The law of parliamentary privileges in India: problems and prospects

Abstract

Parliamentary Privilegesand#146; is an all-embracing and comprehensive term which includes certain powers, privileges and immunities enjoyed by a legislature and its members. These privileges enable the legislature to discharge its functions effectively, fearlessly and without any outside interference. They are also essential to protect the authority and dignity of the legislature. The British Parliament, which is regarded as the cradle of Parliamentary institutions all over the world, has certain powers and rights such as the and#145;power to punish for breach of privilege or contemptand#146;, and#145;right to regulate its own compositionand#146; and and#145;right to prohibit the publication of its proceedingsand#146;. Individual members of each House of Parliament also have certain rights and immunities such as and#145;freedom of speech and debate in the houseand#146; and and#145;freedom from arrest in civil casesand#146; etc. The study is divided into six chapters. The first chapter is introductory and it contains the historical and theoretical background of the and#145;Parliamentary Privilegesand#146; including their origin and development in United Kingdom, U.S.A. and India. This chapter also contains need for the present study, review of the existing literature, exact statement of the problem, objectives of the study hypotheses, research methodology adopted including the method of citation and the scope and limitations of the study. newline newlineThe second chapter deals with the and#145;freedom of speechand#146; and and#145;immunity from legal proceedingsand#146; guaranteed to the members of legislative bodies in India along with their position in other countries, nature and scope, judicial enforceability and their relation with the contempt of court. The right of a legislature to prohibit the publication of its proceedings and its impact on the freedom of the press is also included in this chapter. The third chapter examines the un-codified power of the Parliament and State Legislatures in India to punish for their own contempt, its impact on fundamental rights including the right to