Protection Bill (2019)

[edit]

The Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 (PDP Bill 2019)[11] was tabled in the Indian Parliament by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) on 11 December 2019. As of March, 2020 the Bill is being analyzed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) in consultation with experts and stakeholders. The JPC, which was let up in December, 2019, is headed by BJP Member of Parliament (MP) Meenakshi Lekhi. While the JPC was tasked with a short deadline to finalize the draft law before the Budget Session of 2020, it has sought more time to study the Bill and consult stakeholders.

[1]

### Waqf (Amendment) Bill (2024)

[edit]

Main article: The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill (2024) was introduced by the government to the Indian parliament on the 8th of August 2024[12] with an objective to streamline the Waqf Board's works and ensure an efficient management of waqf properties. The Bill was referred to the JPC following the Congress-led Opposition's Protest against the bill. The JPC is scheduled to meet on September 18,19,20 2024.[13]

## See also

[edit]

* Joint committee (legislative)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ http://www.parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/intro/p21.htm [bare URL]
2. ^ "Parliamentary Committees".
3. ^ "Know and understand what is Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)?".
4. ^ "Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC): What is that? We explain - 1 - National News – News – MSN India". Archived from the original on 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
5. ^ "Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC): What is that? We explain - 2 - National News – News – MSN India". Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
6. ^ "Joint Parliamentary Committees and what they achieved". Business Standard. November 17, 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
7. ^ "2G scam: Govt sets up 30-member JPC". 25 February 2011.
8. ^ "2G Scam: PC Chacko willing to consider amendments to JPC draft report - India - DNA". www.dnaindia.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-30.
9. ^ "Open to amending Joint Parliamentary Committee draft report on 2G scam if convinced, says Chacko". 25 April 2013.
10. ^ "PRS | Parliament Track | Parliamentary Committees | Joint Parliamentary Committee". www.prsindia.org. Archived from the original on 2015-06-11.
11. ^ "Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 seeks views and suggestions".
12. ^ "Explainer on Waqf Amendment Bill 2024". 13 September 2024.
13. ^ Thakur, Rajesh Kumar (2024-09-14). "3-day JPC meet from Sept 18 to seek inputs from stakeholders on Waqf Bill". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-09-14.

* v
* t
* e

India topics

History

| Overviews|

* Timeline
* Years

* Astronomy
* Clothing
* Coinage
* Economics
* LGBT
* Linguistics
* Maritime
* Mathematics
* Metallurgy
* Military
* Paper currency
* Postal
* Science and technology

|

Ancient |

* Stone Age
* Indus Valley Civilisation
* Vedic period
* Mahajanapadas
* Mauryas
* Yavana Kingdom
* Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley
* Indo-Parthian Kingdom
* Kushan Empire
* Alchon Huns
* Seleucid–Mauryan war

Middle Kingdoms|

* Middle kingdoms
* Chola

Middle Ages|

* Medieval India
* Hoysala
* Pala
* Kakatiya
* Delhi Sultanate
* Vijayanagara

Early Modern|

* Mughals
* Marathas
* European trade
* Bengal War

Late modern|

* Colonial
* Princely state
* East India Company
* Plassey
* 1857 rebellion
* British Raj
* Railways
* Economy
* Army
* Commander-in-Chief
* Zamindari
* Bengal Renaissance
* Political reforms
* Partition of Bengal
* Independence movement
* 1943 famine
* World War II
* Partition

Republic|

* Integration
* Non-Aligned Movement
* Five-Year Plans
* Sino-Indian War
* Indo-Pakistani wars
* Green Revolution
* White Revolution
* Naxal Insurgency
* Smiling Buddha
* Space programme
* The Emergency
* Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)

Contemporary|

* History of India (1947–present)
* Economic liberalisation
* Pokhran-II
* COVID-19 pandemic

Geography

| Geology|

* Fossil Parks
* Geology of India
* Indian Plate

|

Heritage|

* National Geological Monuments of India
* Sacred groves of India
* Sacred mountains of India
* Sacred rivers of India
* Stones of India

Environment|

* Biogeographic classification
* Biosphere reserves
* Climate
* Climate change
* Earthquakes
* Ecoregions
* Environmental issues
* Fauna
* Forests
* Flora
* Geology
* National parks
* Protected areas
* Wildlife
* sanctuaries

Landforms|

* Beaches
* Canals
* Coasts
* Desert
* ECZ
* Extreme points
* Glaciers
* Highest point by states
* Islands
* Lakes
* Mountains
* Mountain passes
* Plains
* Indo-Gangetic
* Eastern coastal
* Western coastal
* Rivers
* Valleys
* Volcanoes
* Waterfalls

Regions|

* Central
* East
* North
* Northwest
* Northeast
* South
* Southwest
* Southeast
* West

