Collective Ministerial Responsibility

Collective ministerial responsibility means that the Union Council of Ministers is politically accountable as one body to the Lok Sabha. Under Article 75(3), the ministry can remain in office only while it retains the confidence of the House of the People, and all ministers must publicly support its decisions.

Constitutional basis

The Constitution makes the entire Council of Ministers, not merely the Cabinet, collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. This responsibility applies even to ministers who are members of the Rajya Sabha.

• The Council exercises executive authority through the constitutional scheme of aid and advice under Article 74.
• The Prime Minister leads and coordinates the Council, making collective responsibility central to the parliamentary system.

What the principle requires

Government decisions are treated as decisions of the whole ministry. Ministers may disagree during internal deliberations, but they must maintain cabinet solidarity once a decision has been made.

• Every minister must defend agreed government policy in Parliament and in public.
• A minister who cannot support a collective decision is ordinarily expected to resign.
• Ministers share responsibility for the general conduct and major policies of the government, including decisions outside their own departments.

Responsibility to the Lok Sabha

The Council must resign if it loses the confidence of the Lok Sabha, such as through the passage of a no-confidence motion. This makes the responsibility collective because the fall of the Prime Minister or ministry brings down the Council as a whole.

• The Rajya Sabha may scrutinise and criticise the government, but it cannot determine whether the Council remains in office.
• Collective responsibility is distinct from a minister's individual tenure under Article 75(2).

How UPSC asks this