parliamentary privilege in india
TRANSCRIPT
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
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PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE IN INDIA
Lakshminarayanan AlagurajaAdvocateAltacit Global
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
Parliamentary Privilege
According to Sir Thomas Erskine May, Parliamentary privilege is the sum of the peculiar rights enjoyed by each House collectively and by members of each House individually, without which they could not discharge their functions, and which exceed those possessed by other bodies or individuals. Thus, privilege, though part of the law of the land, is to certain extent an exemption from the general law.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
LEGAL STATUTES
• The Constitution of India, 1949 – Article 105 & 194: Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and its Members; and
• The Representation of the People Act, 1951 - Qualifications and Disqualifications for Membership of Parliament and State Legislatures.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
The Constitution of India, 1949
Article 194: Powers, privileges, etc of the Houses of Parliament and of the members and committees thereof;•(1) Subject to the provisions of this constitution and the rules and standing orders regulating the procedure of Parliament, there shall be freedom of speech in Parliament.•(2) No Member of Parliament shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or any committee thereof, and no person shall be so liable in respect of the publication by or under the authority of either House of Parliament of any report, paper, votes or proceedings.•(3) In other respects, the powers, privileges and immunities of each House of Parliament, and of the members and the committees of each House, shall be such as may from time to time be defined by Parliament by law, and, until so defined shall be those of that House and of its members and committees immediately before the coming into force of Section 15 of the Constitution (Forty fourth Amendment) Act 1978.•(4) The provisions of clauses ( 1 ), ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) shall apply in relation to persons who by virtue of this constitution have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of, a House of Parliament or any committee thereof as they apply in relation to members of Parliament.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
The Representation of the People Act, 1951
An Act to provide for the conduct of elections of the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of those Houses, the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections and the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
Prominent Privileges
• Freedom of speech in Parliament.• Immunity to a member from any proceedings in
any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or any committees thereof.
• Immunity to a person from proceedings in any court in respect of the publication by or under the authority of either House of Parliament of any report, paper, votes or proceedings.
• Prohibition on the courts to inquire into proceedings of Parliament.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
Prominent Privileges
• Freedom from arrest of members in civil cases during the continuance of the session of the House and 40 days before its commencement and 40 days after its conclusion
• Right of the House to receive immediate information of the arrest, detention, conviction, imprisonment arid release of a member
• Members or officers of the House cannot give evidence or produce documents in courts of law, relating to the proceedings of the House, without the permission of the House
• Each House also enjoys certain consequential powers such as to commit persons, whether they are member or not, for breach of privilege or contempt of the House; to compel the attendance of witnesses and to send for papers and records; to regulate its own procedure and the conduct of its business; to prohibit the publication of its debates and proceedings; and to exclude strangers from the House.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
Power to Punish
• Each House is the guardian of its own privileges. Courts of law have recognized that a House of Parliament (or of a state legislature) is the sole authority to judge as to whether or not there has been a breach of privilege or contempt of the House in a particular case. The House may punish a person found guilty of breach of privilege or contempt of the House either by reprimand or admonition or by imprisonment for a specified period. In case of its own members, it can award suspension from the service of the House or expulsion.
• The penal jurisdiction of the House is not confined to its own members or to offences committed in its immediate presence, but extends to all contempts of the House.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
Reason Development
Lily Thomas vs Union of India & Others on 10 July, 2013:•The Supreme Court struck down sub section (4) of Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 as ultra vires the Constitution. This particular section protects convicted legislators against disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal against their conviction in the higher courts.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
Section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951
• Notwithstanding anything in sub- section (1), sub- section (2), or sub- section (3) a disqualification under either sub- section shall not, in the case of a person who on the date of the conviction is a member of Parliament or the Legislature of a State, take effect until three months have elapsed.
• Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act allowed convicted MPs, MLAs and MLCs to continue in their posts, provided they appealed against their conviction/sentence in higher courts within three months of the date of judgment by the trial court.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
Current Scenario
• Former medical education minister Rasheed Masood was the first parliamentarian to be disqualified as an MP in September 2013 after he was sentenced to four-year jail for allotting medical seats to undeserving students, when he was the medical education minister.
• RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was on October 3, 2013, sentenced to 5-year jail in the Rs 900-cr fodder scam. With that, he was disqualified as MP and lost the power to contest polls.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
The Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance,
2013
Ordinance allows convicted MPs and MLAs to continue in office if their appeal is admitted by a higher court within 90 days and the conviction stayed. But they won't be entitled to vote during House proceedings or draw salaries and allowances until the case is finally decided.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
Controversial Ordinance
Union cabinet has unanimously decided to withdraw the ordinance as well as the bill.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
Election Commission
Election Commission has proposed to the Supreme Court that a person should be debarred from contesting elections if a court has framed charges against him/her for an offence attracting a jail term of five years or more.
CHENNAI3rd Floor, ‘Creative Enclave’,
148-150, Luz Church Road,Mylapore,
Chennai - 600 004.Tel: +91 - 44 - 2498 4821
BANGALORE Suite 920, Level 9,
Raheja Towers,26-27, M G Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.Tel: +91 - 80 - 6546 2400
COIMBATOREBB1, Park Avenue,
# 48, Race Course Road,Coimbatore - 641018.
Tel: +91 - 422 – 6552921
WEBSITE
www.altacit.com
Thank You