Subdivisions|

* Autonomous administrative divisions
* Borders
* Towns
* Cities
* Districts
* Municipalities
* States and union territories

See also|

* National monuments of India
* National parks of India
* Nature worship in Indian-origin religions
* World Heritage Sites in India
* Culture of India
* History of India
* Tourism in India

Politics

| Government|

* Agencies
* Energy policy
* Foreign relations
* Parliament
* Lok Sabha
* Rajya Sabha
* President
* Vice President
* Prime Minister
* Union Council of Ministers
* Civil Services
* Cabinet Secretary
* State governments
* State legislative assemblies
* State legislative councils
* Governors, Lieutenant Governors and Administrators
* Chief Ministers
* Chief Secretaries

|

Law|

* Constitution
* Penal Code
* Fundamental rights, principles and duties
* Human rights
* LGBT
* Supreme Court
* Chief Justice
* High Courts
* District Courts

Enforcement|

| Federal|

* Border Security Force (BSF)
* Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
* Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
* Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
* National Security Guard (NSG)
* Railway Protection Force (RPF)
* Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)
* Special Protection Group (SPG)

|

Intelligence|

* Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D)
* Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
* Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)
* Enforcement Directorate (ED)
* Intelligence Bureau (IB)
* Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC)
* Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)
* National Investigation Agency (NIA)
* Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW)

Military|

* Army
* Navy
* Air Force

Politics|

* Censorship
* Citizenship
* Elections
* Democracy
* Nationalism
* Political parties
* Reservations
* Scandals
* Scheduled groups
* Secularism
* Women in politics

Economy

| Companies|

* BSE SENSEX
* NIFTY 50

|

Governance|

* Ministry of Finance
* Finance ministers
* Ministry of Commerce and Industry
* Finance Commission
* Economic Advisory Council
* Central Statistical Office
* Securities and Exchange Board of India
* Enforcement Directorate
* External debt
* Foreign trade
* Foreign direct investment
* Foreign exchange reserves
* Remittances
* Taxation
* Subsidies
* Industrial licensing
* Voluntary guidelines
* NITI Aayog
* Make in India
* Atmanirbhar Bharat

Currency|

* Indian rupee
* Sign
* History
* Historical Forex
* Digital rupee
* Coinage
* Paisa
* Reserve Bank of India
* Governor
* Mint
* Inflation

Financial services|

* Banking
* Insurance
* Multi Commodity Exchange
* Bullion
* Black money
* Bombay
* National

History|

* COVID-19 impact
* Economic development
* Liberalisation
* Licence Raj
* Green revolution
* Government initiatives
* Numbering system

People|

* By net worth
* Demography
* Income
* Poverty
* Labour law
* Pensions
* EPFO
* NPS
* PPF

States|

* Andhra Pradesh
* Assam
* Bihar
* Delhi
* Goa
* Gujarat
* Haryana
* Himachal Pradesh
* Jammu and Kashmir
* Jharkhand
* Karnataka
* Kerala
* Ladakh
* Madhya Pradesh
* Maharashtra
* Mizoram
* Odisha
* Punjab
* Rajasthan
* Tamil Nadu
* Telangana
* Uttarakhand
* Uttar Pradesh
* West Bengal

Sectors|

* Agriculture
* Livestock
* Fishing
* Automotive
* Chemical
* Construction
* Defence
* Education
* Energy
* Electricity
* Nuclear
* Oil and gas
* Solar
* Wind
* Electronics and semiconductor
* Entertainment
* Forestry
* Gambling
* Healthcare
* Hospitals
* Information technology
* Media
* Cinema
* FM Radio
* Television
* Printing
* Mining
* Coal
* Iron and Steel
* Pharmaceuticals
* Pulp and paper
* Retail
* Science and technology
* Biotechnology
* Space
* Telecommunications
* Textiles
* Tourism
* Transport
* Aviation
* Civil
* Ports
* Rail
* Roads
* Electricity
* Water
* Power

Regulator|

* IRDAI
* RBI
* SEBI
* IBBI
* PFRDA

Other|

* NCLT
* NCLAT
* BIFR
* IBBI
* IBC
* SARFESI Act
* Income Tax Act
* Companies Act
* Banking Act
* Insurance Act
* FEMA
* Mumbai Consensus

* Society and culture

| Society|

* Caste system
* Corruption
* Crime
* Demographics
* Indians
* Education
* Universities in India
* Medical colleges in India
* Law colleges in India
* Engineering colleges in India
* Ethnic relations
* Health
* Languages
* Life expectancy
* Literacy
* Poverty
* Prisons
* Religion
* Socio-economic issues
* Standard of living
* Water supply and sanitation
* Women
* Sexuality
* Youth

|

Culture|

* Arts and entertainment
* Architecture
* Blogging
* Cinema
* Comics
* Webcomics
* Cuisine
* wine
* Dance
* Dress
* Folklore
* Festivals
* Literature
* Media
* television
* Martial arts
* Music
* Painting
* Physical culture
* Public holidays
* Sculpture
* tallest
* Sport
* Traditional

