Knowledge Nugget: Ahead of budget session, President addresses Parliament — What does Constitution say?

Last week, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi skipped delivering his customary inaugural address and walked out of the state assembly, citing multiple issues. Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot also walked out of the House after reading out only a few lines of his customary speech prepared by the state Cabinet.

In light of this news, let’s learn about the constitutional provisions related to the Presidential address to the Parliament and the Governor’s address to the Legislative Assembly.

Key takeaways:

1. The Constitution gives the President the power to address either House or a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. Article 87 provides two special occasions on which the President addresses a joint sitting. The first is to address the opening session of a new legislature after a general election. The second is to address the first sitting of Parliament each year.

2. The Governor’s address under Article 176 mirrors this design at the state level. Article 176(1) states that the Governor shall address the House at the commencement of  “the first session after each general election to the Legislative Assembly” and at the beginning of every year.

3. Article 176(2) mandates the House to allocate time to discuss the address. The speech explains why the House has been summoned and sets out the government’s plans for the year, including the proposed legislation and financial requirements.

4. In the days following the President’s address, a motion is moved in the two Houses thanking the President for her address. This is an occasion for Members of Parliament (MPs) in the two Houses to have a broad debate on governance in the country. The Prime Minister replies to the motion of thanks in both Houses, and responds to the issues raised by MPs. The motion is then put to vote and MPs can express their disagreement by moving amendments to the motion.

5. The President or a Governor cannot refuse to perform the constitutional duty of delivering an address to the legislature. But there can be situations when they deviate from the text of the speech prepared by the government. So far, there have been no instances of the President doing so.

6. The Governor’s address is not part of a personal discretion. Without completion of this formality, the Legislature cannot be said to have legally met in the opening session. A session of a new or continuing legislature cannot begin without fulfilling this requirement.

What have the courts ruled?

7. While the courts have underlined the mandatory character of the Governor’s address, they have also recognised that Legislatures are not always orderly spaces. Various judicial decisions have also made a distinction between the absence of a Governor’s address and interruptions in its delivery.

8. In 1952, the Orissa High Court dealt with an early challenge to Article 176, where the petitioner argued that the Governor’s address had not been delivered “at the commencement of the session” because members were sworn in before it. The court held that the Legislature does not “legally assemble” for the purpose of business until the Governor declares the “causes of its summons”, making his address a mandatory constitutional starting point.

9. In 1965, a plea urged the Calcutta High Court to decide whether the proceedings of the West Bengal Assembly were invalid after the Governor was forced to abandon the address amidst disturbances. The Speaker later placed the approved text of the speech on the table.

10. Upholding the session, the court held that the constitutional duty had been met in substance, noting that “the consequence of non-delivery of the whole of the address, by word of the mouth, was not such as rendered the subsequent proceedings inside the Legislative Chamber illegal but merely resulted in procedural irregularity.”

Historical background

1. In the United Kingdom, the history of the monarch addressing the Parliament goes back to the 16th century. In the United States, President Gorge Washington addressed Congress for the first time in 1790.

2. In India, the practice of the President addressing Parliament can be traced back to the Government of India Act of 1919. This law gave the Governor-General the right of addressing the Legislative Assembly and the Council of State.

3. The law did not have a provision for a joint address but the Governor-General did address the Assembly and the Council together on multiple occasions. There was no address by him to the Constituent Assembly (Legislative) from 1947 to 1950. And after the Constitution came into force, President Rajendra Prasad addressed members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for the first time on January 31, 1950.

4. Legislatures met several times a year, often sitting for long stretches. Under the original requirement of such an address at the start of “every session”, this created uncertainty over whether a House resuming after each such adjournment had been “summoned” again and therefore required a fresh address.

5. This was amended through the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, which limited the requirement of an address to the first session of each year and the first session after a general election. B R Ambedkar explained that the change was meant to remove uncertainty.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Key takeaways from the President’s speech to the Budget session 2026-27

1. In the joint sitting of Parliament, the President framed the government’s agenda around big-ticket economic reforms, rural employment, national security, and social welfare, while invoking civilisational icons and regional pride in a speech that comes months before key state elections.

President Droupadi Murmu addresses the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on the first day of the Budget session, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (PTI Photo)

2. Against the backdrop of the signing of the India-EU deal, she projected India as a stabilising force, stating that “India is playing the role of a bridge in the world,” and that “even nations engaged in conflict, express their trust in India on important issues.”

3. The President opened on a distinctly cultural and historical note, invoking figures whose legacies resonate across regions. Her speech saw mention of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Birsa Munda, and Bhupen Hazarika. Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar’s quote and Kerala reformer Sree Narayana Guru’s message were also quoted by the President.

4. National security formed a central plank. References were made to Operation Sindoor while highlighting India’s fight against cross-border terrorism.

5. Women’s empowerment was described as central to the development model. She noted that 10 crore women are linked to Self-Help Groups and that the number of “Lakhpati Didi” had crossed two crore. She highlighted the “Namo Drone Didi” initiative in agriculture and said health check-ups of “about seven crore women” had been carried out under the “Swasth Nari, Sashakt Parivar” campaign.

Post Read Question

Consider the following statements:

1. It is mandatory for the President or Governor to addresses the start of “every session” in the Parliament or legislature.

2. Article 87 provides two special occasions on which the President addresses a joint sitting.

Which of the statements mentioned above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

(Sources: Explained: History and precedent of President’s address in Parliament, Decode Politics: Amid Governors vs Opposition flare-up over House address, what do Constitution, courts say, President Droupadi Murmu highlights India–EU FTA; says India a ‘bridge’ in shifting world order, hails ‘Operation Sindoor’ )

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