Parliament Winter Session: What Are The Private Members' Bills In Focus?

The winter session of the Parliament which began on December 2, has brought with it a spate of private members' bills introduced in both houses of the Parliament. These bills concern a wide spectrum of issues and are aimed at constitutional, policy and legal reforms.

What is a private members' bill?

It is a proposal introduced by the individual members of the Parliament who are not ministers, addressing gaps in the legal framework, which need to be addressed legislatively. Historically, only 14 bills have become laws, with the last instance being the Supreme Court Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Bill in 1970.

Despite the low chances of these becoming laws, the bills have targeted issues that usually fall outside the subjects taken up by the government, and have triggered important debates that bear socio-political relevance.

In the winter session this year, numerous private members' bills were introduced in the Parliament which have generated significant interest and gained national attention.

Lok Sabha: Marital Rape, Right To Disconnect, Deepfakes take centre-stage

On December 5, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor introduced a bill to amend the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and remove the marital rape exception. Addressing the bill, Tharoor wrote on X, “India must uphold its constitutional values and move from ‘No Means No’ to ‘Only Yes Means Yes'. Every woman deserves the fundamental right to bodily autonomy and dignity within marriage, protections our legal system fails to provide.”

 Focusing on the criminalisation of the marital rape, Tharoor highlighted how marital rape is "not about marriage, but violence". The bill seeks to do away with the exception in Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which excludes marital rape from being a punishable offence.

Work-life balance and the importance of looking after the physical and mental health of working professionals were significantly harped upon in two separate bills introduced by Tharoor and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule.

While Tharoors’ bill seeks to amend the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 aimed at capping work hours, securing the right to disconnect, and introduce stronger mental-health safeguards, it aids Sule’s Right To Disconnect Bill, 2025, which seek to bring a holistic change to the way the country legally understands work-life balance.

The bill, which was first introduced in 2019, provides every employee the right to refuse to answer calls and emails out of work hours and if the employee chooses to engage with the same, they will be entitled to overtime pay at the normal wage rate.

A bill to regulate AI deepfake videos was also introduced in the Lok Sabha by Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde, seeking to establish a clear legal framework for the use and against the misuse of the same.

Focusing on how the "misuse of deepfakes for harassment, deception and misinformation has escalated”, the Regulation of Deepfake Bill, addresses an urgent need for regulatory safeguards. The Bill also proposes the creation of a Deepfake Task Force to look into infringement on personal privacy, civic lines, and potential social and political interference.

Senior Congress MP Manish Tewari also introduced a private member bill to amend the Anti-Defection Law and free an MP from the hold of party whips when it comes to voting, allowing to take an independent line when it comes to voting on bills and other motions.

Rajya Sabha: Gig workers, urban employment in focus

In the Rajya Sabha, AAP Rajya Sabha MP, Raghav Chadha introduced a bill demanding an immediate ban on 10-minute delivery services and providing relief and necessary safeguards to gig-workers associated with quick-commerce behemoths.

Addressing the intervention on X, he said, “Companies are earning in billions because of these workers, and many upped their valuations and became unicorns. But the conditions of the gig workers are worse off than daily wage labourers...The House should think about them and end this cruelty of 10-minute delivery.”

BJP MP Bhim Singh, meanwhile, introduced The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2025 to remove the words 'socialist' and 'secular' from the preamble of the Constitution.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien introduced a bill to seeking to guaranteed urban employment, on the lines of the MGNREGA. It aims at enhancement of livelihood security to individuals in urban areas by formulation of an Employment Guarantee Scheme providing guaranteed wage employment while CPI(M) Deputy Parliamentary Leader in the Rajya Sabha, John Brittas introduced a Bill to amend the contentious Digital Personal Data Protection Act.