* v
* t
* e

Government of India

Constitution|

* Constitution
* Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties
* Federalism
* Union List
* State List
* Concurrent List

Executive|

* President (list)
* Vice President (list)
* Union government
* Union Council of Ministers
* Prime Minister (list)
* Deputy Prime Minister
* Civil services
* All India Services
* Central Civil Services
* Cabinet Secretary
* Secretaries
* Defence
* Finance
* Foreign
* Home)
* Attorney General
* Solicitor General
* State governments
* Governors (list)
* Lieutenant governors and administrators
* Chief ministers (list)
* Deputy chief ministers
* Chief secretaries
* Principal secretaries
* Advocate generals

Legislature|

* Parliament
* Lok Sabha
* Speaker
* Deputy speaker
* Secretary General
* Member
* Leader
* Leader of the Opposition
* Rajya Sabha
* Chairman
* Deputy Chairperson
* Member
* Leader
* Leader of the Opposition
* State legislature
* State legislative assemblies
* State legislative councils
* Speakers and Chairpersons
* Members
* Leaders of the Opposition

Judiciary|

* Supreme Court of India
* Chief Justice of India (list)
* Sitting judges
* High courts
* Chief justices
* Sitting judges
* District courts

* v
* t
* e

Parliament of India

President|

* President of India
* List

Lok Sabha|

* Speaker
* Deputy Speaker
* Secretariat
* Secretary General
* Leader of the House
* Leader of the Opposition
* Constituencies
* Former Constituencies
* MPLS
* Nominated Members
* Current Lok Sabha
* Current Members

Rajya Sabha|

* Chairperson
* List
* Deputy Chairperson
* Secretary General
* Leader of the House
* Leader of the Opposition
* MPRS
* List
* Nominated Members
* Current Members

Parliamentary committees|

| Standing|

* Estimates
* Defence
* Finance
* Public Accounts
* Public Undertakings

|

Ad hoc|

* A. Mehta
* B. R. Mehta
* JPC
* Kargil
* Narasimham
* Sachar
* Srikrishna

Legislative procedures|

* Resolution
* 1962 Parliamentary resolution
* Act of parliament
* List
* Amendment of Constitution
* List
* Bill
* Appropriation
* Money
* Ordinance
* Private Member
* Budget
* Military
* Railway
* Confidence and supply
* Motion of no confidence
* Loss of supply
* Cross-voting
* Division of the house
* Dissolution of parliament
* Legislative Party
* Minority government
* Official Opposition
* Question Hour
* Session
* Joint Session
* Special Session
* Simple majority
* Special majority
* States of emergency
* The Emergency of 1975–77
* Voice Vote

Miscellaneous|

* 2001 Parliament attack
* Inter-Parliamentary Union
* Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
* Delimitation Commission
* MPLADS
* Member of Parliament
* Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
* Outstanding Parliamentarian Award
* Parliamentary Group
* Parliament Museum
* Parliament Security Services
* Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana
* Parliament House/Sansad Bhavan
* Parliament House
* Old Parliament House
* Sansad Marg
* Sansad TV
* Union Government
* Union Council of Ministers
* United Nations Parliamentary Assembly
* Youth Parliament
* Youth Parliament Program

* v
* t
* e

Legislatures of India

Parliament of India|

* Rajya Sabha
* Lok Sabha

State Legislative Council|

| Current|

* Andhra Pradesh
* Bihar
* Karnataka
* Maharashtra
* Telangana
* Uttar Pradesh

|

Former|

* Assam
* Bombay
* Jammu and Kashmir
* Madhya Pradesh
* Punjab
* Tamil Nadu
* West Bengal

State Legislative Assembly|

| Current|

* Andhra Pradesh
* Arunachal Pradesh
* Assam
* Bihar
* Chhattisgarh
* Delhi
* Goa
* Gujarat
* Haryana
* Himachal Pradesh
* Jammu and Kashmir
* Jharkhand
* Karnataka
* Kerala
* Madhya Pradesh
* Maharashtra
* Manipur
* Meghalaya
* Mizoram
* Nagaland
* Odisha
* Puducherry
* Punjab
* Rajasthan
* Sikkim
* Tamil Nadu
* Telangana
* Tripura
* Uttar Pradesh
* Uttarakhand
* West Bengal

|

Former|

* Ajmer
* Andhra State
* Bhopal
* Bombay
* Coorg
* Hyderabad
* Madhya Bharat
* Patiala and East Punjab States Union
* Vindhya Pradesh

British Raj|

* Council of India
* Imperial Legislative Council
* Council of State
* Central Legislative Assembly
* Chamber of Princes
* Provincial Legislatures
* Constituent Assembly of India

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template