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THE CONSTITUTION, MADE UNDERSTANDABLE

Article 85
Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution

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26 Parts12 Schedules506 indexed article entries, including historical omissions
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Source edition: as on 1 May 2026. Omitted and struck-down reference entries remain labelled. Open the authoritative PDF ↗

Article 85 / Part V

Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution

included in edition
THE PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDE

What does this mean?

The President summons and prorogues Parliament and can dissolve Lok Sabha. No more than six months may intervene between the specified sessions of a House.

The Union's President, ministers, Parliament, Supreme Court and Comptroller and Auditor-General.

PURPOSE & CONTEXT

Why is this provision here?

Representative government needs membership standards, regular sittings and structured communication between its constitutional institutions.

Historical evidence

This Article number belongs to the original constitutional framework, but its present wording may include later amendments or substitutions. A provision-specific original Assembly debate has not been verified here. The explanation of function above is editorial inference from the text, not an attributed single motive of the framers. The original draft-making archive is a research resource, not proof of a particular historical reason. The later amendment records linked below document changes affecting this Article; their Bill statements explain those proposals, not necessarily every original clause or the complete present legal outcome.

The explanation of purpose is an editorial reading of the provision. A drafting motive is attributed only where a linked historical source supports it.

Limits, exceptions & reading carefully

Educational summary of the linked source text. Exceptions, provisos, implementing laws and applicable judgments must be read before applying it to a real case.

Read the official constitutional text
[85. Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution.—(1) The President shall from time to time summon each House of Parliament to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit, but six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session. (2) The President may from time to time— (a) prorogue the Houses or either House; (b) dissolve the House of the People.]
Source-page notes · may concern neighbouring Articles

1. Subs. by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, s. 6, for art. 85 (w.e.f. 18-6-1951).

Extracted from the Legislative Department’s May 2026 edition. Page footnotes may refer to neighbouring provisions; check their markers in the PDF. Inclusion in this edition does not by itself establish commencement or judicial effect.