Parliamentary Privilege

Parliamentary privilege refers to a body of special rights, powers, and immunities belonging to Parliament as an institution and to individual members in their capacity as legislators, which are essential to protect Parliament's independence and enable it to function without external interference — whether from the courts, the executive, or private parties. These privileges are recognised in Part V, Chapter II of the Constitution of India, primarily through Articles 105 (Parliament) and 194 (State Legislatures). The collective privileges of the Houses include: the right to regulate their own internal proceedings; the right to exclude strangers (press and public) from the galleries; the right to punish for contempt; and the right to receive immediate information of the arrest or detention of members. The individual privileges include: freedom of speech (Article 105(1)) — a member cannot be made liable in any court for anything said in Parliament; and immunity from arrest in civil proceedings during the session and 40 days before and after (Article 105(3)). Critically, Article 105(3) provides that the powers, privileges, and immunities of Parliament, its members, and committees shall be those of the House of Commons as of January 26, 1950, until defined by Parliament by law — Parliament has never codified these in a comprehensive statute, leaving them partly governed by convention, Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha Rules, and judicial decisions. The Supreme Court in Raja Ram Pal v. Speaker, Lok Sabha (2007) held that Parliament's privilege of expulsion is not beyond judicial review — courts can examine whether a house exercised its privilege in accordance with procedural fairness. However, courts cannot examine the substance of legislative speeches or votes (P.V. Narasimha Rao v. State, 1998 — JMM bribery case).

• 1 Constitutional basis: Articles 105 (Parliament) and 194 (State Legislatures) — establish both collective and individual privileges.
• 2 Freedom of speech privilege (Article 105(1)): absolute immunity from court proceedings for anything said in Parliament — cannot be questioned in any court.
• 3 Arrest immunity: no civil arrest of members 40 days before, during, and 40 days after session. Criminal arrest is not exempt.
• 4 Contempt of House: includes breach of privilege, disrupting proceedings, publishing false reports of debates — punishable by the House itself.
• 5 Raja Ram Pal v. Speaker (2007): Supreme Court held that expulsion of members is subject to judicial review for procedural compliance, even if the grounds for expulsion are parliamentary matters.
• 6 P.V. Narasimha Rao v. State (1998): MPs who voted in exchange for bribes (JMM case) immune under Article 105(2) — controversy led to demand for amendment.
• 7 Article 105(3): privileges are those of UK House of Commons as of January 26, 1950, until Parliament codifies them — no comprehensive codification has been done.

In December 2023, Lok Sabha expelled Mahua Moitra on charges of 'cash for query' — accepting benefits to raise questions in Parliament. The case raised complex privilege questions: while Parliament has the privilege to expel its members for misconduct, critics argued that expulsion without criminal conviction or judicial finding set a dangerous precedent of using privilege powers to silence opposition. The matter highlighted the persistent gap in India's failure to codify parliamentary privileges through legislation, as required by Article 105(3).