This article has been written by Anurag Maharaj, pursuing Bachelor of laws at Lloyd Law School, Greater Noida. In this article, he has tried to define the “Parliamentary privileges”.
Introduction
Parliamentary privilege refers to the rights and immunities that Parliament as an entity and parliamentarians enjoys in their individual capacity, without which they can not perform their duties as delegated to them by the Constitution. Both parliamentary houses have the privileges to operate effectively and efficiently, and to carry out their duties without interruption or intervention of any sort. Collectively, each house and its representatives are granted the privileges individually. Therefore, it can be inferred that the term privileges refer to the particular rights and advantages that parliamentary members enjoy over the Indian citizen. The Parliamentary privileges are laid down in Article 105 of the Indian Constitution and in Article 194 of the State legislatures.
Article-105: Parliament of India Privileges
Powers, privileges, etc., of parliamentary houses and of members and committees:-
1.Freedom of speech:- There shall be freedom of speech in Parliament, subject to the provisions of the Constitution and to the laws and standing orders regulating Parliament’s procedure.
2. In certain respects, the rights, privileges and immunities of each House of Parliament and of the members and committees of each House shall, from time to time, be decided by statute by Parliament and, until such time as this House and its members and committees have been established, immediately before Section 15 of the Constitution comes into force ( 44th amendment ) Act 1978.
3. No Member of Parliament shall be liable in any court for what he or she has said or voted in Parliament or any of its committees and no person shall be liable for any report, text, vote or proceedings to be published by or under the authority of any House of Parliament.
4. The provisions of clauses (1 ), ( 2) and (3) shall extend to persons who, by virtue of this Constitution, have the right to speak in, and otherwise participate in, the proceedings of, a House of Parliament or any of its committees as they relate to Members of Parliament.
Article-194: State Legislatures Privileges
Under Article 194, the same provisions are stated, in that members of a state legislature are referred instead of parliamentary members.
1. Freedom of speech:- The Legislature of each State shall have freedom of speech, subject to the provisions of this Constitution and to the Rules and Standing Orders governing the proceedings of the Legislature.
2. No member of the Legislature of a State shall be liable in any court for that which he has said or voted in the Legislature or any committee thereof, and no person shall be liable for the publication by or under the authority of the House of such a Legislature of any article, text, vote or proceeding.
3. The powers, privileges and immunities of the House of the Legislature of the State and of the members and committees of the House of that Legislature shall be those defined by law from time to time and, until such time as this is specified, those of that House and of its members and committees immediately before the entry into force of Section 26 of the Constitution Act on Amendment No 44, 1978.
4. The provisions of clauses (1 ), ( 2) and (3) shall extend in respect of individuals who, by virtue of this Constitution, have the right to speak in, and otherwise engage in, the proceedings of a House of the Legislature of a State or any of its committees as they relate to members of that legislature.
Case law:- P.V. NARSIMHA STATE v. RAO (1998)
The facts of the case are – some of the bribes that the MP has received to vote against the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister P.V. Narsimha Rao. He was charged under the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act on the grounds that, while serving as the Prime Minister, he bribed some MPs to vote against the motion of no-confidence. It was held by the majority of the Court that, according to Article 105(2), parliamentarians would be granted immunity and, thus, the MP’s bribe conduct would be granted immunity in spite of everything they say or any vote they give in Parliament. The Court further clarified that here the word “everything” is to be understood as a broader concept. In a wider context, the Court viewed the word “anything” and did not convict P.V. Rao Narsimha.
Other privileges:-
(1) Freedom from arrest:- According to this privilege, during a period of 40 days before and 40 days after the house session[viii], no member of parliament or state legislature shall be arrested or imprisoned in civil process. If a member is arrested during this time, he shall be released for free attendance at the session. This right does not apply to arrests or incarceration on the grounds of criminal proceedings or court contempt or preventive detention.
2) Excluding strangers:- In the past, the right to exclude strangers or non-members and to hold secret sessions exercised. The goal is to exclude the risk of Members being intimidated. The strangers may attempt to interfere in the debate from galleries.
3. Right to publish debates and proceedings:- Although Parliament does not prohibit the press from publishing its proceedings by convention, the House is technically entitled to prohibit such publication. Also, although a Member has parliamentary privilege of freedom of expression, he has no right to publish it outside Parliament. Any breaching rule can be held liable for any libellous matter which it may contain under the rules of the common law.
4. Right to regulate House internal affairs:- The House has the right to regulate its affairs within it. A House member is free to say what he wants subject only to the House’s or the committee concerned ‘s internal discipline. The Governor is empowered to convene the State Legislative Assembly Session. But he has no legislative power to direct the Speaker of an Assembly on how to handle the House’s proceedings.
5. The right to punish for Contempt of the House:- Each house of the legislature has the right to punish its members or non-members for contempt or infringement of the house’s privilege. In India, it has been established that a house can punish not only for the contempt of the present but also for the contempt of the past.
Conclusion
Parliamentary privilege refers to the rights and immunities that Parliament as an entity and parliamentarians enjoys in their individual capacity, without which they can not perform their duties as delegated to them by the Constitution. The privileged rights are freedom of speech, publication of the report, excluding strangers, rights to publish debates and proceedings, right to regulate House internal affairs, the right to punish for the contempt of the house etc.