Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court on March 4 overturned the 1998 PV Narasimha Rao judgment which held that members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies could claim immunity under Articles 105(2) and 194(2) of the Constitution for receiving a bribe in contemplation of a vote or speech in the legislature.
Lawmakers in Parliament and state legislatures are not immune from prosecution in bribery cases, a seven-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.
“We disagree with the judgment in PV Narasimha Rao (case). The judgment in that case which granted immunity to legislators for taking bribes to cast votes has wide ramifications,” the Chief Justice of India said.
No-trust motion
The PV Narasimha Rao case had come up in connection with a noconfidence motion against his Government in July 1993. The minority Government had survived with a slim margin – 265 votes in favour and 251 against.
A year later, however, a scandal emerged and allegations surfaced that legislators of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha had taken bribes to vote in support of the PV Narasimha Rao Government.
In 1998, the Supreme Court held that the lawmakers’ immunity from prosecution extended to their votes and speeches inside the House.
Legislative functions
The top court on March 4 said a claim for immunity in such situations fails to pass the test of being necessary to discharge legislative functions.
“We hold that bribery is not protected by parliamentary privileges. Corruption and bribery by legislators destroy the functioning of Indian parliamentary democracy. An MLA taking a bribe to vote in Rajya Sabha elections is also liable under the Prevention of Corruption Act,” the Bench said.
The PV Narasimha judgment, the Chief Justice said, results in a “paradoxical situation” in which a legislator who accepts a bribe and votes accordingly is protected whereas a legislator who votes independently despite taking a bribe is prosecuted.”
The issue came before the Supreme Court in 2019, when a Bench headed by then-Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi was hearing an appeal by Sita Soren, JMM MLA and daughter-in-law of party chief Shibu Soren.
SWAGATAM! A great judgment by the Hon’ble Supreme Court which will ensure clean politics and deepen people’s faith in the system.
Narendra Modi
