Article 114 of the Constitution of India is a fundamental constitutional provision that governs the procedure for financial control by the legislature, specifically concerning Appropriation Bills. Its core purpose is to ensure that the executive cannot spend public money without legislative sanction, upholding the principle of parliamentary control over public finances.
The concept originated from Draft Article 94, which was debated on June 10, 1949, and was designed to substitute the President's authentication with the passing of an Appropriation Bill by Parliament, thereby giving primacy to the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
The mechanism works in the final stage of the budgetary process: after the Lok Sabha has approved the Demands for Grants under Article 113, an Appropriation Bill is introduced. This Bill consolidates all the grants voted by the Lok Sabha and the expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI). Article 114(3) is the key operative clause, mandating that no money shall be withdrawn from the CFI except under appropriation made by law passed in accordance with this Article. Furthermore, Article 114(2) strictly prohibits any amendment to the Bill in either House of Parliament that would vary the amount or alter the destination of any grant or charged expenditure.
This provision is intrinsically connected to the entire financial framework, following the presentation of the Annual Financial Statement (Article 112) and the voting on grants (Article 113). The Appropriation Bill is classified as a Money Bill under Article 110. It is also linked to Article 115 (Supplementary, additional, or excess grants) and Article 116 (Votes on account, etc.), which also require appropriation. The constitutional text of Article 114 has remained the bedrock of legislative financial authority since the Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949.